Trump to shrink two Utah national monuments
Photo: Rick Bowmer / AP
President Trump is expected to announce today a reduction by as much as 92% of the land protected as part of Bears Ears National Monument in southern Utah, The New York Times reports. The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument will also lose about half of its protected land.
Why it matters: This would be the largest reduction of a national monument, and will be at the center of a debate over how much land a president is able to set aside as a national park or monument. The Times says the move comes "as the administration pushes for fewer restrictions and more development on public lands."
What's next: The Navajo Nation along with other tribes and conservation groups have threatened to go to court over Trump's decision to shrink the Bears Ears. Zinke also has called for a reduction of land in Nevada's Gold Butte and Oregon's Cascade-Siskiyou monuments, according to AP. although details remain unclear. Zinke also plans to allow logging at a new national monument in Maine as well as grazing, hunting and fishing at two monuments in New Mexico.
Go deeper: The three national monuments that could lose land under Trump.