AG invites Trump to see nature in Washington state, threatens to sue again

SEATTLE, Wash. — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is inviting President Donald Trump to come and visit some of the state’s beautiful national monuments – as his administration considers cutting protection for 27 cultural and historic sites across the country.

Ferguson, who declared victory in a lawsuit against Trump over an executive order on a travel ban barring travelers from Muslim-majority countries, threatened legal action against the president again if protections under the 1906 Antiquities Act are cut.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April for a review of the act; the order states protections imposed by his three immediate predecessors amounted to "a massive federal land grab" that "should never have happened." As a result, 27 national monuments, mostly in the West, face the curtailing or elimination of protections put in place over the past two decades by presidents from both parties, the Interior Department announced last week.

What's impacted in Washington state? 

National parks advocates call the Antiquities Act one among the nation's most important conservation tools. In a letter that Ferguson sent to the Interior Secretary on Thursday, he echoed that sentiment by calling the act – signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt – "the cornerstone of American conservation."

“These national monuments, like the others around the country that are the subject of the president's executive order, must be protected,” he wrote. “The ‘most glorious heritage’ that President Roosevelt invoked is only ours if we stand ready to fight for it. For our part, my team at the Washington State Attorney General's Office will be ready to act if necessary.”

In Washington state, Hanford Reach National Monument is on the Interior Department's list of monuments to review.

What’s protected under the 1906 Antiquities Act in Washington state?

• Olympic National Park
• Hanford Reach National Monument
• San Juan Islands National Monument

See all monuments protected under the act in the map below. Scroll down to continue reading this article.

The Handford National Reach Monument, located in Central Washington surrounding the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, is part of the Columbia River Plateau with a harsh and dry landscape. Bald eagles, elks and great blue herons live in the towering bluffs and canyons.

"It is a haven for important and increasingly scarce objects of scientific and historic interest," Ferguson wrote. "The monument contains important archaeological and historical information, including evidence of concentrated human activity going back 10,000 years. Hundreds of prehistoric archaeological sites have been recorded there."

"Let me be clear: If the President seeks to do harm to Washington's National Monuments by eliminating or reducing them, my office will initiate litigation to defend them," he said.

Can a president abolish a monument?

While presidents can proclaim a monument or landmark, Ferguson said the president and interior secretary do not have the legal authority to revoke the national monument designation; congress retains that ability.

During a panel discussion on presidential power in modern politics earlier this year in Seattle, environmental and natural resource attorney Robert Anderson said Trump's actions in revoking monuments would be unprecedented.

“No president has ever abolished a monument established by a prior president … The fact is presidents have complained about their predecessors’ use of the Antiquities Act, but then when they’ve gotten into that chair in the White House, (and possibly thought), ‘Well, maybe I’d like to create a few monuments myself,’” Anderson said. “And so the monuments tend to stay.”

KIRO 7 News streamed the event live on Facebook. Watch Anderson speak at the 58-minute mark.

Why did this argument begin? 

In December, shortly before leaving office, Obama infuriated Utah Republicans by creating the Bears Ears National Monument on more than 1 million acres of land that's sacred to Native Americans and home to tens of thousands of archaeological sites, including ancient cliff dwellings.

Republicans in the state asked Trump to take the unusual step of reversing Obama's decision. They said the monument designation will stymie growth by closing the area to new commercial and energy development.

Zinke visited Bear Ears this week and said the goal of protection and access were shared by all sides.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Cox Media Group