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Hickenlooper says it’s ‘unlikely’ Colorado national monuments will face Trump-ordered review

By Ernest Luning 04/27/2017 | updated 8 years ago

Gov. John Hickenlooper said late Thursday that he’s confident that Colorado’s national monuments won’t be threatened as a result of an executive order signed this week by President Trump instructing his interior secretary to conduct a review.

Hickenlooper said he discussed the executive order Wednesday in Washington, D.C., with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and two other Western governors — Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval — and came away believing that the state’s eight national monuments will keep the designation.

“As a result of our long conversation, I have been reassured that it is unlikely any of Colorado’s monuments will be reviewed,” Hickenlooper said in a statement. “Our meeting as a whole was very positive, and the secretary committed to working with governors as equal partners.”

Trump’s order told Zinke to take a look at the two dozen national monuments designated since 1996 under the federal Antiquities Act by the last three presidents, including Colorado’s Canyon of the Ancients National Monument in the Four Corners region. Conservation groups and Democratic lawmakers — including U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet — sounded the alarm, warning that the review could lead to lifting the status, which protects the areas from development.

“The Antiquities Act does not give the federal government unlimited power to lock up millions of acres of land and water, and it’s time that we ended this abusive practice,” Trump said when he signed the order, according to The Washington Post.

Hickenlooper noted Thursday that protecting Colorado’s public lands — also including four national parks — “is a key driver of our outdoor recreation industry, which generates more than $34 billion in consumer spending and over 350,000 Colorado jobs. More than that, our public lands are a fundamental part of our identity as Coloradans and as Americans. Based on my conversation with Secretary Zinke, I am confident that the federal administration will work with the state of Colorado and our federal delegation to ensure our national monuments remain protected.”

— ernest@coloradostatesman.com

Ernest Luning

Reporter

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