27 national monuments are under attack— Act now to protect them
Monumental Mistake
President Trump has issued a radical executive order aimed at shrinking protections for more than two dozen national monuments.
We cannot stand by and let Trump destroy protected lands that belong to all Americans. Read on to learn what’s at stake and how you can take action to defend America’s monuments.
TAKE ACTION: Defend all 27 monuments
27 monuments under attack
Upon Trump’s order, the Interior Department is “reviewing” 27 national monuments this summer. On the hit list are places as diverse as Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument, cherished by Native American tribes, to Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, beloved by locals for hiking, fishing and biking.
Trump’s order not only threatens to rob the American people of favorite places to hike, camp, fish and hunt, but it has the potential to erase special places that help us learn about our past and honor our history. More than that it sets a dangerous precedent for all monuments and parks.
The 27 monuments at risk — and how to defend them:
Check out our gallery of 27 monuments at risk, and tell the Interior Department before July 10 not to harm any of the 27 monuments on Trump’s review list. If you live a state where local monuments are threatened, your voice is especially powerful. Scroll through the gallery below to see which monuments are in your state, then click the action link in that section to send a specialized comment for your state’s monuments.
AT RISK IN ARIZONA: Send Trump’s team a comment to defend Arizona monuments:
- Sonoran Desert National Monument, home of saguaro cactus forests and a robust array of petroglyphs and rock art.
2. Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is home to slot canyons and other-worldly vistas that delight visitors.
3. Ironwood Forest National Monument is just west of Saguaro National Park. It protects rugged mountains, prized archaeological sites and habitat of tortoises and bighorn sheep.
4. Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument on the northern border of Grand Canyon National Park, is recognized as one of the best spots in the country to enjoy starry night skies.
AT RISK IN CALIFORNIA: Send Trump’s team a comment to defend California monuments
5. Mojave Trails National Monument sprawls between Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve. It includes the Pisgah Lava Flow, Marble Mountain Fossil Beds and the most intact stretch of historic Route 66.
6. Sand to Snow National Monument rests between Joshua Tree National Park and the San Bernardino National Forest. It’s home to the headwaters of the Santa Ana — Southern California’s longest river.
7. Giant Sequoia National Monument contains 33 groves of Sequoia trees, the largest organisms on earth, and a treat to see for anyone visiting the southern Sierra Nevada region.
8. San Gabriel Mountains National Monument offers L.A. residents a nearby forested get-away from the concrete jungle. It provides 70 percent of the scarce open space in Los Angeles county.
9. Carrizo Plain National Monument is known for its extraordinary wildflower displays. It is the largest single native grassland remaining in a western state.
10. Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, not far from the San Francisco Bay Area, is known for great outdoor recreation opportunities and abundant wildlife like tule elk and bald eagles.
AT RISK IN COLORADO: Send Trump’s team a comment to defend this Colorado monument
11. Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Located to the west of Mesa Verde National Park, this monument preserves ancient cliff dwellings of Ancestral Puebloans and one of America’s largest collection of archaeological sites.
AT RISK IN HAWAII: Send Trump’s team a comment to defend this Hawaii monument
12. Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument protects habitat for whales, sea turtles and tropical fish, while preserving important living laboratories to study the effects of climate change.
AT RISK IN IDAHO: Send Trump’s team a comment to defend this Idaho monument
13. Craters of the Moon National Monument. Here ancient volcanic eruptions transformed the landscape into a singular stretch of cinder cones and sagebrush.
AT RISK IN MAINE: Send Trump’s team a comment to defend this Maine monument
14. Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is New England’s newest national park unit. It protects vital habitat for moose, bear, lynx and Atlantic salmon.
AT RISK IN MONTANA: Send Trump’s team a comment to defend this Montana monument
15. The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument in Montana protects a dramatic landscape along the Missouri River and Lewis and Clark’s historic route that is largely unchanged since that time.
AT RISK IN NEVADA: Send Trump’s team a comment to defend these Nevada monuments
16. Gold Butte National Monument. Here dramatic rock formations mix with thousands of Native American petroglyphs, historic mining- and pioneer-era artifacts.
16. Basin and Range National Monument. Incredible recreation resources open to hunting, hiking, camping and riding off-road vehicles on designated roads. Like Gold Butte, it protects an array of petroglyphs.
AT RISK IN NEW MEXICO: Send Trump’s team a comment to defend these New Mexico monuments
17. Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument protects archaeological resources and stunning vistas of the Organ Mountains, named for its vertical rock formations that resemble the pipes of an organ.
18. Rio Grande del Norte National Monument boasts the stunning Rio Grande Gorge, a spectacle that plunges 800 feet from sage covered mesas down to the Rio Grande River. The monument ensures outstanding rafting and fishing in northern New Mexico.
AT RISK IN OREGON: Send Trump’s team a comment to defend this Oregon monument
19. Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is a wooded Pacific Northwest paradise that was the first monument designated to preserve biodiversity.
AT RISK IN UTAH: Send a comment to the Trump team to defend these Utah monuments
20. Bears Ears National Monument protects more than 100,000 archaeological sites and lands held sacred by Native American tribes. It’s also a prized area for climbers and mountain bikers. (n June, the Interior Department announced it is recommending parts of Bears Ears be revoked.
21. Grand Staircase-Escalante is home to an awesome array of geological wonders, including its spectacular staircase cliffs and terraces.
AT RISK IN WASHINGTON: Send the Trump team a comment to defend this Washington monument
22. Hanford Reach National Monument protects the longest undammed stretch of the Columbia River and the most productive spawning areas for Upper Columbia Basin Chinook salmon.
At risk in the Pacific Ocean
24. Marianas Trench Marine National Monument protects 95,216 square miles of submerged lands and waters in various places in the Mariana Archipelago.
25. Pacific Remote Islands
Nearly 1,000 miles southwest of Hawaii, this monument protects waters that host large populations of sharks, rays and other predatory fish, the depletion of which threatens ocean ecosystems across the planet.
At risk in the Atlantic Ocean
26. Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument protects fragile deep-sea ecosystems off the coast of New England, including a series of underwater canyons and inactive, submerged volcanoes.
27. Rose Atoll was established by President George W. Bush near the end of his time in office. It encompasses the Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, and is a nesting site for rare species of petrels, shearwaters and terns.
Trump’s attack on our monuments is an unprecedented event that puts all our monuments and national parks at risk to future threat. Americans need to stand with monuments and tell the Interior Department that we value these places and want to keep them fully intact for future generations.
If you don’t live in a state listed above, send a comment to defend all 27 monuments at risk here. Remember that your comment is strongest when you make it personal.
TAKE ACTION: Defend all 27 monuments
