Monday, September 18, 2017

Trump's Navy Seal enters battle on national monuments...and sounds retreat

From the Washington Post:

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended that President Trump modify 10 national monuments created by his immediate predecessors, including shrinking the boundaries of at least four western sites, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Washington Post. The memorandum, which the White House has refused to release since Zinke submitted it late last month, does not specify exact reductions for the four protected areas Zinke would have Trump narrow — Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, Nevada’s Gold Butte, and Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou — or the two marine national monuments — the Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll — for which he raised the same prospect. The two Utah sites encompass a total of more than 3.2 million acres, part of the reason they have aroused such intense emotions since their designation. 

Of the 27 National Monuments Zinke was instructed to review, he is proposing significant changes to only three, or 11% of the total.

Those are the two in Utah, where he knew he had to make changes, and one in Oregon where they are being sued because it contains O&C lands.

The environmental groups who said this whole review was a "sham", were correct. Zinke used the review process to take care of a political problem in Utah, and the rest is window dressing.

The politcal ineptness of this is amazing. Even though Zinke has agreed with almost 90% of what Clinton and Obama wrought, Trump will still be subjected to the same amount of enviro and media criticism as if he made significant corrections.

Zinke's hero, Teddy Roosevelt, may have charged up San Juan Hill, but the Secretary has retreated behind the barricades of the establishment bureacracy.

Trump has said he wants to "drain the swamp", but Zinke has only offered the President a thimble to work with.

Overall, a shameful, politically foolish and cowardly recommendation for nonaction.

Embedded below is the proposed Document of Surrender:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8Yd5M8kgeNteXoxSFQwWmFEclU/view?usp=sharing

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