ForestWatch statement on the summary report of the national monument review:
Today, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke delivered his highly-anticipated recommendations to President Trump on the fate of more than two dozen national monuments that have been under review for possible reduction or elimination. The Carrizo Plain National Monument – located along California’s central coast region – was one of the monuments considered most vulnerable during the review.
The details of Secretary Zinke’s recommendations, however, are still publicly unknown. While Secretary Zinke’s office issued a news release and a two-page summary of his report, the report contains no substantive recommendations and only summarizes his review process over the last two months.
“Today’s hollow announcement is a great disservice to our nation’s public lands and to everyone who has spoken out in their defense,” said Jeff Kuyper, executive director of Los Padres ForestWatch, a conservation organization based in Santa Barbara that led a coalition of organizations, businesses, and elected officials in support of retaining the Carrizo Plain’s monument status. “The nation – and especially the 2.8 million people who took time out of their busy lives to participate in this process and submit comments – are left in the dark by today’s announcement. Our public lands deserve better than this. How much longer must we wait until we learn the fate of this iconic landscape right here in our own backyard?”
Overwhelming Public Support
The Carrizo Plain National Monument has enjoyed overwhelming public support throughout San Luis Obispo, Kern, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties and beyond:- More than 140 local businesses wrote a letter to Interior Secretary Zinke, highlighting the economic benefits of the Carrizo Plain’s monument status and urging him not to shrink its boundaries and to keep its protections in place;
- More than 40 local elected officials – including 5 of the 7 mayors in San Luis Obispo County – wrote a letter to Interior Secretary Zinke, expressing their support for the Carrizo Plain;
- More than 50 community organizations including museums, botanic gardens, zoos, conservation organizations, historic societies, and others joined together to pledge their support for the Carrizo Plain;
- Nearly 4,000 comments were submitted by central coast residents, specifically citing the Carrizo Plain and urging Secretary Zinke to keep the area protected.
- Approximately 2.8 million public comments were received during the formal review period. More than 99% of those comments were in favor of keeping national monuments protected. 97% of comments pertaining to the Carrizo Plain were supportive of its monument status.
“There is overwhelming support, across political and socio-economic divides, locally and beyond, for making no change to the Carrizo Plain National Monument,” said ForestWatch public lands advocate Rebecca August. “If Zinke truly takes the will of the American people into consideration, he will leave its borders and protections untouched, so it can continue to be a resource to our communities for generations.”