The White House took to Twitter Wednesday to promote President Barack Obama’s latest monument designations in the Western U.S., but its tweet had a picture of a completely different national park.
Obama created the Bears Ears and Gold Butte national monuments, but it’s Wednesday tweet included a picture of the Three Gossips at Arches National Park that was created in 1929.
Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch’s staff noticed the mistake and unleashed a storm of tweets criticizing the Obama administration’s error. Hatch is not a fan of Obama’s unilateral creation of national monuments in Utah and Nevada.
If you’re going to take 1.3M acres of Utah land, at least use the right photo. This is Arches not #BearsEars. #utpol https://t.co/F6iIKEsegE
— Senator Hatch Office (@SenOrrinHatch) December 29, 2016
Area pictured: the Three Gossips, in Arches. Not at all a part of the proposed #BearsEars monument. #utpol https://t.co/F6iIKEsegE
— Senator Hatch Office (@SenOrrinHatch) December 29, 2016
Flashback: Hatch in front of the 3 Gossips (in Arches) in June–the White House thinks they designated this a monument #utpol #BearsEars pic.twitter.com/n3dGQsAr79
— Senator Hatch Office (@SenOrrinHatch) December 29, 2016
Arches National Park was re-designated as a national park in 1971 and is about a two-and-a-half hour drive to the newly-created Bears Ears National Monument, but the two federal parks have very distinct geological features.
Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz joined in mocking the White House for using the wrong picture to announce the creation of Bears Ears National Monument.
Classic. @WhiteHouse pic is Arches not monuments. Couldn’t find a pic of Bears Ears & doesn’t even know where it is. #WorstPresidentEver https://t.co/odaZQoQP4B
— Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) December 29, 2016
Obama announced the creation of the 1.47 million acre Bears Ears National Monument Wednesday. The president can create national monuments under the 1906 Antiquities Act.
“Today’s actions will help protect this cultural legacy and will ensure that future generations are able to enjoy and appreciate these scenic and historic landscapes,” Obama said in a statement Wednesday.
But the monument designation was not supported by Republican lawmakers and Utah officials who wanted more of a say in the process. Local American Indians and others fear the monument designation will prevent them from living traditional lifestyles.
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