Grand Canyon

Zinke’s Report Recommends Downsizing or Loosening Restrictions in 10 National Monuments

Report Lacks Details on Boundaries but Recommends Management Changes to Permit Wider Range of Uses

Late last night, the Washington Post reported that Secretary Ryan Zinke had recommended making changes–by downsizing and/or by loosening restrictions–to a total of 10 national monuments. The list of monuments goes beyond what had been reported last month. The Post released a leaked copy of Zinke’s recommendations that were submitted to President Trump on August …

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The Trump Administration’s Arbitrary Review of National Monuments

Zinke’s review has been anything but transparent

Last Thursday, Secretary Zinke submitted a report to President Trump, recommending changes to national monuments. Although Trump’s Executive Order in April called for a “final report” within 120 days–the deadline was Thursday–the Interior Department’s press release called the report a “draft.” And as Holly Doremus explained on this blog, it has still not been made …

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A Century of Bipartisan Effort

Over 110 years, Presidents of both parties have worked to save national monuments.

Let’s take a break from the bitter partisan warfare and celebrate a bipartisan triumph: preserving numerous national monuments by presidents of both parties. This effort includes creation of 1.6 million square miles of marine preserves by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. It’s impressive just how many of our Presidents have been involved in …

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Should the national parks allow sales of water in plastic bottles?

In May 2010, Grand Canyon National Park announced that as of January 1, 2011, it would no longer allow sale of water in small plastic bottles at park concessions. The park hoped the ban would reduce the costs of dealing with tossed water bottles; the New York Times reports that disposable plastic bottles account for a …

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