Environmental Politics, Think
EnviroNews: Trump a menace to national parks
The National Parks and Conservation Association names three Utah National Parks and Monuments among those most threatened by Trump administration fast-track drilling policies – Hovenweep National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument and Canyonlands National Park.
The report says that “the administration is now offering nearly any parcel that industry nominates for an oil and gas lease, many at only $2 an acre.”
At Hovenweep, only 2% of leased public lands have been surveyed for cultural resources and the report warns, “the area could be industrialized before we even know what we stand to lose.”
Near Canyonlands, there was no public review prior to oil and gas leasing. Near Dinosaur, industrialization has already led to air pollution that violates federal standards.
Oil and gas industrialization is incompatible with the tourism and recreation economy that has been built around national parks and monuments. As the report says, “National parks are more than iconic landscapes; parks tell the stories of our shared history and cultural heritage.”
Spoiled Parks (NPCA, 2019): npca.org/reports/oil-and-gas-report
This is an excerpt from our November EnviroNews column. View the full article here.