Trump Slashes Two Utah Protected Areas by More than 90%
President Donald Trump on Monday signed executive orders slashing two national monuments in Utah to roughly a tenth of their current size, throwing open millions of acres of protected land to fossil fuel extraction and mining.
Trump signed the proclamations at a White House gathering flanked by Republican officials including Utah’s governor and two senators, who framed the move as an overdue correction of federal overreach.
“We’re doing something very dramatic and very important for the people of Utah and the people of our country,” said Trump.
“These monument designations are supposed to be the ‘smallest area’ possible to protect the antiquities, and these multi-million acre monuments that are bigger than the state of Delaware certainly do not fit that designation,” added Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
“We definitely care about protecting these antiquities and will continue to do so,” he added. (Read more from “Trump Slashes Two Utah Protected Areas by More than 90%” HERE)
