During his first term, Trump sharply reduced the boundaries of two monuments in Utah — Bear's Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — and stripped protections from a marine monument off the coast of New England to allow commercial fishing, the Times reported. Former President Joe Biden reversed the changes, but some believe the review will pave the way for similar actions in Trump's second term.
"Donald Trump made it clear on Day 1 what his priorities for public lands and waters would be, and these orders are the next step in his reckless ‘drill, baby, drill' agenda," Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club's Lands Protection Program, said in a Feb. 4 statement. "But … we won't stop until these lands and waters are protected for the next generation."