What's Happening to Our National Monuments?

SOURCE: Hit the Trail

Created in 1849, the Department of the Interior is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for the management and conservation of federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and territorial affairs. Recently, President Trump has ordered the Department of the Interior to review all national monuments greater than 100,000 acres created since 1996. President Trump’s executive order to review the United States’ national monuments puts nearly 40 at stake. President Trump's goal is to open up more federal lands to drilling, mining, and other development for economic gain. However, I believe this is shortsighted because of the economic and personal value they possess.

So what National Parks are at stake?

• Grand Staircase-Escalante (Utah)
• Grand Canyon-Parashant (Arizona)
• Giant Sequoia (California)
• Canyons of the Ancient (Colorado)
• Hanford Reach (Washington)
• Ironwood Forest (Arizona)
• Vermilion Cliffs (Arizona)
• Carrizo Plain (California)
• Sonoran Desert (Arizona)
• Upper Missouri River Breaks (Montana)
• Papahānaumokuākea (Hawaii)
• Pacific Remote Islands
• Rio Grande del Norte (New Mexico)
• Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks (New Mexico)
• San Gabriel Mountains (California)
• Berryessa Snow Mountain (California)
• Basin and Range (Nevada)
• Mojave Trails (California)
• Sand to Snow (California)
• Bears Ears (Utah)
• Gold Butte (Nevada)

These are just a few. So why are these monument important and why should you even care? Every single one of these monuments possess ecological, cultural, archeological, or historic significance. Why would we want to deprive future generations of such spectacular views or disrupt the land that is important to so many? Beyond this, national monuments also maintain much economic importance. When people travel to visit places on this list, more money is brought into communities that are, otherwise, fairly rural and are not bringing in as much money as other places.

So, as President Donald Trump and his advisors review public lands and craft their strategy, it is our job to protect and conserve these monuments and the valuable things they offer. From hunting, hiking, and fishing to wildlife watching, camping, and the Indian cultures that would be disrupted if land was taken over and federalized, the wild landscapes of the U.S. lift both the spirits of the American people and the local economies that are critical to the nation’s future.