DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus 'They've threatened your hearts': Trump shrinks two national monuments in Utah

https://www.yahoo.com/news/theyve-threat...-202940553.html

President Trump flew to Utah Monday to announce that he is cutting some two million acres from two national monuments in the state to make way for oil drilling, mining, and other development.


Trump signed two presidential proclamations during his appearance, one removing protection from about 85 percent Bears Ears National Monument, which covers 1.3 million acres and was created by Barack Obama in late 2016. Grand Staircase Escalante, which covers 1.9 million acres and was created by President Bill Clinton in 1996, will be cut by roughly half.

“With the action I’m taking today, we will not only give back your voice over the use of this land; we will also restore your access and your enjoyment,” Trump said during a speech in Salt Lake City. “Public lands will once again be for public use. Because we know that people who are free to use their land and enjoy their land are the people most determined to conserve their land.”

In a moment reminiscent of Trump’s campaign rallies, the Rolling Stones’s “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” blasted through the sound system after he signed the proclamations.

FILE - In this undated file photo, the Upper Gulch section of the Escalante Canyons within Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument features sheer sandstone walls, broken occasionally by tributary canyons. Utah has long stood out for going far beyond other Western states in trying to get back control of its federally protected lands. When President Donald Trump on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, announces he's going to shrink two national monuments in the state, his warm welcome will stand out in a region that is normally protective of its parks and monuments. (AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File)
The Upper Gulch section of the Escalante Canyons within Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument features sheer sandstone walls, broken occasionally by tributary canyons. (Photo: AP/Douglas C. Pizac)
The Republican president touted the decision as a victory for state’s rights and economic development. He has accused his predecessors of undermining the oil and gas industries by blocking off unnecessarily large swathes of land. But critics say the move shows a lack of concern for combating climate change, protecting the environment and preserving America’s natural beauty for future generations. Indian tribes say the Bears Ears land includes sites of religious and archaeological importance.

Trump argued that residents of Utah know how to take care of their land far better than bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. He said Americans should put their national treasures to “great and wonderful use.”

“Your timeless bond with the outdoors should not be replaced with the whims of regulators thousands and thousands of miles away,” he said. “They don’t know your land and truly they don’t care for your land like you do.”

Introducing Trump, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said that he had been blindsided by Obama’s national monument designation of Bears Ears: “So I asked for [Trump’s] help in fixing this disaster. Without hesitation, he looked at me square in the eye and said, ‘We’ll fix it.’ For the next several months, I worked closely with the president and the White House on a plan to reign in the federal overreach at Bears Ears and the Grand Staircase.”


Arch Canyon in Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. On Dec. 4, President Trump signed legislation to shrink Bears Ears National Monument as well as Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. (Photo: Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
Native American communities were outraged by the announcement because several tribes consider Bears Ears sacred. The Hopi, Navajo, Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, and Zuni tribal governments have already organized to save Bears Ears — arguing that “at the very least,” Trump should have consulted with their tribes.

Natalie Landreth, an attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, said in a statement that the core issue surrounding Bears Ears is tribal sovereignty and self-determination.

“The Five Tribes that advocated tirelessly to create this monument did so to protect their ancient and modern cultural and spiritual importance,” Landreth said. “The fact that it is being revoked without any consultation, or even concern, for the Tribes is offensive.”

Anticipating this controversy, Trump expressed gratitude to members of the local Navajo community who attended his speech: “Really appreciate it. We are profoundly honored by your presence here today.”


Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke rides a horse in the new Bears Ears National Monument near Blanding, Utah, this past May. (Photo: Scott G Winterton/The Deseret News via AP)
National monuments protect public land of historic, scenic or environmental significance from certain kinds of development. Congress establishes national parks, but the president can designate national monuments under the Antiquities Act, which was signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt, a Republican and ardent environmentalist, in 1906.

“These abuses of the Antiquities Act have not just threatened your local economies; they’re threatened your very way of life. They’ve threatened your hearts,” Trump told the crowd. He asserted that a national monument designation prevents local communities from hunting or fishing or grazing livestock on the land. But the U.S. Forest Service says that hunting, fishing and grazing is already permitted throughout most of the monuments’ area.

Back in April, Trump ordered the Interior Department to review the 27 national monuments designated by previous presidents to see which designations he could overturn or reduce. A key item on Trump’s agenda is reversing any steps taken by Obama to protect the environment.

“As many of you know, past administrations have severely abused the purpose and spirit and intent of a century-old law,” Trump said.


The “Moonhouse” in McLoyd Canyon is part of Bears Ears National Monument, near Blanding, Utah. (Photo: AP/Rick Bowmer)
Before the announcement, Rhea Suh, the president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, condemned the Trump’s plans as “unprecedented” and “illegal.” She said presidents use the Antiquities Act to create national monuments so special lands and bodies of water can be protected for future Americans.

“This president thinks he can use it to destroy them, grabbing the iconic landscapes and marine areas all Americans own, and handing them over to polluters and private interests. He does not have that authority. We will stand up for the millions of people who’ve asked the Trump administration to preserve — and not rip apart — our national monuments,” Suh said. “What’s next, President Trump — the Grand Canyon? See you in court.”

Similarly, Gene Karpinski, the the president of the League of Conservation Voters, condemned Trump’s actions as the biggest attack on parks and public lands in U.S. history. He said in a statement that the administration is going beyond its legal authority, ignoring public outcry over archaeological treasures and undoing the hard work of Native American groups to protect their sacred sites.

“By opening up these national monuments to oil, gas and coal speculators, the Trump administration is proving once again that they only care about padding the pockets of their polluter allies,” Karpinski said. “An attack on one national park or monument is an attack on them all, threatening our outdoor recreation economy and undermining our nation’s commitment to protecting our natural heritage for future generations.”

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Republicans disgust me.

There's lots of Uranium in Utah.

Republicans used to be the party for the environment and protected land. Now a days, they just want to drill baby drill.

I can't go along with this. Leave our national parks alone!

"This land was made for you and me."


munnymunnymunnymunny.
all the time.
like there's nothing else in life.

He's taking what's ours and giving it to others who would rip it to shreds for what's hidden beneath/inside. THEY get to profit while we lose that which belongs to all of us.

I suppose we're supposed to wait for the trickle-down benefits from this, as well.

the wealthy need more resources, bro.

as always.

National Park lovers should applaud Trump's monument decision

By Jason Chaffetz


President Trump’s decision to reduce the size of the Bears Ears and Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah, announced Monday on his visit to the state, is a good one and an example of his policies that will benefit every American who enjoys national parks and monuments.

We should all thank the president for his administration’s efforts to look at the facts, listen to the people, and act to roll back restrictive and unnecessary national monument designations that provide few advantages to the American people.

While such designations may sound good on the surface, in reality they have strained land management budgets and limited public access to beautiful places.

The Trump administration has been on the ground listening to those who bear the burden of these decisions – unlike the Clinton and Obama administrations, which showed little interest in talking to local people before locking up millions of acres of land around them.

The Trump administration has seen firsthand what I saw when I represented some of these areas in Congress – that the consequences of locking down the West have been severe.

Overly expansive monument designations – like the two multimillion-acre monuments in Utah – could have been spent on existing park treasures.
I applaud the president for having the courtesy to do what his predecessors never did – visiting Utah personally to deliver the news that will positively impact those who love and care for these lands. His attention is a far cry from President Clinton making his Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument announcement from another state and President Obama issuing a press release with the wrong photo of Bears Ears.

The notion that our only option for managing public land is a restrictive monument designation is false. In truth, we can build bathrooms and fire pits, and accommodate hunting, fishing, grazing, and permit accessibility without destroying the land. In places where restrictive conservation rules are less justified, we can even authorize responsible resource extraction.

Each time the federal government levies new land designations, that new designation and management plan competes with existing parks and monuments for funding.

The National Park Service suffers from a $12 billion maintenance backlog – meaning crumbling buildings, roads, and bridges cannot be repaired or replaced. Overly expansive monument designations – like the two multimillion-acre monuments in Utah – could have been spent on existing park treasures.

In the case of Bears Ears National Monument, all of that land was already federal land mostly managed for conservation use. With President Obama’s monument designation, the maintenance fell to the already-strapped National Park Service. Many of these lands were once managed successfully by other agencies – like the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service – and can be again.

But freeing up more money for national parks isn’t the only advantage of Monday’s decision. Access to these places will be expanded, not restricted, as required in large-scale national monuments.

By lifting restrictions on motorized access, President Trump makes these lands available to more than just the able-bodied. With expanded access, the elderly, disabled and even wounded veterans can utilize bikes or off-highway vehicles to access spectacular places.

Furthermore, those who wish to use the land for other purposes – such as hunting, fishing, camping, and outdoor recreation – will now also have access.

For Utah Native Americans, this improved access is important. For centuries, they have used the land around the Bears Ears National Monument to hunt, gather, and worship. Many would come on foot while others would utilize off-highway vehicles to collect firewood, gather medicinal herbs or meet in specific locations for religious ceremonies.

The federal government could preclude these uses under a restrictive monument designation – as it has in Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly, Wupatki and even Utah's Natural Bridges.

Monument designations – particularly the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument – have been routinely abused in an effort to lock down resource-rich areas that do not meet objective criteria for preservation.

By unlocking these otherwise unremarkable areas, President Trump enables high-paying resource extraction jobs to return to rural communities – a process that not only helps local economic development, but reduces U.S. dependence on foreign imports.

Protecting our most beautiful places is important. But we don’t have to lock people out to do it. We don’t have to put further strain on federal land management budgets. We certainly don’t need to decimate rural economies. President Trump has done the right thing. All of us will be the beneficiaries of this decision.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/12/0...t-decision.html

ahh, another opinion article, which is worse because it comes from a congressmen.

you want to know why the whole article was a load of bull?




which is odd because:

https://www.friendsofcedarmesa.org/bears-ears-national-monument-faqs/

that's already allowed, just need a permit.

hunting is for the tribal groups there.

Trump sold it out to corporate thugs looking to make a buck by destroying the place for resources.

absolutely disgusting and indefensible.

Here's the first 2 paragraphs of 411 on former Utah representative (and seductive beaver), Jason Chaffetz:








...and here's the tag line on that bio. It tells you all you need to know about what you just read.




link

lol, makes sense.

his record is terrible. so obviously fox news wants him as a contributor.

They get only the best people.

Typical liberal/progressive response, ignore what is said and attack the messenger.

odd, cause we talked about the message first, then the messenger.

Yes I can see by the response of pig pictures that you guys gave it some thought.

What was written was FOXspin.
Written by a paid spin artist.

And it's all totally predictable boilerplate coming from your own personal echo chamber.

Don't be mad, bro.

See you found a pic of Trump without the hair piece...

Joel B. Pollak
@joelpollak

It begins... a Utah (!) crowd just chanted "Four More Years!" as Trump signed two executive orders. (It's only day 318.)
12:42 PM - Dec 4, 2017

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Coming from the people who voted for KILLARY ...

DISGUISTING ... and there gonna preach to us .. ...

j/c

Well Obama increased the size of these parks so of course Trump had an incessant need to undo it. What's new?