The review of the status of national monuments (“Fueled By Trump Order, 27 Monuments ID’d For Review,” PDN, March 8) is unnecessary and a waste of staff time and taxpayer money.
All national monuments were properly vetted, and they protect important scenic, cultural, historic and wildlife resources.
They are important to us as a nation, no matter in which state they are located.
The Trump Administration has described them as a land grab.
Two of our iconic national parks, Olympic and Grand Canyon, started out as national monuments and they were described as land grabs at the time.
Where would we be as a country without these two national treasures?
I am particularly concerned about Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah.
They were proposed by the work of many organizations and endorsed by five tribal groups, according to the National Parks and Conservation Association.
These monuments are particularly valuable as they share a landscape with other national park sites in the Southwest, and they protect important archaeological and cultural sites.
They are not in Washington state, but they are important to us as a nation.
Margaret Maxwell,
Port Angeles