Canyons of the Ancients to be reviewed under Trump order

The monument, near Cortez, is one of 24 to be reviewed by the Trump administration.

The Canyons of the Ancients National Monument contains some of the highest densities of archaeological sites in North America, with pueblos from around 1200 A.D. Stop first at the Anasazi Heritage Center (monument headquarters), Southwest Colorado’s premier archaeological museum of the Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) and other Native cultures of the Four Corners region. Photos by Bob Wick, BLM

CORTEZ, Colo. (AP) — Colorado’s Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is one of 24 monuments being reviewed under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.

The 164,000 acre- (2.4 hectare) monument near Mesa Verde National Park was created by President Bill Clinton in 2000 and later expanded to 176,000 (71,226 hectares) acres. It contains more than 20,000 Native American archaeological sites, the largest concentration in the United States.

Trump signed an order Wednesday directing his interior secretary to review the designation of the monuments by previous administrations.

Trump and other critics say presidents have lost sight of the original purpose of the law created by President Theodore Roosevelt that was designed to protect particular historical or archaeological sites rather than wide expanses.

— The Associated Press