Trump Makes Unprecedented Move On National Monuments

FEATURING CASSADY CRAIGHILL – President Trump flew to Utah on Monday to make the biggest public lands related announcement of his tenure. Fulfilling a promise he made to the Utah Congressional delegation last year seemingly in exchange for their support of his campaign, Trump dramatically reduced the size of two major National Monuments.

Bears Ears, whose designation will be reduced by a whopping 85%, and Grand Staircase-Escalante which will be reduced by nearly 46%, were granted national monument status by Trump’s predecessors Barack Obama and Bill Clinton respectively. Both are coveted by fossil-fuel interests. No president has ever taken such an action before.

Here is an excerpt of Trump’s speech in Utah on Monday where he attempts to explain why he is reducing federal protections of the lands of the beloved monuments.

Read Greenpeace’s report ‘Area of protected land larger than California at risk from drilling under Trump’ at www.unearthed.greenpeace.org.

Cassady Craighill, media officer for Greenpeace USA covering climate change and energy.