Public lands need a champion. Is it you?
Our public lands need a champion. Will you show your support on Facebook for some of America’s most treasured — and ecologically important — places?
Sunset reflection atop Soda Mountain in Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Photo: BLM (CC BY 2.0)
This past spring President Donald Trump ordered an unprecedented — and frankly alarming — review of federal protections for 27 national monuments. The goal: to find more opportunities for mining, drilling and other environmentally destructive practices on America’s most treasured public lands. 1
The president’s order followed a number of concerning moves by the administration, including reduced staffing and budgets at the Department of the Interior and a reversal of the Obama-era moratorium on new leases to extract coal from public lands. 2 But the threats to public lands continue to mount.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has already recommended shrinking the size of Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument. His recommendations for the other national monuments under review are expected later this month. 3 Unfortunately, even more threats to public lands are looming on the horizon. 4
Our public lands are part of America’s heritage and we must protect them. To succeed, we need to show our support for keeping America’s public lands in the American public’s hands.
Public lands belong to all of us
These are are all of our lands. They don’t just belong to those who would profit from more mines, logging roads, or oil and gas wells. They are the birthright of every living American — and their care is our responsibility to future generations.
Monuments like Nevada’s Gold Butte National Monument offer important insights into the indigenous cultures that shaped America long before Europeans arrived on our shores. And places like California’s Giant Sequoia National Monument are woven into the fabric of our American story.
Each of the 27 monuments under review is rich in natural beauty and a dazzling array of wildlife. From the sight of mighty bighorn sheep in Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument to the awe-inspiring views to be found within Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, these are cherished — and ecologically important — places. 5
Unfortunately, each of these one-of-a-kind places could also be sacrificed in the name of new mining, drilling, logging and other destructive development of our public lands.
How you can help protect our public lands
You can make a difference by clicking any (or all) of the images below to share them on Facebook. You’ll let all your friends and family on Facebook know just how important it is to protect our public lands.
Time is short.
We need to let as many people as we can know about the importance of our public lands before President Trump and Interior Secretary Zinke make their announcement. The administration seems poised to barrel ahead with their shortsighted plan to industrialize some of America’s most treasured places, so we need to get the word out right now.
Recommendations from the Trump administration’s unprecedented monument review could come within days and new threats are looming on the horizon, but Environmental Action’s work is far from finished.
The decisions made by this administration about our national monuments and other public lands could impact our natural treasures for decades to come. And we still need your help to build support for keeping our public lands in public hands. Will you spread the word for our public lands today?
Notes:
1 “Trump orders review of national monuments, vows to ‘end these abuses and return control to the people,’” The Washington Post, April 26, 2017.
2 “Under Trump, coal mining gets new life on federally-owned land,” The Seattle Times, Aug. 6, 2017.
3 Zinke, Ryan. “Interim Report Pursuant to Executive Order 13792,” US Department of the Interior June 10, 2017.
4 “Could Trump dismantle the American West?” High Country News, May 9, 2017.
5 “All 27 national monuments under review,” ABC News, retrieved online Aug. 9, 2017.