FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: August 24, 2017
CONTACT: Amy Hagovsky, Vice President, Communications
P: 202-365-5912 | media@nationalparksaction.org
Interior Secretary Recommends Dismantling America’s National Monuments
Arbitrary Process Could Result in Hatchet Job on Some of America’s Favorite Places
WASHINGTON – According to a news report today, and after an arbitrary review process lacking in transparency, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is recommending shrinking some of America’s national monuments. The review was conducted in response to an April 26 Presidential Executive Order, which instructed Interior to look at national monuments designated using the Antiquities Act.
Below is a statement by National Parks Action Fund Executive Director Kristen Brengel following today’s news:
“Like most Americans, we are extremely disturbed by Secretary Zinke’s decision to dismantle protections for our public lands and waters. These are places that were protected for very clear reasons, from scientific value to biodiversity to historic preservation. Yet they are being torn apart for very unclear reasons, and in what appears to be a very arbitrary, political process conducted behind closed doors.
“Every member of Congress should be on notice. Americans, their constituents, won’t take this news lightly. More than 2.7 million comments were received by the Administration, in support of park and monument protections. To endorse Secretary Zinke’s plan is to endorse taking away something that belongs to all of us. And in doing so, ignoring the millions of people who spoke up in support of the very places that define us. Protections for places as special and important as national parks and monuments shouldn’t be thrown away in a careless process.”
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About National Parks Action Fund
National Parks Action Fund (Action Fund) is the 501(c)(4) of National Parks Conservation Association. The Action Fund’s fundamental goal is to protect, restore, and fund the National Park System by informing the public about threats facing our parks, educating members of Congress about proposals to help parks, and influencing candidates’ positions to forward those proposals. Learn more at https://nationalparksaction.org.