Leaked memo to Trump says to reduce size of monuments

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is recommending that two marine national monuments in the Pacific and four other national monuments be reduced in size, according to a leaked memo.

But the Papahanaumokuakea monument surrounding the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is not one of them, according to The Washington Post.

The memo from Zinke to President Donald Trump, which included changes to several other monuments, was first reported Sunday by the Wall Street Journal and later obtained by The Associated Press.

The Post said the two Pacific monuments affected are the Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll, both in the Western Pacific.

As provided by the Antiquities Act of 1906, national monument designations give added protections to lands revered for their natural beauty and historical significance with the goal of preserving them for future generations. Restrictions include limits on mining, timber cutting and recreational activities such as riding off-road vehicles.

In April, Trump issued an executive order calling for a review of 27 sites designated by former Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. The list included all four Pacific monuments.

Conservationists and cultural practitioners had expressed concern that the department could target Papahanaumokuakea for reduction. The monument was established by George W. Bush in 2006 and dramatically expanded to its current 583,000-mile area by Obama in 2016. It is the second-largest protected area on the planet.

The other monuments recommended for reduction include Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, Nevada’s Gold Butte and Cascade-Siskiyou in Oregon.

Several are about the size of Delaware, including Mojave Trails in California, Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah and Bears Ears, which is on sacred tribal land.

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

Zinke said last month that unspecified boundary adjustments for some monuments designated over the past four decades will be included in the recommendations submitted to Trump. 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.

He 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 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. It was not clear from the memo how much energy development would be allowed on the sites recommended for changes, although the memo cites increased public access as a key goal.

A spokeswoman for Zinke referred questions Sunday night to the White House, which did not offer immediate comment.

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.

The recommendations cap an unprecedented four-month review based on Trump’s claim that the century-old Antiquities Act had been misused by past presidents to create oversize 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 also said that Bears Ears monument in Utah should be downsized.

In addition to shrinking six monuments, Zinke recommends changes at several other sites, including two national monuments in New Mexico: Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and Rio Grande del Norte.

He also recommended changes to Katahdin Woods and Waters in Maine.

Jamie Williams, president of the Wilderness Society, said the recommendations apparently made by Zinke “represent an unprecedented assault on our parks and public lands” by the Trump administration.

“This callous proposal will needlessly punish local, predominantly rural communities that depend on parks and public lands for outdoor recreation, sustainable jobs and economic growth,” Williams said in a statement.

“We believe the Trump administration has no legal authority to alter or erase protections for national treasures. If President Trump acts in support of these recommendations, The Wilderness Society will move swiftly to challenge those actions in court.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.