"Reports that the Trump administration is eyeing six national monuments in the West for energy development drew promises Thursday that any reduction in a monument's boundaries would be met with a lawsuit.
According to the Washington Post, the administration was considering boundary shifts in Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon, Ironwood Forest, Chuckwalla, Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments to allow for energy development.
The monuments, located in California, New Mexico, and Utah combined encompass more than 5 million acres of public lands.
The newspaper, sourcing its information from two people familiar with Interior Department deliberations, reported that the department was reviewing geologic information to determine whether any commercial energy deposits existed within the monuments.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on his first day, issued a secretarial order calling for a review of all federal lands withdrawn from fossil fuel and mining development, including national monuments. At the same time, he tasked his assistants to "review and, as appropriate, revise all withdrawn public lands.""
Kurt Repanshek reports for National Parks Traveler April 24, 2025.
SEE ALSO:
"Trump Officials Consider Shrinking 6 National Monuments In The West" (Washington Post)
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