Friday, April 28th

(Adapted from Rogan's List)

Grand Escalante Staircase Photo by Bureau of Land Management [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Our National Parks and Monuments belong to the people of the US, and are not commodities that Trump can distribute to his cronies.

As reported this week by Reuters, "U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to allow national monument designations to be rescinded or reduce the size of sites as the administration pushes to open up more federal land to drilling, mining and other development."

Trump and his Republican colleagues are making the predictable argument that states, not the federal government, should have the right to decide "which land is protected and which is open for development." (read more here: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-interior-monuments-idUSKBN17S1MH)

31 senators, led by Tom Udall (D-NM), have sent an open letter to Trump objecting to the Executive Order.  In an unusual move, the clothing retailer Patagonia, has harshly criticized this action and has promised to sue the Administration:

“A president does not have the authority to rescind a National Monument. An attempt to change the boundaries ignores the review process of cultural and historical characteristics and the public input,” Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario said in a statement. “We’re watching the Trump administration’s actions very closely and preparing to take every step necessary, including legal action, to defend our most treasured public landscapes from coast to coast.” (read more here: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/330788-patagonia-threatens-to-sue-trump-over-national-monuments)

Action You Can Take Today

• Join the 31 Senators and Patagonia in telling Trump "Americans care deeply about the National Monuments and their voices should be considered if you proceed with any potential changes to the monument designations." We can let 45 know by sending him an email or calling him:  https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact.

• On Twitter, you can use the hashtag associated with critique of this Executive Order: #MonumentsforAll.
  
  
• And let's thank Patagonia for taking a stand to preserve our public lands.  
  
  Send a postcard to CEO Rose Marcario, Patagonia, 259 W Santa Clara St., Ventura, CA 93001 or call the corporate offices at (805) 643-8616 or send a tweet to @patagonia or visit them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PATAGONIA/