Zinke Monument Announcement Thursday

No announcement. He gave his report to the White House, no timetable for it's release.

From the SL Tribune 2 hours ago -  http://www.sltrib.com/news/nation-world/2017/08/24/zinke-wont-eliminate-...

After a four-month review, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is recommending reductions to “a handful” of national monuments, including possibly Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — but no outright erasing of any of the 27 public land preserves under scrutiny.

Zinke submitted his recommendations to President Donald Trump Thursday, but in an interview with The Associated Press, the former Montana congressman declined to identify boundary changes he is seeking for some of the large monuments designated by Barack Obama and other past presidents under the Antiquities Act.

Nor did Zinke identify which monuments he proposes to shrink, although he has previously called for “right-sizing” the 1.3-million-acre Bears Ears in southeastern Utah and has named six monuments in other Western states that will remain unchanged.

Just when those details are released will up to the White House, and that may take awhile, according to Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah.

It is appropriate to give the Trump administration time to weigh Zinke’s report before divulging its conclusions and making a public statement, Bishop told reporters Thursday.

In announcing the national monument review in April, Trump echoed criticisms leveled by many Utah officials.

The president called the designations “a massive land grab” that “should never have happened,” offering a clue that he intended to wipe out some of Obama’s legacy by redrawing or undoing some of the large monuments he set aside.

“No President should use the authority under the Antiquities Act to restrict public access, prevent hunting and fishing, burden private land, or eliminate traditional land uses, unless such action is needed to protect the object,” Zinke said Thursday in a prepared statement.

“The recommendations I sent to the president on national monuments will maintain federal ownership of all federal land and protect the land under federal environmental regulations, and also provide a much needed change for the local communities who border and rely on these lands for hunting and fishing, economic development, traditional uses, and recreation,” Zinke said.

Without providing details on the potential changes, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch on Thursday denounced the Utah monuments as “a prime example of Antiquities Act abuse,” wielded by presidents to hand out political favors rather than protect objects of historic and scientific interest under the narrow confines intended by the 1906 Antiquities Act.

“What we have seen throughout the monument review process is a concerted effort to give the people of Utah a voice in the protection of Utah lands,” Hatch said. “I appreciate Secretary Zinke’s thorough and thoughtful review, and the efforts he made to ensure relevant stakeholders, particularly those in San Juan, Kane, and Garfield Counties, had an opportunity to be heard.”

Hope, Judit? Maybe that it can be delayed in the courts long enough to survive until some new politicians can come around. 

No one's sure of the mechanism by which these monuments can be altered. This is new territory. Hope it doesn't land in the hands of the Supremes. 

Years ago, I added an additional verse when I sing Bob Marley's "Redemption Song". I guess that might sum it up.

As I look out or' these canyons                   A spirit enters me

Takes me to peaceful places         far from the reality 

of Utah's politicians,                 whose hearts are filled with greed.

No matter what they do or say       they can't take this spirit from me.

Thanks Judit and DNB.

Pat Bagley in tomorrow's Tribune.

Part of a statement issued by SUWA yesterday.    https://suwa.org/secretary-zinke-continues-attacks-bears-ears-grand-stai...

It’s outrageous that after 99% of the more than 2.8 million comments received by the secretary supported keeping our monuments protected, Secretary Zinke is still recommending that the president illegally attack our national treasures.

The truth is, President Trump doesn’t have the legal authority to modify a national monument. If Trump follows Zinke’s recommendations, SUWA’s attorneys—working in concert with our partners from around the country—will quickly challenge his illegal action in court.

To avoid years of costly litigation, President Trump would do well to simply throw Secretary Zinke’s report in the White House trash.