Monuments

Key stories for understanding the monuments debate

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has advised Trump to modify 10 national monuments.

Paige Blankenbuehler News Sept. 18, 2017
Print Subscribe Donate Now
 

Note: We’re resurfacing this story to help contextualize the anticipated announcement by President Donald Trump on Dec. 4. He’s expected to shrink boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante.

In a leaked memorandum obtained by the Washington Post, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended that President Donald Trump modify 10 national monuments, including four controversial Western sites: Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Gold Butte and Cascade-Siskiyou.

Zinke also advised changes to marine monuments, but it is the four Western designations for which the secretary has specifically recommended reductions in the currently protected acreage. If enacted, the changes could test the legal boundaries of what powers a president holds under the 1906 Antiquities Act.

KEY STORIES FOR UNDERSTANDING THE RECOMMENDATION:

Legal scholars dispute whether monuments are permanent
Courts likely will decide the fate of designations threatened by Trump’s review.

Land transfer advocates steer their focus to monuments
A transfer movement moves to rescind monuments and weaken the Antiquities Act.

Opinion: It doesn’t make sense to go after national monuments
Trump’s review is cynical politics, not sound policy.

Analysis: National monuments protect meaning, not just landscapes
If Bears Ears shrinks, it will be to our national cultural detriment.

Amid monument review, a pro-energy Interior emerges
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is filling his office with extractive industry insiders.

Details emerge on proposed monument cutbacks
Zinke says he will recommend reductions to some monuments, but not eliminations.

Fact-checking Trump’s Antiquities Act order
Trump and his supporters rely on dubious claims to attack national monuments.

bearsears-jpg
Bears Ears National Monument
Bureau of Land Management

BEARS EARS NATIONAL MONUMENT
Bears Ears a go — but here’s where Obama drew the line
The designation’s concessions are unlikely to appease ardent opponents.

The bid for Bears Ears
The tribal push for a Bears Ears monument raises thorny questions of homeland and sovereignty.

Zinke went to Bears Ears to listen, but supporters felt unheard
The Interior Secretary’s monument review is off to a complicated start.


Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Bureau of Land Management

GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE NATIONAL MONUMENT

What could be lost in a push for mining in monuments 
In Grand Staircase-Escalante, coal and fossils lay side by side.

Grand Staircase-Escalante was set up to fail
How budget cuts, a divided staff and state politics hamstrung Utah’s biggest monument.

Change comes slowly to Escalante country
In the BLM’s showcase monument, local grudges and national politics create a nasty quagmire.

Utah’s Grand Staircase turns 5
Locals still wondering if the monument will provide an economic step up.

Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
Bureau of Land Management

CASCADE-SISKIYOU NATIONAL MONUMENT
Opinion: Oregon’s monuments need protection from logging
Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument shouldn’t be managed for timber interests.

On a new national monument, has an agency been cowed?
Funding for studying grazing impacts in Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument has been cut, while grazing continues unabated.

Babbitt’s monument tour blazes on
Al Gore announces four new national monuments, while Republicans fight back.

Gold Butte National Monument
Bureau of Land Management

GOLD BUTTE NATIONAL MONUMENT
The many questions of Gold Butte
Familiar debates around roads, heritage and water rights resurface as Nevadans make sense of their new monument.

A look at Gold Butte, Nevada, two years after the Bundy standoff
Surveyors found illegal cattle grazing, defaced petroglyphs and ditch-digging.

Paige Blankenbuehler is an assistant editor for High Country News.

Republish Print
Comments (2)
High Country News Classifieds
  • INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS EDITOR - HIGH COUNTRY NEWS
     High Country News is hiring an Indigenous Affairs Editor to help guide the magazine's journalism and produce stories that are important to Indigenous communities and...
  • STAFF ATTORNEY
     Staff Attorney The role of the Staff Attorney is to bring litigation on behalf of Western Watersheds Project, and at times our allies, in the...
  • ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
     Northern Michigan University seeks an outstanding leader to serve as its next Assistant Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion. With new NMU President Dr. Brock...
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
     The Clark Fork Coalition seeks an exceptional leader to serve as its Executive Director. This position provides strategic vision and operational management while leading a...
  • GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENT MANAGER
     Help uphold a groundbreaking legal agreement between a powerful mining corporation and the local communities impacted by the platinum and palladium mine in their backyard....
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
     The Feather River Land Trust (FRLT) is seeking a strategic and dynamic leader to advance our mission to "conserve the lands and waters of the...
  • COLORADO DIRECTOR
     COLORADO DIRECTOR Western Watersheds Project seeks a Colorado Director to continue and expand WWP's campaign to protect and restore public lands and wildlife in Colorado,...
  • DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: WYOMING, MONTANA AND UTAH
     Digital Media Specialist - WY, MT, UT OFFICE LOCATION Remote and hybrid options available. Preferred locations are MT, WY or UT, but applicants from anywhere...
  • GRANT WRITER (PART-TIME, FREELANCE CONTRACT) HIGH COUNTRY NEWS
     High Country News seeks an energetic, articulate and highly organized grant writer to support a growing foundations program. This position works closely with our Executive...
  • EXPERT COMPUTER & TECH HELP, PROVIDED REMOTELY
     From California, I provide expert tech help remotely to rural and urban clients. I charge only when I succeed. Available 7 days. Call for a...
  • ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY - INDIGENOUS HISTORIES OF THE NORTH AMERICAN WEST
     Whitman College seeks applicants for a tenure-track position in Indigenous Histories of the North American West, beginning August 2024, at the rank of Assistant Professor....
  • DAVE AND ME
     Dave and Me, by international racontuer and children's books author Rusty Austin, is a funny, profane and intense collection of short stories, essays, and poems...
  • CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
     Rural Community Assistance Corporation is looking to hire a CFO. For more more information visit: https://www.rcac.org/careers/
  • EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
     The Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness Foundation (ABWF) seeks a new Executive Director. Founded in 2008, the ABWF is a respected nonprofit whose mission is to support...
  • CANYONLANDS FIELD INSTITUTE
     Field seminars for adults in natural and human history of the northern Colorado Plateau, with lodge and base camp options. Small groups, guest experts.
  • COMING TO TUCSON?
     Popular vacation house, everything furnished. Two bedroom, one bath, large enclosed yards. Dog-friendly. Contact Lee at [email protected] or 520-791-9246.
  • ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONSTRUCTION GEOPHYSICS
     We characterize contaminated sites, identify buried drums, tanks, debris and also locate groundwater.
  • LUNATEC HYDRATION SPRAY BOTTLE
     A must for campers and outdoor enthusiasts. Cools, cleans and hydrates with mist, stream and shower patterns. Hundreds of uses.
  • LUNATEC ODOR-FREE DISHCLOTHS
     are a must try. They stay odor-free, dry fast, are durable and don't require machine washing. Try today.
  • WESTERN NATIVE SEED
     Native plant seeds for the Western US. Trees, shrubs, grasses, wildflowers and regional mixes. Call or email for free price list. 719-942-3935. [email protected] or visit...