Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities

REI speaks out against Burgum's attack on national monuments

Friday, February 14, 2025
REI sporting goods store in Mountain View, California. Coolcaesar, Wikimedia Commons

In an Instagram post, outdoor recreation company REI came out against Interior Secretary Doug Burgum's recent order directing the Interior department to evaluate redrawing the boundaries of public lands protected from oil and gas drilling and mining. The company specifically mentioned its opposition to reconsidering the boundaries of America's national monuments.

“That’s why we’re calling on Secretary Doug Burgum to rescind the sweeping orders undermining the public lands enjoyed by millions of Americans each year,” the company wrote. We will not stand by as the secretary considers redrawing the boundaries of all public lands currently protected from fossil fuel and mining development—including 160 national monuments.”

The secretarial order is aimed at bolstering President Donald Trump's “energy dominance” agenda. It specifically directs the Interior department to “review and, as appropriate, revise all withdrawn public lands,” which includes millions of acres of American lands protected by previous presidents as national monuments.

Shrinking national monuments is widely unpopular among the public—only 27 percent of Western voters support removing protections on existing national public lands, and by contrast, 85 percent support creating new protected areas for outdoor recreation. Additionally, if Trump or Burgum attempt to downsize or erase protections for national monuments, it will be a move to score petty political points rather than lower energy costs for Americans.

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Quote of the day

”As we breathed the land, we found communion with it and each other.”

—Peter C. Eckhardt, Salt Lake City resident, Salt Lake Tribune

Picture This

@usinterior

Located just outside of Las Vegas, the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area offers visitors nearly 200,000 acres to experience unique sandstone escarpments, thickets of Joshua trees, beautiful flowers and the beloved desert tortoise.

Red Rock Canyon is considered one of the finest rock-climbing areas in the world. It features hundreds of established sports, bouldering and traditional climbs, with commercial guides and resources available, even for beginners.

Visitors must have a timed entry reservation for each day they plan to enter, October 1 to May 31, visit recreation.gov for more details.

Photo by Michael Balen
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