Trump to visit Utah Monday; expected to sign executive order downsizing Bears Ears

Composite image, St. George News

SALT LAKE CITY — President Donald Trump will be in Utah on Monday, a source with Sen. Orrin Hatch’s office has confirmed.

“I’m thrilled the President has accepted my invitation to come to Utah to discuss critical issues that matter to my constituents,” Hatch said in a statement sent to Fox 13 and published in a report Monday morning.

Trump’s itinerary hasn’t been released, but he is expected to sign an executive order shrinking the size of Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument, which now stands at 1.35 million acres.

Read the full story here:  Fox13Now.com.

Written by DAVID WELLS, Fox13Now.com

Copyright 2017, KSTU. A Tribune broadcasting station

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26 Comments

  • comments November 28, 2017 at 1:00 pm

    So at the ceremony honoring Indian code talkers in WWII the donald couldn’t help but slip in a snide little crack about Pocahontas and Elizabeth warren. This pres is turning out to be a piece of human garbage well beyond what I’d imagined.

    • Chris November 28, 2017 at 2:31 pm

      “a piece of human garbage well beyond what I’d imagined” Weren’t paying much attention for the last several decades were you? Since Trump has been a piece of crap for his entire life, in full view of the public, why didn’t you imagine he would continue to be?

      • mesaman November 28, 2017 at 8:34 pm

        Seems much of his crap rubbed off on you, didn’t it? The difference is he is somebody and you are a zit on the face of society.

        • Chris November 28, 2017 at 8:50 pm

          Of course, you know nothing about me, but we all know exactly who you are. I make my money in the private sector, while you spent your entire pathetic career stealing from the taxpayer. We all know you never made an honest dollar in your life.

          • mesaman November 28, 2017 at 10:36 pm

            Not only did the crap rub off on you it presented us with an exhibit of what a dork can do in the private sector, but only in the USA. What a piece of buffalo dung you turned out to be.

          • Chris November 29, 2017 at 11:33 am

            Nolan just continues to make a fool of himself, only capable of name calling, as he fails to justify his worthless existence. Of course, he know nothing about the private sector, not ever having participated in it himself. A lifetime government worker, he only understands how to rip off the taxpayers who really make our economy run.

  • bikeandfish November 28, 2017 at 1:08 pm

    Should we put bets on how much money taxpayers will dish out for this untested use of presidential power? This will be in court for years and will undoubtedly result in a stay before any changes are actually implemented.

    • Gary November 28, 2017 at 2:21 pm

      Let’s hope so. I don’t want the money to be spent either but it was the president that started it all.

    • Howard Sierer November 28, 2017 at 2:58 pm

      A President’s power to “diminish” (National Park Service term) is not “untested.” Presidents Taft, Wilson, F. Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy have all diminished National Monuments a total of 18 times. https://www.nps.gov/archeology/sites/Antiquities/MonumentsList.htm

      The Antiquities Act states, “The limits of (these designations) in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” A judgment call when over 5,000 sq. miles are included in the two monuments in question.

      No doubt this will be litigated. Plaintiffs will find the friendliest possible venue and will drag it on for years.

      • bikeandfish November 28, 2017 at 4:06 pm

        The “untested” description is in relationship to its legality. Has this use of executive power been tested in the courts before? If so, please show me where as I haven’t found such evidence. Most of the historical adjustments to monuments happened before conservation groups formed in the US and more importantly before FLPMA created explicit rules for decisions affecting public lands. The only major adjustment, ie one approaching the size Trump is predicted to make, was a reduction of Mount Olympus NM which met the two criteria I previously mentioned as well as being justified for war based timber harvest. Our political reality is vastly different now then it was under Wilson.

        A problem with “presidentialism” is that many Americans have come to assume that actions by a president are inherently legal simply because they haven’t been challenged in the courts. Trump’s failure in the courts has shown how flawed that assumption has been.

        Your statement about the limitations of the Antiquities Act is a rational to legally challenge Obama’s decision not one that justifies Trump’s. Nowhere in the Antiquities Act does it provide the power to the President to reduce a monument’s size. In fact, the SCOTUS has even ruled in favor of the President’s ability to designate expansive monuments in Cameron v United States.

        I would expect a self-proclaimed conservative to have a stronger legal framework in your justification of Trump trying to drastically reduce these monuments. There was a time when conservatives claimed to hold a high ground on restraining government power, especially by the President. Where is that now? I am a conservationist who opposed BENM because of the complex political reality that was brewing against its designation but I think Trump is on thin legal ice in this action. I have yet to hear a clearcut legal justification that empowers the executive to make such a decision, ie “untested”. Willing to change that view but it will take more than a link to vague descriptions of national monuments.

  • Caveat_Emptor November 28, 2017 at 2:13 pm

    Get ready to open your checkbooks to support SUWA and affiliated groups that will challenge this stupid political gimmick. The only winners are the attorney’s who get the billable hours…..

  • Sapphire November 28, 2017 at 2:45 pm

    I don’t care if he downsizes it… we can’t take care of the parks we have. But I do care if he signs a protective order to keep our water and air free from pollutants when they use the land in the area.

  • Not_So_Much November 28, 2017 at 2:51 pm

    Please let’s NOT be reasonable and compromise. Spend whatever it takes to fight this — geez.

    • bikeandfish November 28, 2017 at 4:21 pm

      The courts are constitutionally designed to challenge government action. The Obama Administration seemed mildly interested in finding a Congressional solution, which failed, but ultimately chose to use the unilateral power of the Antiquities Act to designate a massive monument. Everyone knew this would set up a legal fight that would last for years. Trump and the Utah legislature don’t seem interested in compromise at all, ie see previous reversal of sage grouse plan that was the definition of stakeholder compromise after years of negotiations.

      This is going to get ugly and could have lasting affects on executive power and land management.

  • think4urself November 28, 2017 at 8:11 pm

    Puke. I gonna sense his horrid aura clear down here in Utah’s dixie. And it’s gonna make me puke.

  • John November 28, 2017 at 8:59 pm

    Longwinded snowflake blowhard,(you know who you are) again you used many words and said absolutely nothing , another pointless diatribe by you know who..Great simple article by the way !

  • ladybugavenger November 29, 2017 at 6:55 am

    Whoa! It’s a simple article. Hatch is thrilled for Trump to come to Utah. And trumps itinerary has not been released. Downsizing 1,35 million acres? I mean where were you all protesting this? Will you even notice?

    Anything to hate Trump, right?

    • bikeandfish November 29, 2017 at 10:05 am

      Definitely not an anti-Trump stand for most people I know as its based on deeply held values about conservation. Halving Grand Staircase Escalante NM after 20 years is an aggressive over reach that was guaranteed to cause legal problems. Challenging Bears Ears the year after designation is a different issue but Trump’s approach is problematic itself.

      There is definitely plenty of anti-Trump sentiment around no matter what he does (just look to daily headlines at places like HuffPo) but this isn’t one of them. Land issues in Utah have beer heated for ages.

  • commonsense November 29, 2017 at 8:29 am

    The Federal Government controls 69% of our land here in Utah. New York State has only 0.4% controlled by the Feds.

    Are there National Monuments in New York? Yes, there is a fort on lower Manhattan that is a NM.
    How much land was designated around the fort? Just a few feet. So, they didn’t designate all of Manhattan as a Nation Monument? No.

    There is quite a double standard when it comes to controlling the land in different states. It seems that the further from Washington DC the more land they want to appropriate.

    Everyone wants archeological and geological treasures protected but millions of acres around those treasures? That’s political overreach by a president who garnered few votes in Utah and is unpopular in this state.

    • bikeandfish November 29, 2017 at 10:09 am

      But this was already federal land and much of it already had de facto protection via wilderness study areas (ie decades of waiting for Congressional action). Existing rights are grand fathered into management.

      The difference in federal land between east and west is noticeable but requires a deeper dive into history than is appropriate for this forum. At the end of the day though this all federal land that is not controlled by the state or local government.

  • John November 29, 2017 at 10:54 am

    Hey Bikeandfish, Take it Like it !
    SALT LAKE CITY — President Donald Trump will be in Utah on Monday, a source with Sen. Orrin Hatch’s office has confirmed.

    “I’m thrilled the President has accepted my invitation to come to Utah to discuss critical issues that matter to my constituents,” Hatch said in a statement sent to Fox 13 and published in a report Monday morning.

    Trump’s itinerary hasn’t been released, but he is expected to sign an executive order shrinking the size of Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument, which now stands at 1.35 million acres.
    Why are you so long winded to say absolutely nothing?.. It must really be hard being you….hahahahaha!

  • mctrialsguy November 30, 2017 at 11:59 am

    We’d love to have you visit our great state and to assist in this endeavor. You are a man that does what he says that he will, you a majority of the workforce back to work, the stock market has broken over 26 records, and the U.S. is being respected again in the world as a superpower. You are working excessive hours every day, take few vacations, are always honoring our soldiers and veterans, are now taking care of the veterans as they should be, and are willing to work with other countries for the benefit of all. You care for humanity is un-paralleld and is greatly appreciated. Welcome to Utah!

    • bikeandfish November 30, 2017 at 1:54 pm

      Huh…

      Forbes: “While the market has consistently gained under Trump, the gains haven’t been record-setting. From inauguration day on January 20 through October 27, the S&P 500 shows a 15.38% annualized rate of return. That’s less than the annualized percentages achieved under five other presidents.

      Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama all did better over the course of their terms. The top returns were achieved under a pair a pair of Democrats for whom Trump has expressed disdain–Bill Clinton at a 17.49% total return per year and Barack Obama at 16.25%.”. It also appears, from multiple analyses, that the “Obama Bump” was twice as large during his first 10 months in office than Trump’s, S&P again, even while the 2nd worst recession in US history continued (ended June of 2009-ish). Trump inherited a healthy Bull market. Obama also outpaced Trump’s S&P gains during the beginning of his 2nd term.

      Everyone should be happy about the stock market gains under BOTH presidents. I am.

    • bikeandfish November 30, 2017 at 1:57 pm

      And you are joking about vacation time, right? After years of mocking Obama, Trump has played 50% more golf and cost tax payers astronomically more.

    • bikeandfish November 30, 2017 at 2:12 pm

      Employment…

      Obama has a better record than Trump when judging the entire picture. Trump inherited an unemployment rate of 4.8% and has decreased it to 4.1% in 9 months. Obama saw a rise from 7.8% to 9.9% in Apr 2010, roughly 10 months after the “end” of the recession, then reduced it to 4.8% by Jan 2017. Its roughly the same improvement though Obama had many month to month changes that were 3-4x better.

      Similar with overall economic improvement. Trump just saw a 3.3% increase, better than 2016, but worse than growth in Obama’s tenure in 2013-15.

      Once again, we should all be excited for high employment and GDP growth but recognizing that requires abandoning the myths about Obama’s poor economic record.

  • John November 30, 2017 at 2:28 pm

    bikeandfish, loudmouthed longwinded and never actually makes a point related to this article, life must be hard for the miserable misinformed queen of cut and paste, bikeandfish…triggered again just because Trump is coming to Utah….hahahahahaha!

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