Groups condemn Trump's latest Executive Order on national monuments

During the an earlier march, members of Gabriela-USA, a Filipino/American advocacy group, marched under the banner of climate change.

THE TRUMP administration issued a new executive order today (April 26) directing the Department of the Interior, led by Ryan Zinke, to review previous monument designations allowed under the 1906 Antiquities Act. 

According to White House officials, the review could bring “changes or modifications” that could open more public lands to fossil fuel extraction, harvesting of old growth forests or development.

“This is another unjust assault on our climate, environment and national heritage, a hallmark of the president’s 1st 100 days," said Rhea Suh, President, Natural Resources Defense Council. 

"These precious lands belong to all Americans. Our country holds them in trust for the benefit of all Americans, now and in the future. These monuments—and the resources and wildlife they protect—are worthy of ironclad protection because they are unique, and vulnerable to encroachment and destruction. President Trump should not try to strip away their protection. 

Indigenous leaders and climate activists have fought to gain monument designations for lands across the country to protect them from the fossil fuel industry. Areas like the Bears Ears National Monument, a 1.35-million acre area in Utah including sacred Native American lands, could be at risk for losing their protected status. 

Weeks before he left office, President Barack Obama used the Antiquities Act to create the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off of Hawaii.which spans 582,578 square miles just west of Hawaii. It is one of the threatened sites. For a complete list of 24 threatened national monuments, click here.

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National parks like the Grand Canyon exist because of the Antiquities Act, and any move by the Trump administration to revoke protections of designated monuments will likely face challenges in court.

Last week, in a move anticipating Trump's EO, the three minority Congressional caususes -- the Asian Pacific American, Black and Hispanic -- gave notice to their fellow member of Congress that they will fight any move to remove the special designation on that are historically significant to their communities. 

"Any attempt to curtail the President’s authority to protect these places or to remove protections already put in place by other Presidents is an attack on our shared history," they said in a joint statement.

According to Reuters, the national monuments order is the first of two executive orders on energy and the environment that Trump is signing this week. On Friday, -- the 99th day of his presidency -- he’s expected to sign an order aimed at reviewing rules related to offshore drilling and the designation of areas where offshore oil and gas exploration are permitted.

The public overwhelmingly supports protecting our national parks and monuments and on Saturday, April 29, thousands of people across the country and in Washington, D.C. are expected to join the Peoples Climate March to Trump administration policies like this one and stand up for climate, jobs and justice.

"The tens of thousands gathering Saturday to march for climate action will fight his attempted sellout, and to preserve these iconic public places and the American values they represent,” said Suh.

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Congress' minority caucuses unite to save treasured monuments

President Barack Obama used the Antiquities Act to create the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off of Hawaii.which spans 582,578 square miles

FEARING THAT Donald Trump will seek to undo the work of previous presidents in preserving national monuments, members of Congress' minority caucuses gave a heads up to their leaders in the House and Senate.

The Congressional Tri-Caucus – which is composed of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) – sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to oppose any efforts that would restrict the President’s authority under the Antiquities Act and that would eliminate or reduce the boundaries of any existing national monument.

Released on April 18, the International Day for Monuments and Sites, the letter urges the leaders to defend the Antiquities Act, a law enacted by Congress in 1906 that has preserved world-renown places like the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon. 

Used by the majority of Presidents since its enactment – eight Republicans and eight Democrats – the Antiquities Act is a time-tested, bipartisan tool that has helped tell our nation’s diverse story of struggles, hopes, and opportunities.

As the Tri-Caucus Chairs write: “A nation dedicated to the proposition that all of us are created equal must preserve and celebrate the full diversity of its rich culture and history. Any attempt to curtail the President’s authority to protect these places or to remove protections already put in place by other Presidents is an attack on our shared history. We urge you to stand against any proposal that would diminish existing national monuments or hamper the President’s ability to protect places that honor the contributions of all Americans.”

President Obama was criticized by Republicans for his use of the Antiquities Act to preserve places that are precious, irreplaceable resources for the American people.

Opposed by loggers, real estate developers and the big-business fishing industry, Republicans called Obama's actions to preserve these monuments "land grabs."

That Congress has utterly failed to do the right thing on behalf of communities, including the Asian/American and Hawaiian/American communities, clamoring for these places to be preserved is certainly not the president’s fault, nor is Obama’s subsequent intervention a sign that the Antiquities Act has spiraled out of control.

The letter is aligned with public opinion. In fact, a recent bi-partisan poll from The Colorado College State of the Rockies Project found that 80 percent of respondents supported keeping national monument designations. 

Recently, the Antiquities Act was used to designate the following sites as national monuments: Honouliuli National Monument, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad, Cesar Chavez National Monument, Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Freedom Riders National Monument, Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks.