Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** DOJ tells Trump he can erase national monuments
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Wednesday, June 11, 2025
View of Mount Shasta from Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in California. Photo by Bob Wick, used by permission.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice released an opinion ([link removed]) arguing that presidents have the power to undo national monuments under the 1906 Antiquities Act, going against an almost 100-year-old interpretation of the bedrock conservation law.
The White House specifically asked ([link removed]) the office to examine whether President Donald Trump could revoke former President Joe Biden's proclamations creating Chuckwalla ([link removed]) and Sáttítla Highlands ([link removed]) national monuments in California, both of which were protected at the request of Native American Tribes. Lanora Pettit, the opinion's author, wrote ([link removed]) , “We think that the President can, and we should.”
This position is a strong departure from a 1938 Justice Department opinion, which found that presidential monument designations are irrevocable and unchangeable.
“The Trump administration can come to whatever conclusion it likes, but the courts have upheld monuments established under the Antiquities Act for over a century,” said ([link removed]) Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala. “This opinion is just that, an opinion. It does not mean presidents can legally shrink or eliminate monuments at will.”
The reversal or shrinkage of national monuments is extremely unpopular among Westerners. Eight-eight percent of voters, including 81 percent of MAGA voters, support ([link removed]) keeping national monument designations made over the last decade in place.
** Quick hits
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DOJ tells Trump he can wipe out national monuments
Associated Press ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | Bloomberg Law ([link removed])
NPS parks get instructions on removing signs that depict ‘negative’ history
NPR ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
DOJ takes 'unprecedented' step in case of runner who took a shortcut through Grand Teton National Park
SFGate ([link removed]\)
US Forest Service chief asks wildfire employees who took voluntary resignation to ‘come back’
Vail Daily ([link removed])
Colorado towns take new approach to force oil and gas company to plug old wells
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
By removing invasive bullfrogs, scientists help Yosemite's native turtles recover
NPR ([link removed])
Wild bison crossing into Colorado from Utah gain protection under new law
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Kate Kelleghan and Laura Pineau become the first women to complete the Yosemite Triple Crown
Climbing ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” This is the equivalent of throwing a dart at the wall, then painting a bullseye around it.”
—Axie Navas, designation director of conservation programs & policy at The Wilderness Society ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@usfws ([link removed])
Meet the Chiricahua leopard frog 🐸
This desert-dwelling frog's homes are the springs, streams, and ponds across the arid landscapes of Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. Despite living in dry regions, it depends on reliable water sources to survive.
Listen closely and you might hear its distinctive call—a snore followed by a series of clucks.
Photo: William Radke/USFWS
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