Subscribe to Receive the Daily Report

Monday, June 3rd, 2019

U.S. Sees Largest Reduction of Protected Lands in History Under Trump

Author:     PETER WADE
Source:     Rollingstone
Publication Date:     JUNE 2, 2019 5:10PM ET
 Link: U.S. Sees Largest Reduction of Protected Lands in History Under Trump
Stephan:   As I write this Donald Trump has a 42.5% approval rating, and 90% of Republicans approve of him, and what he is doing. It is hard to explain how that could be true, but those are the facts so we are forced to conclude that a combination of stupidity, willful ignorance, White supremacy, and christofacism defines about 40% of the American population. Even if Trump is impeached, and I don't think the Democrats have either the integrity or the courage to do what the Constitution commands them to do, the results of this disastrous man and his administration will haunt the United States for generations. It isn't just his stupidity about climate change, his complete uninterest in regulating pollution, his racism, or any one of a host of other malfeasances. It is what he is doing with the public lands under his control. His two years in office have been devastating in that regards as this report spells out.

Grosvenor Arch, Grand Staircase, Escalante, Utah, Credit: /REX/Shutterstock

The Trump Administration is responsible for causing the largest reduction of protected public lands in U.S. history, according to a comprehensive study published this week in the journal Science.

In 2017, the study noted, President Trump enacted two of the largest reductions of federally protected lands, shrinking Bears Ears by 85 percent and Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument in southern Utah by 51 percent. Also in 2017, Congress voted to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and natural gas development.

By removing federal protections, the study said, Trump is opening up these lands to oil and natural gas companies. And while the 2017 reductions are now being argued in federal court, the study said, the government already has plans to downgrade or downsize nine more land and marine national monuments.

The study was conducted by 21 international scientists analyzing 200 years of data about protected areas. The scientists found that vast reduction of federal lands is a relatively […]

Read the Full Article