Trump's national monument changes return to spotlight
Source: Associated Press
Trump’s national monument changes return to spotlight
By BRADY McCOMBS and MATTHEW BROWN
March 12, 2019
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — As Democrats in Congress prepare to scrutinize President Donald Trump’s review of 27 national monuments, most of the recommendations made by ex-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke remain unfinished as other matters consume the White House.
Trump acted quickly in December 2017 on Zinke’s recommendations to shrink two sprawling Utah monuments that had been criticized as federal government overreach by the state’s Republican leaders since their creation by Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
But in the 15 months since Trump downsized the Utah monuments, the president has done nothing with Zinke’s proposal to shrink two more monuments, in Oregon and Nevada, and change rules at six others, including allowing commercial fishing inside three marine monuments in waters off New England, Hawaii and American Samoa.
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On Wednesday, the House Natural Resources Committee will host a hearing that the Democratic majority said will focus on the “inadequate” nature of the administration’s review. Democrats claim the move to shrink the monuments was illegal and overlooked overwhelming support for keeping them intact.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/bc07a5c0bcf8404782067f417ea8e946