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Rep. Rob Bishop Encourages Trump To Undo Obama's Potential Monument Designation

Bureau of Land Management

Utah Representative Rob Bishop is asking the incoming Donald Trump administration to consider abolishing any national monuments Republicans consider “excessive”.

In a release, Bishop’s office said the congressman met with members of Trump’s transition team Monday to discuss “potential policy options for the new administration and Department of the Interior”, including reactions to a possible Bears Ears National Monument designation in southeastern Utah. Five regional Native American tribes have called on President Obama to create the monument, but the proposal faces fierce opposition from many locals. In a statement, Bishop said, “Any monument designation that lacks local support, is excessive, or violates the terms of the Antiquities Act will be scrutinized and is easier to abolish.” He also noted that while the 1906 act grants presidents the authority to proclaim national monuments, it does not prohibit a president from abolishing any of his predecessors’ monuments. However, no president has ever tried to undo a designation unilaterally, and critics say such an attempt would result in lengthy litigation. Environmental groups lambasted Bishop for pushing the idea. The executive director of the Center for Western Priorities, Jennifer Rokala, released a statement saying Bishop’s vision for the West is a place “where pumpjacks replace open space and where subdivisions replace hunting grounds.”

Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
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