So now that President Trump has invoked the Antiquities Act to radically reduce the size of both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, is that the end of it? It seems to beg the question: If the next president decides to use the Antiquities Act to increase the size of the two national monuments, will he/she be allowed to do that?
Are the boundaries of national monuments flexible and subject to the whim of the president’s executive privilege? If Congress decides to enact a law, that would make it much more difficult to adjust the boundaries, but until that happens it seems open to change.
David G. Klemm, Murray
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