Washington senators urge caution on Trump’s order on national monuments

Washington’s two U.S. senators on Wednesday condemned President Donald Trump’s executive order that orders a review of national monuments.

Sen. Maria Cantwell and and Patty Murray were among a group of about 30 Democratic senators who signed a letter to Trump imploring the president to make the review transparent and to ensure Indian tribes are part of the review.

In a news release, the two senators from Washington noted that San Juans Islands and Hanford Reach national monuments could be at stake by Trump’s order.

“During your campaign and during Secretary Zinke’s confirmation hearing, your administration promised to emulate President Teddy Roosevelt and his vision for conserving public lands,” the letter said. “We urge you to honor your promises and not alter the protections that previous presidents have put in place to safeguard these national monuments.”

Below is the full letter:

Dear Mr. President,

We are writing you to express our deep concern with your Executive Order directing the Department of the Interior to review prior national monument designations and propose changes to modify or retract protection of these lands. Sixteen presidents from both parties have used the authority under the Antiquities Act to protect iconic landscapes across the United States and preserve the natural, cultural, historical, and scientific values for the benefit of all Americans and future generations. During your campaign and during Secretary Zinke’s confirmation hearing, your administration promised to emulate President Teddy Roosevelt and his vision for conserving public lands. We urge you to honor your promises and not alter the protections that previous presidents have put in place to safeguard these national monuments.

These monuments are built upon the support of local communities and are economic drivers across the United States. Just yesterday, the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) issued the latest economic numbers detailing how the outdoor industry is helping drive our economy. It found that the industry contributes $887 billion in consumer spending, produces 7.6 million jobs, and creates $65.3 billion in federal tax revenue and $59.2 billion in local and state tax revenue. All of these figures have increased since OIA’s last study in 2012 and are critical indicators of the value of America’s protected public lands. In 2016, National Parks alone saw a record 331 million visits, contributing almost $35 billion to the U.S. economy. In addition, regions surrounding national monuments have seen continued growth or improvement in employment, personal income and increased per-capita income, and rural counties in the West with more than 30 percent protected public lands saw jobs increase by 345 percent compared to regions without protected lands. Weakening protections, modifying, or rescinding national monuments could damage the economy of local communities.

In addition, despite claims to the contrary, all the national monuments designated during the past eight years were designated after public meetings were held and input was gathered from local communities, and each of these monuments had broad local support. The people who enjoy these lands have actively participated in the public process leading to their designation. Outdoor recreationists, local organizations, scientists, and tribes with ancestral ties to these lands all worked with prior administrations to ensure these lands are protected at the scale necessary to preserve its special values. The public has shown strong support for national monuments. A Colorado College poll in 2017 reports 80% of western voters supported keeping protections for existing national monuments. Recently, OIA announced it would pull its trade show out of Salt Lake City because of efforts to rescind the Bears Ears National Monument. Americans care deeply about national monuments and their voices should be considered if you proceed with any potential changes to the monument designations.

Thus, we request that any process evaluating national monuments designated under the Antiquities Act should be conducted through an open, transparent and public process in which all Americans can participate and provide their information and insight. In particular, it is important that government to government relationships with federally recognized Indian tribes be maintained through meaningful consultation.