Conservationists and outdoor groups have spent more than $2 million in ads pressuring Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to think twice about rescinding national monument designations, The Hill reported Saturday.
Trump signed an executive order in late April instructing Zinke to review any national monument created since Jan. 1, 1996 that spans at least 100,000 acres. The move, he said, would "end another egregious use of government power," referring to the 1906 law that gives a president the power to declare federal lands as monuments and restrict their use.
“We're all-hands-on-deck on monuments right now,” Aaron Weiss, a spokesman for the Center for Western Priorities, told The Hill. His group has launched advertising campaigns slamming the review and pressing for Zinke to maintain the designations.
“Clearly across the conservation world, recognizing this is completely unprecedented, I think that’s part of the reason why you’ve seen the scale of the response you’re seeing, he said.
Other groups advertising against the review include: Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, the League of Conservation Voters and the Western Values Project are also on the air, nationally and in the West.
“This review puts at risk our most precious and valued outdoor areas,” Jayson O’Neill, deputy director of the Western Values Project told the Hill.
“As Montanans know, we rely on those public lands for most of our recreation activities. … Those are areas where we get out and get an opportunity to get away.”
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