In the last month, President Donald Trump, Congress and the Department of Interior have set a course to peel back safeguards on public lands, including national monuments and other designations that ban development and extraction.
On Monday, Feb. 3, on his first day in office, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued a series of orders
advancing Trump’s energy and environmental agenda. Among them was a broad order titled “Unleashing American Energy” which mandates a 15-day review of all public lands that have been withdrawn from drilling and mining development.
The order aims to meet the new administration’s goal of encouraging energy exploration and production on federal lands and waters as well as restoring multiple use on public lands.