Colorado Republicans Ask Trump To Protect Canyons Of The Ancients

Two Republican members of Colorado's Congressional delegation want the Trump administration to back off plans to review the status of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is reviewing its status as part of a nationwide review of monuments ordered by President Trump earlier this year.

Senator Cory Gardner and Representative Scott Tipton wrote Zinke asking him not to review the status of the monument whose 275 square miles includes more than 6,355 known archaeological sites.

"The designation of Canyons is an example of what the Antiquities Act was intended to do - protect cultural treasures while incorporating the historic use of the land into the management of the monument so that communities support and promote the designation," they wrote. "Coloradans respect and value our public land, because we understand that our public lands system is unique among all the countries in the world.

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"Canyons is significant piece of that uniqueness given the history that is preserved there."

Canyons was designated by President Clinton in 2000.

Photo Bureau of Land Management