This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

It is seldom known that American environmental conservation began with Republicans.

In 1905, conservative outdoorsman Gifford Pinchot coined the term "conservation" while serving as the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service.

In 1906, Republican President Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to protect public lands under the Antiquities Act, designating 18 national monuments during his presidency.

Today, our president is threatening a heritage of conservation so carefully constructed by those who came before.

On April 26, President Donald Trump enacted Executive Order 13792, a plan to reconsider the protected status of 27 national monuments. Places like Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante will be reviewed and possibly released from protection.

Executive Order 13792 threatens the very landscapes that Make America Great. In a time of political polarization, these lands might be the last thing holding us together, the last of our beautiful, wild and sacred common ground.

One argument for withdrawing the protection of our common ground is to increase oil, gas and mineral extraction on public lands. However, over 90 percent of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management are already available for oil and gas leasing.

Additionally, the national monument designation does not prevent fossil fuel extraction on federal lands, it just prohibits the sale of new energy leases. Oil and gas are a part of America's identity, however, they need not replace the last of our remaining wild places — places like Bears Ears or Grand Staircase.

Some argue that these lands should be managed by the states and not the federal government. While many Western states successfully manage some of their lands for recreation, mining and energy extraction, it comes with a cost.

A report by the University of Utah shows that the transfer of 31.2 million acres of federally managed land will cost Utah $280 million in 2017, nearly $100 per Utah resident. Meanwhile, it costs the American taxpayer only $4 per year to to manage public lands.

Finally, the profitability of selling federal land to the states is only guaranteed when oil and gas prices are high. And yet, anyone who visits the gas pump understands how quickly these prices change.

Selling land to states yields an uncertain economic future while tourism on federal lands provide financial security. In 2016, visitors spent $18.4 billion dollars in communities surrounding parks and monuments, supporting over 202,000 jobs. These numbers are only expected to grow as more and more people visit parks and monuments each year — and I have a feeling that Giant Sequoia and the Grand Canyon will never go out of style.

National monuments are a force for economic vitality in the United States, so long as we conserve them appropriately. If conservation seeks the proper use of nature, we must recognize that sometimes, the proper use is to leave it be. Theodore Roosevelt would agree.

"Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it." — Theodore Roosevelt, in response to the landscape surrounding Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument.

Harness your inner Teddy Roosevelt and fight for the thoughtful conservation of our public lands, lands that truly Make America Great. Submit a comment by July 10 in support of our Monuments online at http://www.regulations.gov by entering "DOI-2017-0002" in the search bar.

But maybe most importantly — get out there and explore your public lands — your uniquely American backyard. Visit a national park or monument. Teach your children to fish and hike and enjoy these vast and rugged landscapes. If you promise to listen to the land — to our national monuments, parks, seashores and battlefields — I promise you this: We can find common ground in the lands that belong to all of us.

Kira Minehart is a Westerner, environmental science master's student at Stanford University and past employee of the National Park Service.