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Donald Trump has said he will shrink the size of two national monuments in Utah - opening up more land to drilling and mining companies but overriding the concerns of Native Americans.
The two Utah sites, Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument were among several US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recommended reducing in order to make way for more industrial activity on the land they occupy.
Senator Orrin Hatch said he had been informed of the news by the President.
“I was incredibly grateful the President called this morning to let us know that he is approving Secretary Zinke’s recommendation on Bears Ears," Mr Hatch said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
His spokesman, Matt Whitlock, told the news agency Mr Trump told Mr Hatch he was approving shrinking the two monuments “for you, Orrin”.
Ron Reagan: Trump is a "deeply damaged human being" Mr Trump met with Mr Zinke in the Oval Office on Friday. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, asked whether Mr Zinke briefed Mr Trump on his Bears Ears recommendation during their meeting, said she did not want to get ahead of the president’s announcement.
Show all 24 1 /24National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Joshua Trees in the Mojave Trails, California Encompassing 1.6million acres, this monument includes mountain ranges, sand dunes and ancient settled lava, meaning it is studded with gems and minerals. The Mojave Trails make up 105-miles of Route 66.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, Maine
This is the Atlantic Ocean’s first marine national monuments, and covers almost 5,000 square miles of underwater canyons and mountains off the coast of New England. It was named a national monument in September 2016, shutting off commercial fishermen. The act protects resources and species including whales, deep-sea corals, Kemp's Ridley sea turtles (left), and deep-sea fish.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Bears Ears National Monument, Utah
Bear Ears is a 1.3million acre monument characterised by cliffs, plateaus, rock formations, rivers and canyons, and is the site of an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites, including ancient cliff dwellings. It was created in December 2016, in what was hailed as a victory by Native American tribes and conservationists but a blow to Republicans who wanted to area open for energy developments. The land is considered sacred to a number of tribes, who visit the area to collect herbs and wood for medicinal and spiritual healing, as well as to perform rituals.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Sand to Snow, California Over 240 species of birds and 12 wildlife species that are endangered and threatened live on what the Bureau of Land Management describes as one of the most biodiverse areas of Southern California. Unfolding across 154,000 acres of land, the monument includes thirty miles of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, used for camping, hiking, hunting, horseback riding, and skiing.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Basin and Range, Nevada This area - which is about twice the size of the city of Los Angeles - gets its name from its typography, which abruptly alternates between mountain chains and flat valleys that are comparable to the moon’s surface. The monument covers 704,000 and encompasses desert mountains and valleys, as well as Native American rock at and sites. It was designated in 2015
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Berryessa Snow Mountain, northern California The monument comprises of 330,780 acres of land, and includes the Cache Creek Wilderness. It was designated as a national monument in in 2015. It is the habitat of animals including bald and golden eagles, black bears, mountain lions, tule elk, black-tailed deer, norther spotted owls, as well as salmon and some of the world’s rarest plants. Native American tribes have lived in the area of 11,000 years.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Organ Mountains Desert Peaks New Mexico’s Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks covers 496,000 acres of land, and includes canyons, mountains and the Chihuahua Desert. It was used to train WWII bomber pilots and crews for NASA’s Apollo space program.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Rio Grande del Norte The Rio Grande del Norte National Monument is made up of rugged plains that are 7,000 above sea level which spread across 242,500 acres of land. The topography includes volcanic cones - including the Ute Mountain which stands at 10,093ft - canyons, and rivers. People have been living in the area since prehistoric times.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, Northern Mariana Islands and Guam The monument established in 2009 protects 95,216 square miles water in the Mariana Archipelago, which consists of submerged islands and volcanic sites.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Pacific Remote Islands Soldierfish swim off Baker Island, which are part of the Pacific Remote Islands. This collection of islands became the most widespread collection of marine and terrestrial life protected areas on the planet under a single country's jurisdiction when it was designated in 2009.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Papahanaumokuakea, Hawaii Papahanaumokuakea is the world’s largest marine protected area, and is almost double the size of Texas. The remote area stretches 583,000-sq miles, and is home to tuna and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal among others.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Upper Missouri River Breaks Designated in 2001, the monument protects badland featuring rock outcroppings, steep bluffs and grassy plains.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Sonoran Desert The desert has an area of 100,000sq miles and covers parts of Mexico, Arizona, California, Sonora, Sinaloa, and Baja California, and is the habitat of unique plants and animals including the organ pipe cactus.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Carrizo Plain The grassy plain sitting to the northwest of Los Angeles is 50miles long and 15miles wide in some parts. It was designated in 2012 because of its archaeological value.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Vermilion Cliffs, northern Arizona and southern Utah This monument has an intense red colour thanks to the iron oxide in its deposited silt and dunes. It was designated a monument in 2000.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona President Clinton declared the Ironwood Forest a monument in 2000. It covers 188,619 acres and is home to endangered animals, plants, as well as the ironwood trees which give it its name.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Hare Handford Reach, Washington This area is named after the bend in the free-flowing area of the Columbia River. It was designated a monument in 2000.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Canyons of the Ancients Designated a monument in 2000, its 176,056 acres feature archaeologically significant landscapes including the settlement of the Ancient Pueblo people in the 10th century.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Giant Sequoia In 2000, President Bill Clinton set aside an area around 328,000 of land in central California where giant sequoia trees grow. As he made the designation President Clinton said: "These giant sequoias clearly are the work of the ages. They grow taller than the Statue of Liberty, broader than a bus."
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Established as a monument in 2000, the area stretches across over 1million acres of land which has no paved roads or visitor services. It takes its name from the Paiut word meaning tanned elk hide, and features canyons, mountains and buttes.
Bureau of Land Management
National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Grand Staircase Escalante, Utah Encompassing almost 2million acres of land, the monument designated in 1996 features platueas, colourful cliffs, and canyons
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump San Gabriel Mountains This monument - established in 2014 - is not on the list of White House monuments under review, but meets Zinke’s criteria. It encompasses 246,000 acres of land.
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National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Rose Atoll marine National Monument The monument, established in 2009, covers 13,400 square miles in the South Pacific Ocean and encompasses a Samoan island. It is the habitat of creatures including rare giant clams and reef sharks.
National monuments reviewed by Donald Trump Gold Butte National Monument, Nevada Situated to the northeast of Las Vegas, this monument covers 300,000 of desert land which features rock art, sandstone towers and the habitat of the threatened Mojave Desert tortoise
Bureau of Land Management
“I can tell you he Trump will be going to Utah in the first part of early December,” she said.
The move has already been condemned by local Native Americans who say the land is sacred. They have threatened a law suit.
The Navajo Nation’s top lawyer said last month the tribe would sue the Trump administration for violating the Antiquities Act, a century-old law that protects sacred sites, cultural artifacts and other historical objects, if it tried to reduce the size of the Bears Ears.
The lawyer, Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch, said: “The Navajo Nation stands ready to defend the Bears Ears National Monument. We have a complaint ready to file upon official action by the President.”
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