Accountability office asked to investigate Interior Department misuse of funds for monument leasing plans
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Utah
Eric Bennett
Wilderness Society statement in response to request of investigation into Department of Interior planning process for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Today Senator Tom Udall and Chairwoman Betty McCollum asked the US Government Accountability Office to investigate and provide a legal opinion on whether a Department of Interior planning process for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument -- initiated following illegal Trump Executive Action -- violates appropriations law under the Antideficiency Act. This request highlights continued unlawful efforts within the Interior Department to undermine national monument protections by moving forward plans for future leasing and drilling within original monument boundaries.
The request followed a Senate appropriations committee hearing on the FY2020 Department of the Interior budget where Senator Udall highlighted these concerns with new Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt.
The following statement is from Nada Culver, Senior Counsel for The Wilderness Society:
“The Trump administration’s Department of Interior has a pattern of ignoring the law in their rush to sell out public lands for exploitation by private interests and the fossil fuel industry, and this planning process appears to be no different. Thankfully Senator Udall and Congresswoman McCollum are holding the Department accountable by asking the GAO to look into the Department’s likely violations in rushing forward plans to open up Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to drilling and mining.”
CONTACTS:
Dan Hartinger, National Monuments Campaign Director, The Wilderness Society, (202) 429-3943, Dan_hartinger@tws.org
Jennifer Dickson, Senior Communications Manager, The Wilderness Society, (303) 650-9379, jennifer_dickson@tws.org
The Wilderness Society, founded in 1935, is the leading conservation organization working to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places. 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
