Congressman Paul Cook of Yucca Valley was one of 17 members of Congress who sent a letter last month to the Secretary of the Interior, urging him to rescind or reduce in size 23 of 27 national monuments created under the Antiquities Act. Secretary Ryan Zinke is reviewing the national monuments after Donald Trump issued an executive order in April ordering the review of national monuments created since 1996 that are larger than 100,000 acres. Two of the national monuments under review are in our area: Mojave Trails, and Sand to Snow National Monuments. Cook and the 16 other congressmen recommended that Sand to Snow National Monument remain unchanged. However, they wrote that the 1.6 million-acre Mojave Trails National Monument, which surrounds the southern half of the Mojave National Preserve, be “confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” Prior to its designation as a national monument by President Obama in 2016, Mojave Trails was a congressionally designated wilderness of 350,000 acres. The congressmen recommended that 10 national monuments be completely rescinded; eight reduced in size to “the smallest area compatible,” three reduced to specific sizes, and no changes to four national monuments.
The congressmen’s letter can be seen at
https://www.mdlt.org/docs/6-30-17_Letter_to_Zinke_Antiquities_Review.pdf
