President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order that directs the Department of the Interior to review national monuments created by Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. That’s not only a brazen attack on the 111-year-old Antiquities Act under which those monuments were designated but also a barefaced betrayal of the American people.President Trump Twenty-seven of our national monuments are under attack.
The public has just weeks to make sure our lands and waters remain protected.
These imperiled monuments -- spanning from Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument to California’s Giant Sequoia National Monument -- celebrate our natural and cultural history. With each designation, the public has already shown widespread support for the protecting our forests, deserts, canyons, and underwater wonderlands. We cannot allow any efforts to rollback protections for our public lands and waters.
Six of the national monuments being reviewed are in California, including the newish San Gabriel Mountains National Monument just north of Los Angeles; Sand to Snow and Mojave Trails, also in Southern California; Berryessa Snow Mountain in Northern California; Carrizo Plain and Giant Sequoia in Central California.
What you can do
Let Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke know you stand with the monuments.
1. Tell the Department of Interior that the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument is a vital place to hike, reflect and find nature nearby for Southern Californians. We are coalition members with San Gabriel Mountains Forever. Take a minute to read the letter and add your voice to the cause.
2. Write a note about your personal experience in the San Gabriels or any other national monument that you have visited. Make sure you include how many times you visit and how valuable the public land is as a recreational resource to all. Best place to comment is here and here.
3. Let your senators and Congressperson know that you refuse to let these public lands be de-listed in any way. Go to Find Your Representative and Find Your Senator.