Zinke: no national monuments to be eliminated, but some could be altered

But there would be changes to a “handful,” he said.

Zinke told The Associated Press that unspecified boundary adjustments for some monuments designated over the past four decades will be included in the recommendations he planned to give President Donald Trump on Thursday. None of the sites would revert to new ownership, he said, while public access for uses such as hunting, fishing or grazing would be maintained or restored.

As stories of conservation groups opposing changes to the monuments were posted this week, a sea food industry representative reached out to me Wednesday and asked for people to look objectively at changes that might be made to some monuments’ boundaries.  He said the expansion of huge monuments in the Pacific, for instance, were done without serious consideration for the impacts.

That’s possible, and worth considering.

On the other hand, the review of the 1.6-million-acre Mojave Trails National Monument, created by President Obama, gets a little fishy. According to the Washington Post, Rep. Paul Cook, R-Calif., who represents the district where the monument is located east of Los Angeles, wants Zinke to allow mining claims there and to eliminate the southern portion, which includes private landholdings by firms such as Cadiz Inc. Cadiz is hoping to build a 43-mile pipeline that would transport water from an aquifer underneath its property to southern California, the Post reports, adding, “Until late last year, the company had retained David Bernhardt as a lobbyist in Washington. He is now the deputy interior secretary.”

Here’s more from the AP in light of today’s announcement by Zinke:

Zinke also spoke of protecting tribal interests and historical land grants, pointing to monuments in New Mexico, where Hispanic ranchers have opposed two monuments proclaimed by President Barack Obama.

Zinke declined to say whether portions of the monuments would be opened up to oil and gas drilling, mining, logging and other industries for which Trump has advocated.

If Trump adopts the recommendations, it would quiet some of the worst fears of his opponents, who warned that vast public lands and marine areas could be lost to states or private interests.

But significant reductions in the size of the monuments, especially those created by Obama, would mark the latest in a string of actions where Trump has sought to erode his Democratic predecessor’s legacy.

“There’s an expectation we need to look out 100 years from now to keep the public land experience alive in this country,” Zinke said. “You can protect the monument by keeping public access to traditional uses.”

The recommendations cap an unprecedented four-month review based on a belief that the century-old Antiquities Act had been misused by past presidents to create oversized monuments that hinder energy development, grazing and other uses.

The review raised alarm among conservationists who said protections could be lost for areas that are home to ancient cliff dwellings, towering sequoia trees, deep canyons and ocean habitats. They’ve vowed to file lawsuits if Trump attempts any changes that would reduce the size of monuments or rescind their designations.

Zinke had previously announced that no changes would be made at six national monuments – in Montana, Colorado, Idaho, California, Arizona and Washington. He’s also said that Bears Ears monument in Utah should be downsized.

The former Montana congressman declined to reveal specifics on individual sites in an interview with the AP. He offered no further details on his recommendations for the two New Mexico monuments – Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument and the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument.

He also struck back against conservationists who had warned of impending mass selloffs of public lands by the Trump administration.

“I’ve heard this narrative that somehow the land is going to be sold or transferred,” Zinke said. “That narrative is patently false and shameful. The land was public before and it will be public after.”

National monument designations add protections for lands revered for their natural beauty and historical significance with the goal of preserving them for future generations. The restrictions aren’t as stringent as national parks, but some policies include limits on mining, timber cutting and recreational activities such as riding off-road vehicles.

The monuments under review were designated by four presidents over the last two decades. Several are about the size of the state of Delaware, including Mojave Trails in California, Grand-Staircase Escalante in Utah and Bears Ears, which is on sacred tribal land.

Many national monuments were later declared national parks. Among them were Zion National Park in Utah and Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

No other president has tried to eliminate a monument, but some have trimmed and redrawn boundaries 18 times, according to the National Park Service.

Many times, presidents reduced monuments only slightly, like when Franklin Roosevelt removed about 52 acres from Arizona’s Wupatki National Monument in 1941 to make way for a dam. But occasionally the changes were drastic, like President Woodrow Wilson’s move in 1915 to cut Mount Olympus National Monument roughly in half to open more land for logging.

Environmental groups said the 1906 Antiquities Act is intended to shield significant historical and archaeological sites, and that it allows presidents to create the monuments, but only gives Congress the power to modify them.

The Latest on a review of possible changes for U.S. national monuments protecting wilderness and ocean (Mountain Daylight Time):

1:10 p.m.

Hawaii commercial fishing advocate Phil Fernandez said his group isn’t encouraging the administration of Donald Trump to change the boundaries of the sprawling marine national monument President George W. Bush created in Hawaii in 2006 and President Barack Obama expanded last year.

But Fernandez, the president of the Hawaii Fishermen’s Alliance for Conservation and Tradition, says his group believes the area Obama added to the monument should be opened to commercial fishing.

He says Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument waters are prime grounds for tuna used in sushi and poke bowls, bigeye and yellowfin.

He adds that allowing fishing by U.S. operators would help keep opportunistic foreign fishing boats out of the remote area that the U.S Coast Guard cannot patrol effectively.

12:30 p.m.

Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye says he’s relieved that that none of the 27 national monuments under review by U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have been recommended for elimination.

Begaye says “it’s good that none of the monuments will be canceled.”

He says his tribe that has the largest American Indian reservation is willing to be patient with the monument review because it worked for years to help get Bears Ears National Monument in Utah designated as a national monument.

Begaye adds: “We are very hopeful the secretary listened to our people, to our leaders, to our medicine people, to our elders and he will take all those comments to heart and leave the monument as is.”

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11:55 a.m.

A Utah Republican state lawmaker who wants the status of Bears Ears National Monument rescinded says he can “live with” a size reduction to the 2,100-square mile (5,500-square kilometer) monument if it’s among recommendations by U.S. Secretary Ryan Zinke to President Donald Trump.

Rep. Mike Noel says that would be a good compromise that would bolster tourism with a new, appropriately sized national monument while still allowing the lands to be used for other activities that locals have been doing for generations.

Noel says Zinke’s recommendation for undisclosed changes to a handful of monuments indicates the recommendations will be reasonable and address conflicting views over the monuments’ future.

He accused environmentalists of being selfish in insisting on no changes for the monuments.

Noel is among those who want economic activity like timber harvesting and mineral production on land where it is not currently allowed because of monument rules.

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11:15 a.m.

Environmental groups are roundly condemning recommendations for changes to some U.S. national monuments.

League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski says Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s review of the national monuments “has been a complete sham” and a pretext for “selling out our public lands and waters” to the oil industry and others.

Ben Schreiber, senior political strategist at Friends of the Earth, says Zinke’s action is illegal and “he can rest assured that his latest giveaway to corporate polluters will be litigated in the courts.”

And Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society, is urging President Donald Trump to “ignore these illegal and dangerous recommendations and instead act to preserve these beloved places.”

Twenty-seven monuments have been under review.

Zinke told The Associated Press he was not recommending that any be eliminated but that there would be changes to a “handful” without disclosing details.

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10:55 a.m.

A White House official says President Donald Trump has received U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s recommendations about national monuments protecting wilderness and ocean.

The official says Trump is reviewing Zinke’s “recommendations to determine the best path forward for the American people.”

The official was not authorized to publicly discuss a draft report and insisted on anonymity.

Zinke told The Associated Press Thursday he’s recommending none of 27 national monuments be eliminated.

But he says there would be changes to a “handful.”

– By Darlene Superville

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10:15 a.m.

A recommendation not to eliminate any of 27 U.S. national monuments protecting wilderness and ocean has not alleviated concerns from conservation and tribal groups advocating for total preservation.

Gavin Noyes of Utah’s tribal coalition Dine Bikeyah that pushed to preserve the Bears Ears National Monument on tribal lands in southeastern Utah says it is prepared to launch a legal fight against even a slight reduction in that monument’s size.

Defenders of Wildlife vice president of landscape conservation Mark Salvo says downsizing any national monuments would have a negative impact on fish, wildlife and plants.

He criticized U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for not making public a list of recommendations about the monuments.