These 13 National Monuments May Be ‘at Risk’ Of Losing Federal Protections, Advocates Warn

Trump declares energy emergency, vows to unleash US fossil fuels

Donald Trump says he wants to unleash U.S. oil and gas.

The Department of Interior is exploring ways to use federal lands for energy production, and national park advocates worry that could put some park sites at risk. 

Citing an executive order by President Donald Trump encouraging “energy exploration and production on Federal lands and waters,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered the department’s assistant secretaries to review current oil, gas and mining on public land and submit an action plan this month on ways to reduce “barriers to the use of Federal lands for energy development,” “offer more parcels of the public land for oil and gas leasing” within the limits of existing law, and more. 

“Everything's on the table till they take it off the table, and they didn't take anything off the table here,” said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of Government Affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, an independent organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the National Park System. 

Here’s what that could mean for national monuments. 

Both Trump’s executive order and Burgum’s secretarial order state the need for affordable and reliable energy for economic growth, decreased dependence on other countries, and more.  

They also cite the nation’s abundant supply of natural resources, but the president’s order says “burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations” have gotten in the way. 

The secretary’s order says, "By removing such regulations, America's natural resources can be unleashed to restore American prosperity.” 

Some of those regulations protect current park lands. 

There are 433 units within the National Park System. All of them are referred to as national parks, but only 63 of those have national park in their name, like Great Smoky Mountains and Yellowstone. Those 63 are protected in perpetuity by Congress.  

“So, this doesn't apply to every park unit, but it applies to anything that's still a monument under the Antiquities Act,” Brengel said. 

It’s worth noting, these monuments are not statues, as their names may suggest, but expansive stretches of land that have been set aside for natural and cultural significance. 

By cross-referencing Antiquities Act-protected parks with known oil fields and mineral locations on Department of Energy maps, NPCA identified 13 national monuments “at risk” of losing federal protections, including the nation’s first national monument established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, Devils Tower. 

Only some of them are managed by the National Park Service. Others are managed by other federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management or co-managed with tribal governments. 

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Trump ordered a review of federal lands protected under the Antiquities Act during his first term in office, then shrank Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante by roughly 2 million acres. 

At the time, he said, "These abuses of the Antiquities Act give enormous power to faraway bureaucrats at the expense of the people who actually live here, work here, and make this place their home ... With the action I’m taking today, we will not only give back your voice over the use of this land, we will also restore your access and your enjoyment.” 

Brengel said mining companies immediately swooped in. The move was later reversed by President Joe Biden, but Brengel warned of lasting impacts. 

“If they went in immediately and started to explore for minerals or oil and gas drilling, what happens is the infrastructure that's built around it is just as damaging as the drilling itself and the mining itself,” she said. “Especially in these dry, arid areas, it can take decades and decades for the area to recover.” 

When asked how national park sites would be protected and preserved amid energy exploration and production, the Office of the Secretary of the Department of the Interior pointed USA TODAY to the secretarial order issued Feb. 3 and related press release without additional comment.   

The press release noted the administration’s “Energy Dominance” policies guarantee an “opportunity for public comment and rigorous, peer-reviewed scientific analysis.” 

(This story has been updated to add video.)