The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah is being targeted by the Trump administration and supporters of California’s newest national monuments are wondering if they are next.

Congress is considering a resolution by Utah’s congressional delegation to overturn a resource management plan for the park using the Congressional Review Act. President Donald Trump has also said monument status should be revoked for Chuckwalla outside of Palm Springs and for the Sáttítla Highlands near Shasta in Northern California.

Chance Wilcox, California desert program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, said it puts a target on many national monuments across the country.

"That's a dangerous precedent," Wilcox contended. "If Congress is willing to undo this work of the people in Utah, it means that they'd be willing to go against the will of the people in California."

President Joe Biden used the Antiquities Act to create both Chuckwalla and Sáttítla Highlands National Monuments at the tail end of his term, the result of many years of planning and advocacy by tribes, environmental groups and local residents. The Act allows presidents to designate monuments but does not give them the power to revoke their status, which protects them from development. Both monuments are home to many endangered species and offer public access for recreation.

Wilcox argued protecting public lands should be nonpartisan and uncontroversial, especially for areas sacred to the tribes.

"This administration's actions feel like retribution towards anything that the Biden administration did in the name of conservation and also anything for the tribes," Wilcox stressed. "Both Sattitla and Chuckwalla were tribally led coalitions."

The Trump administration countered the land would be better managed by prioritizing economic activity like mining, logging, grazing and energy exploration.

Source: Public News Service