Trump Sets Sights on Rethinking National Monuments
Mary Kuhlman, Managing Editor
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
COLUMBUS, Ohio - An executive order expected today from the Trump administration could end protections for some historical monuments in Ohio and around the country.
President Trump is expected to order a review of all national monuments designated since the Clinton administration, including the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers Monument in Wilberforce. Nathan Johnson, public-lands director for the Ohio Environmental Council, said the monument commemorates the accomplishments of Young and the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers - African-Americans who served in U.S. wars.
"It preserves some really great Ohio history, some national history - and Charles Young was really one of the greatest Buffalo Soldiers in our history, one of the greatest military men in our history," Johnson said. "The Trump executive order could repeal some of the protections that are applied to this land currently."
Trump has said he wants to reverse what he sees as government intrusion and cancel job-killing regulations. About 20 monument designations could come under scrutiny, including the Fort Ord and Fort Monroe military monuments; the Stonewall and Birmingham civil-rights monuments; and the newest national monument, Bears Ears, in Utah.
Johnson said Trump's move would amount to an attack on the Antiquities Act, which gives presidents the authority to protect lands with significant natural or cultural value. He said it could set a precedent for the future.
"We're looking at a rollback of existing protections, many of which the Obama administration and the previous Bush administration put into place," Johnson said. "But unfortunately, we may as well be looking at this administration curtailing the ability of future administrations to protect these lands."
Since Congress passed the Antiquities Act in 1906, eight Republican and eight Democratic presidents have used it to establish national monuments. President Obama established the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers Monument in 2013.
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