Comments now are being taken on the future of Bears Ears National Monument and 26 other monuments in the country/BLM
When he arrived in Utah earlier this week, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said it didn't matter where you live, whether in Boston, Massachusetts, or Blanding, Utah, you had an equal voice in how public lands, particularly national monuments, are managed. Beginning today, you can add your voice and thoughts to that issue.
The comment period on the validity and worth of 27 national monuments, from Bears Ears in Utah to Katahdin Woods and Waters in Maine, opened this morning on regulations.gov. President Trump called for the Interior Department to review national monuments of 100,000 acres or more created since 1996, when President Clinton designated 1.9-million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah over the protests of Utah's congressional delegation.
While Katahdin Woods and Waters isn't quite 100,000 acres, it was added to the list, presumably, because Maine Gov. Paul LePage personally asked the president to consider whether Maine residents had enough input on whether the 87,000 acres adjacent to Baxter State Park should have been designated by President Obama last year. The twist in this instance, however, is that the monument was established only after Roxanne Quimby, who made her fortunate on Burt's Bees, donated 87,000 acres to the Interior Department specifically so Katahdin Woods and Waters could be created. Were the president or Congress somehow able to abolish that monument, who would own the land?
On Sunday when he met with reporters in Salt Lake City, the Interior secretary said that while he wanted to hear the views of "local stakeholders" on the 1.3-million-acre Bears Ears National Monument, he added that their voices should bear no more weight than those of Americans living elsewhere.
"Does a citizen from Massachusetts have any more standing from a citizen in Montana when it comes to our public lands? No. But everyone should have a voice, and a lot of what I face as secretary of Interior, there's a lot of anger out there. There's a lot of mistrust out there," said Secretary Zinke.
Just as those on the political right critized then-Interior Secretary Sally Jewell for her consideration and meetings over Bears Ears last summer, those on the political left have criticized Secretary Zinke for his meetings this week around Bears Ears and the Grand Staircase.
“It was amateur hour in Utah this week. Secretary Zinke’s one-sided listening tour amounted to little more than a series of staged photo ops with national monument opponents, while the loud pleas from the local monument supporters fell on deaf ears," said Greg Zimmerman, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities. "Several times during his visit, Secretary Zinke indicated his mind is already made up— he wants to eliminate or shrink Bears Ears National Monument. Any action to undermine the Bears Ears, or any monument, will leave a dark stain on Secretary Zinke’s tenure at the Interior Department.”
In his order to Secretary Zinke, the president gave him 45 days from April 26 to report back on whether he thought Bear Ears should remain intact as President Obama established it under the Antiquities Act, or whether it was too big and should be reduced in size or even abolished. Then, by mid-summer, Mr. Zinke is to report back on the other 26 monuments identified for the review.
Public comment at regulations.gov is being taken on Bears Ears National Monument through May 25, and on all other monuments in the study through July 9.
While Secretary Zinke spent four days in Utah this week, and presumably will visit some or all of the other monuments on his list, there's been no word whether there will be hearings on the monuments elsewhere in the country. So if you live far from the monuments, this comment period might be the only chance you'll get to voice your opinion.
Comments
Please don't sell off our public lands for corporate profit. We need to preserve our public lands and to keep private interests from destroying them for monetary gain. There is no Planet B. Just because we have the ability to obliterate everything in our path, we don't have the right to do so. Let's keep these monuments and public lands intact for present and future enjoyment.
Please, please, please leave these places as they are. Once you destroy them, you cannot get them back.
Our parks are sacred and provide us an opportunity to increase tourism and places in the US that public lands are protected from development and money hungry businesses who seek the these lands for their own gains. These lands are for the American people, it is our right to tellnot ask politicians and government to protect them.
Please protect ALL national monuments! We do not need more money! We need more beauty, history, culture and nature preserved. This is beyond important for our future and our planets' future. So many things have been taken from nature and wildlife, please do not take these places. We need more land protected, not less.
Please don't sell our lands to companies so they can be ravaged and do unrepairable damage.
One more reminder to everyone posting here: It won't do any good unless you post to the official comment website.
Use the link Kurt provided in the article.
Our Parks are our most valuable treasures. Don't let them be taken away. Our collective mental health and spiritual well-being depend on having these wonderful places.
Our National Parks System is a one of our finer national treasures. Other countries have sought to establish protected national lands of their own modeled after our National Parks System. We need to keep these areas pristine for generations to come, as they are truly some of the most breathtaking sites of natural wonder. We have so fortunate to live in a country with such natural diversity and we need not ruin that in 1 Presidential term. Please preserve our parks Mr. Zinke! You have been blessed to live in the beautiful state of Montana and surely you will understand the importance of keeping this country's national lands preserved.