Trump’s Interior Department recommends shrinking the borders of six national monuments
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is recommending shrinking the size of at least six national monuments — four on land, and two at sea, The Washington Post reported today. That includes the fiercely contested Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, according to a leaked draft of a memorandum Zinke submitted to the White House. Should President Donald Trump follow the Interior Department’s recommendations, the actions will likely lead to lawsuits.
The recommendations come after the Interior Department’s four-month review of 27 national monuments that were created since 1996. The review, requested by an executive order signed by Trump in April, covered about 553 million acres of land and sea in total. At the end of August, Zinke submitted the…