News releases are declaring that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has recommended to President Trump that 6 National Monuments be reduced - at least 2 significantly, Bears Ears in Utah and Gold Butte in Nevada. Despite public comments resoundingly in favor or the current boundaries, the Secretary is siding with opponents of protection of important natural and cultural places in favor of development for the oil and gas industries. - No word yet from the Whitehouse.
Thank you for your comments to the Department of the Interior to save our National Monuments designated over the past 20 years by three different Presidents. The DOI received over 1.2 million email comments and many additional letters. We know that most Nevadans support the National Monuments designated by President Obama in Nevada and, indeed, all National Monuments designated since the time of President Teddy Roosevelt that now form the backbone of our National Parks and Wildlife Refuges.
Petroglyphs in Gold Butte National Monument (D. Ghiglieri)