Trump goes to Utah on Monday to announce more GOP predation on natural resources in favor of mineral exploitation and against the Earth itself. Because Trump is all about undoing Obama’s legacies, and if native peoples are subjugated also, then all the better, because Trump’s codetalking is all about oxymoronic wise use and as recent boorishness reveals, racial animus.
"It is no surprise that the Trump Administration is bowing to special interests, including the oil and mining companies, and these maps show how extreme his plans are for some of the most treasured and culturally significant lands in our nation," said Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society.
“President Trump's attempt to splinter and shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante would be the largest rollback of federal land protections ever," said Mark Salvo, vice president of Landscape Conservation at Defenders of Wildlife.
Bears Ears in particular features thousands of Native American archaeological and cultural artifacts.
"For us, Bears Ears is a homeland. It always has been and still is," the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition said. "The radical idea of breaking up Bears Ears National Monument is a slap in the face to the members of our Tribes and an affront to Indian people all across the country. Any attempt to eliminate or reduce the boundaries of this Monument would be wrong on every count. Such action would be illegal, beyond the reach of presidential authority."
www.ecowatch.com/...
President Trump will on Monday announce plans to slash the size of two US national parks (sic), provoking fury from environmentalists, Native American tribes and conservationists.
Leaked maps revealed proposals to shrink boundaries at Bears Ears national park from 1.3 million acres to 201,000 acres while Grand Staircase Escalante will be slashed by half to just under one million acres...
The changes will make way for oil and gas drilling, mining and other resource extraction activities in the beauty spot.