American public opposes review of national monuments

Published 1:30 am Monday, August 7, 2017

In April, President Trump issued an executive order directing Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to review the designations of 27 national monuments. This unprecedented attack which could lead to drilling, mining and other harmful development on our public lands included the opportunity for Americans to offer their opinions of the monuments. June 10 marked the end of the comment review period, and more than 2.7 million comments were submitted, the vast majority of which were in support of our national monuments. It is clear that the Trump administration and Secretary Zinke are bowing to corporate interests instead of the American people.

Sen. Maria Cantwell has worked hard advocating for our national monuments. Recently, the Interior Department announced that Washington’s Hanford Reach had been removed from further review.

It is vital that we continue to fight against these attacks on our precious lands, which protect our history, culture, ecosystems and endangered and threatened species. We thank Sen. Cantwell for fighting to protect all of our monuments and all of our public lands.

Phoebe Sauter

Environment Washington

Seattle