Going back on yet another campaign statement, Donald Trump has signed an executive order seeking a review of the lands designated as national monuments in the last 20 years.
Let’s be clear: This isn’t about public lands or listening to a majority of Western voters. This is about cementing his Republican base, sucking up to certain Republican lawmakers, and distracting from the investigation into his Russian ties. It could allow mining, drilling, and development on public lands. It’s also another way of trying to stick a thumb into President Barack Obama’s eye.
Trump’s latest order, one of a flurry of last-minute signings to make his presidency look significant before the 100-day mark, seeks a review of the Antiquities Act, a law signed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 that authorizes presidents to declare federal lands as national monuments. According to the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association:
The Antiquities Act of 1906 is one of our nation’s most important conservation tools. Used to safeguard and preserve federal lands and cultural and historical sites for all Americans to enjoy, 16 presidents have designated 157 national monuments under this authority.
”One of our nation’s most important conservation tools.” The bad news is that it’s a tool that some Republicans want to undo. The good news is that they probably won’t be able to—at least, not much.
LINK (via: The Daily Kos)
