The Trump administration apparently rolled back after the weekend, resolving the surprise and confusion, and issued an announcement implying that the president had revoked the creation of his predecessor’s order.
The confusion details the reversal of various Biden administration policies, referring to the rollback of President Trump’s memorial designation in a White House fact sheet posted Friday. On Saturday, reference to the monument was removed without explanation.
This change has made it unclear what its fate adjoining Joshua Tree National Park and Northern California.
However, the expectation that Trump intended to roll back the status of two California monuments led to immediate responses from their supporters.
“The upheaval of Trump’s Chuckwara and Sattila National Monuments is a horrifying attack on the public land system.
“Both of these monuments were spearheaded by local tribes, with overwhelming support from local and local communities, including business and recreationalists,” Anderson said in a statement. “This vindictive and unjust act is a slap in the face for all supporters of the tribe and public land.”
The prospect of a potential rollback was a February 3 order by Trump’s Interior Secretary Doug Burgham, which directed his assistant professor’s secretary to “examine and amend all withdrawn public lands as needed.”
The directive was part of a drastic secretary order called to help federal land and water resources extraction.
Spanning over 224,000 acres of lush forests and pristine lakes near the Oregon border, Sattitra is being explored for the development of geothermal energy.
The 640,000 acres south of Joshua Tree National Park were able to target water beneath the sturdy desert floor, former councillor Donald Medart Jr. of the Yuma Kuekan Indian Tribal Fort told the Times this month. His tribe was one of those who promoted the designation of the monument.
“Drawing all that groundwater would leave a devastating impact on our area,” said Medart, a tribal engagement specialist at a consulting firm.
Supporters of the two new California Monuments see extraction as a bad trade-off.
“The small amount of minerals in these areas are not worth destroying precious wildlife habitats, sacred tribal lands and world-class recreation,” Anderson said.
The series of events began Friday, when the White House website summarises an executive order signed by Trump, saying, “The second round of harmful administrative measures issued by previous administrations, will continue our efforts to reverse harmful policies and restore effective government.”
The New York Times reported in a blog post Saturday that the White House confirmed it had given up on creating two memorials to President Biden’s declaration. The report did not link to any specific Trump orders. The White House confirmed that Trump “plans” to withdraw the order.
Post a copy of the original fact sheet, indicating that the first point of the six bullets “constitutes the declaration declaring nearly one million acres of acres, a new national monument that traps enormous land from economic development and energy production.” The bullet was not on the fact sheet on Saturday.
Although this item did not name the two monuments, the area figures fit mostly with the two new monuments in the state.
Attempts to change monuments in California and elsewhere will almost certainly warn lawsuits, conservation and environmental groups.
“This is straight from the Trump playbook to create chaos and confusion,” Biodiversity Center Anderson said in a follow-up email. “If Trump places these beloved California monuments on the chopping block, we’re there to protect them. This administration is seriously underestimating the depth of public support for these and other protected public lands.”
The administration’s legal authority to reverse the designation of monuments of its predecessors remains unknown after Trump stripped his protection from Marine Corps memorial off the coast of New England in his first term at two Utah memorials (Ear and Grand Staircase – Escalante).
When Biden and the issues were never resolved, the lawsuit challenging the cuts was still pending.
California has 21 national monuments that span the rough coastline more than any other state. It includes San Gabriel Mountains National Monument near Los Angeles, sand-to-snow-snow memorial to the east of the city, and Lava Bed National Monument in the far northeastern part of the state.
