CBD said in a press release on Monday that more than 50 national monuments and 1 billion acres of protected public lands in the United States are at risk of exploitation under the expected executive order.
“Depending on what comes out of this review, the Center for Biological Diversity will be prepared to take the Trump administration to court because we will fight for every acre,” Spivak told Sputnik on Tuesday.
Trump’s order, Spivak warned, could serve as a means to open the path for fossil fuel businesses to benefit while undoing former President Barack Obama’s conservation protections.
“These monuments were declared by the last three presidents because it was very important to protect the areas of scientific and cultural importance,” Spivak stated.
Extract industries and fossil fuel corporations stand to be the only beneficiaries of the executive action, Spivak claimed.
“[Trump] is coming to the aid of extractive industries and siding with radical right extreme members of Congress,” Spivak stated.
The government review, White House officials said, will include all monument designations made by US presidents under the Antiquities Act from 1996 to present day.
