Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says the executive order, to be signed today by President Donald Trump, won’t jeopardize monuments or public lands for the purposes of private oil, gas and coal developers.  Zinke said the “Review of Designations under the Antiquities Act,” an order signed by President Theodore Roosevelt to protect natural resources, will direct Zinke to suggest modifications of monument designations from January 1996 to now.

 

KTVQ.com reports that the monuments bookending that time period are the Grand Staircase-Escalante and the Bear Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, both in Utah, and both declared monuments by Democratic presidents.  Zinke, a former Montana Congressman who describes himself as a “Teddy Roosevelt Guy”, said that he would abide by his declaration that he’s against transfer and sale of public lands.  Former President Barack Obama designated 29 sites and expanded existing national monuments.

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