President Trump will visit Utah in early December where he is expected to shrink the size of two national monuments – Bears Ears and Grand Staircase – that were designated under previous administrations.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced the upcoming visit at a briefing on Friday, hours after Trump met with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to discuss his review of various monument designations.
Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch said Friday that Trump told him he plans to change the size of both monuments, which have faced scrutiny from state lawmakers who want greater local control of federal lands.
“I was incredibly grateful the president called this morning to let us know that he is approving Secretary Zinke’s recommendation on Bears Ears,” Hatch told reporters.
“We believe in the importance of protecting these sacred antiquities, but Secretary Zinke and the Trump administration rolled up their sleeves to dig in, talk to locals, talk to local tribes, and find a better way to do it,” he added.
Trump ordered a review of more than two dozen monuments just weeks into his presidency, promising to end the “egregious abuse of federal power” his predecessors exercised by designating several of the monuments.
“The previous administration used a 100-year-old law known as the Antiquities Act to unilaterally put millions of acres of land and water under strict federal control,” he said at the time.
