The Hanford Reach National Monument is a swath of Eastern Washington land known for its white bluffs, diverse bird population, and 52 miles of riverfront along the Columbia. But the 194,000-acre monument might soon become known as a battleground in President Trump’s efforts to roll back environmental protections for some of America’s most revered landscapes.
Last month, Trump signed an executive order calling for the review of 22 national monument designations, launching a public comment period and unleashing a political debate. Trump should recognize the importance of these lands and eschew any desire to remove protections in exchange for the extraction of fossil fuels or the creation of mining activity. The monuments are pristine areas that provide numerous recreational opportunities along with a sense of an America that will outlast us all.
To begin with, Trump’s order was developed behind flawed reasoning. The president decried the monuments as “a massive federal land grab” and an “egregious abuse of federal power” while saying the move would “give that power back to the states and the people, where it belongs.” In truth, the lands have been owned by the federal government since the nation’s westward expansion. The areas simply have had their designations altered over the years under the Antiquities Act of 1906.
While that legislation provides presidents with the ability to designate national monuments, there seemingly is nothing that allows them to reclassify those monuments. Therein lies the second flaw in Trump’s plan, and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson plans to exploit that if the Hanford Reach is targeted. “If President Trump attempts to harm Washington’s national monuments, my office will defend them,” Ferguson wrote in a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. “No president has ever claimed the authority to revoke National Monument status. The reason is simple: The act does not contemplate any such revocation, and to do so would be contrary to the language of the statute . . .”
