Trump takes another illegal action against protected monument areas

A proclamation issued by President Trump today threatens the fate of national monuments, and a bedrock conservation law, by using an unprecedented attempt to undermine the Antiquities Act. The President traveled to Maine to meet with a small group of fisherman and issued what is believed to be an illegal proclamation that would open the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Marine Monument to commercial fishing. These limits were put in place for these sensitive ocean areas in 2016 to protect deep-sea coral, a number of fish species, endangered whales, and rare seabirds.

Today’s proclamation comes on the heels of other anti-environmental protection efforts by the President that would shut-down public input and environmental review of infrastructure and major development projects.

The following statement is from Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society:

"At a time when our country is in need of healing and unity we are once again watching bad decision-making rip apart science-based protections in the face of overwhelming public opposition. It's appalling that President Trump is taking illegal actions to gut environmental protections for our ocean treasures – protections that ensure these waters will be healthy and safe for future generations.

“To be clear – he is also threatening the very law that has guided protection efforts for 100 years – the Antiquities Act. A little over two years after the largest rollback of public lands protections in history, President Trump has doubled down.

“Instead of showing real leadership to address the profound public health and economic crises and systemic inequity in our society, the President has made clear his priority is to push ahead his anti-environmental agenda and hand out favors to industry allies regardless of the circumstances or the law."

CONTACT: 

Dan Hartinger, National Monuments Campaign Director, The Wilderness Society,  (973) 980-4833 dan_hartinger@tws.org

Jennifer Dickson, Senior Communications Manager, The Wilderness Society, (202) 316-2555, jennifer_dickson@tws.org 

RESOURCES: 

Study : Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument designation had no discernible negative economic impact on fisheries;  Trump Administration officials conceded internally during the national monuments review in 2017.

Recent poll: Found that nearly all Americans (92%) believe government regulations are necessary to protect the ocean. Specifically, 95% of Americans support establishing marine protected areas—areas off-limits for fishing and commercial use—to protect ocean wildlife and habitats.

The Wilderness Society is the leading conservation organization working to unite people to protect America's wild places. Founded in 1935, and now with more than one million members and supporters, The Wilderness Society has led the effort to permanently protect 111 million acres of wilderness and to ensure sound management of our shared national lands. www.wilderness.org