In response to President Trump’s request for an auditing of national monuments, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recommended redrawing the boundaries of certain national monuments rather than a wholesale rescission of the monument status.

Details on the recommended cuts have not yet been publicized, though in the past few months, Zinke declined to adjust the boundaries of Idaho’s Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Washington state’s Hanford Reach National Monument, Colorado’s Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Montana’s Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, Arizona’s Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, and California’s Sand to Snow National Monument.

It is unknown when Zinke’s report will be released to the public, but the Department of Interior’s summary of the report indicates an emphasis on shrinking national monument sites that have no scientific or rational basis for the expansive boundaries. The report notes that the boundaries of several monuments were “either arbitrary or likely politically motivated” and the boundaries “could not be supported by science or reasons of practical resource management.”

Governors and legislatures of several states, particularly those in the West where public lands are abundant, have opposed the unilateral designation of national monuments by President Obama under the Antiquities Act. Activities on national monument sites are severely curtailed, with ranching, oil and gas exploration, and even some recreational public access restricted. President Trump has reportedly considered rescinding national monument designations, though the legality of doing so is unclear and certain to be met with litigation.

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