GOP Platform Proposes To Get Rid Of National Parks And National Forests [View all]

[bucolic_frolic]

Disposal of national parks, wilderness, forests, and other public lands is not the only way the GOP platform addresses conservation issues. Delegates also approved an amendment aimed at curbing the Antiquities Act of 1906, a law which has protected national monuments ranging from the Statue of Liberty to the Grand Canyon. The amendment requires “the approval of the state where the national monument is designated or a national park is proposed,” which would severely limit the President’s ability to protect at-risk places.

The delegates also passed language specifying that the Republican Party believes that the sage grouse, prairie chicken, and the gray wolf should be exempt from the protections of the Endangered Species Act. This not only gets into the weeds of local issues, but cuts corners in scientific species and conservation management regulations.

Party delegates will vote to adopt the draft document at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland next week.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/07/15/3798652/gop-platform-national-parks/