President Donald Trump will sign executive orders Wednesday reviewing decades worth of national monument designations made during Democratic administrations.
Trump’s order will direct the Interior Department to review former President Barack Obama’s Bears Ears Monument designation, as well as the Clinton-era Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, both of which are in Utah.
The Trump administration wants to determine whether the Antiquities Act has been abused by his predecessors, a White House official told reporters Monday. Former President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act in 1906 to protect federal land and waterways.
“Past administrations have overused this power and designated large swaths of land well beyond the areas in need of protection,” the official said. “The Antiquities Act Executive Order directs the Department of the Interior to review prior monument designations and suggest legislative changes or modifications to the monument proclamations.”
Obama set aside 1.5 million acres of land in December to create Bears Ears monument, which has been opposed by some local Navajo tribal members despite being supported by tribal officials. The monument added to the 265 million acres the former president set aside during his two terms.
Republicans are praising Trump’s anticipated executive order, with some calling the memo a vital tool to help right the wrongs committed by previous administrations.
“In President Trump, we have a leader who is committed to defending the Western way of life. I am deeply grateful for his willingness to work with us to undo the harm caused by the overreach of his predecessors,” Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said in a statement.
Various American Indian tribes haggled over Obama’s Bears Ears designation, namely because they fear it could potentially harm tribal members’ ability to forge herbs or collect firewood.
Navajo Nation leadership supports the monument, but two subgroups who live closest to the monument, the Aneth Chapter and the Blue Mountain Diné, oppose it. The Blue Mountain Diné are not an officially recognized Navajo chapter.
Trump’s executive order could lead to a shrinking of some monuments’ boundaries rather than merely abolishing them, according to individuals briefed on the proposal. Shrinking the boundaries would be an easier pull, they argue, because the government in 1938 determined that the Antiquities Act gave the president the authority to designate, not abolish, monuments.
Hatch appeared to hedge on the issue slightly. He said on the Senate floor Monday that designating monuments is an important part of preserving federal lands, but the process must be reined in somewhat
“Now Mr. President, I wish to be clear: in opposing the Bears Ears monument designation, I am in no way opposing the protection of lands that need to be protected. Indeed, there are many cultural sites in San Juan County that deserve special care, and I am committed to working with the president and with Congress to preserve these sacred sites,” he said.
The federal government owns 85 percent of Nevada, 52 percent of Oregon, 45 percent of California, 69 percent of Alaska and 57 percent of Utah.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) controls a vast swath of land west of Missouri. The government ownership of this land has caused tensions in states like Utah and Nevada that are forced to wrangle with strict environmental regulations limiting energy development.
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