Oh, what ropes we pull, what we unravel, my love

[sovay]

Today's major achievement: writing to the Department of the Interior about the ongoing national monument review, which could (and feels designed to) result in the rescinding of federal protection from more than two dozen established national monuments. Rather obviously, I do not believe this is a wise idea.

Dear Mr. Secretary,

I am writing in response to the call for public comments relating to the review of certain national monuments designated or expanded since 1996, as directed by Executive Orders 13792 and 13795 of April 26 and 28, 2017.

I have been to a number of national monuments in the United States, including Giant Sequoia, White Sands, and Petroglyph National Monuments, each a unique and irreplaceable piece of American history and landscape. Each time I was grateful that previous presidential administrations had made the decision to protect and preserve these extraordinary sites, without which the beauty and complexity of the country I was born into would be cruelly diminished. To roll back any of these decisions—under any circumstances—would be short-sighted and destructive to the majesty and memory of this land. No financial profit is worth the loss of acknowledged national treasures that, if properly cared for, will outlast any transient income derived from their exploitation and enrich the lives of many, many more people.

We live already in a world where it is far too uncertain whether our grandchildren will be able to enjoy the land and the seas as we knew them. Do not accelerate this process of devastation when you have the power to arrest it. Do not revoke the protected status of any of the national monuments under review, including Giant Sequoia and Bears Ears. If we do not owe it to our predecessors, we owe it at least to future generations to hold these "objects of historic or scientific interest" in trust for them, unless we wish the greatness of America to become no more than empty rhetoric, stripped of value and meaning like the earth of its strange and wild and beautiful places.

Thank you for your time, consideration, and integrity—

If you wish to send a letter or submit a comment of your own, the deadline regarding Bears Ears National Monument is the end of this week, May 26th; the deadline for all other monuments is July 10th. Some of the land in question is sacred; some of it is merely irreplaceable. Thanks to truepenny for the heads-up.

Comments

[asakiyume]

That's an eloquent letter--you speak truth with grace.

[sovay]

That's an eloquent letter--you speak truth with grace.

Thank you. The idea of one president choosing to protect ecologically, geologically, culturally precious and fragile land and another revoking that protection undermines the entire concept of a national monument and is moreover petty in the extreme. And it is wasteful, like so many other decisions we are seeing. It is a cheap trade.

[davidgillon]

the majesty and memory of this land.

Oh, applauds!

[sovay]

Oh, applauds!

Thank you.

I think we have a lot of problems as a country, but I don't think any of them are going to get better if we destroy our own living history and wonders of the natural world.

[cmcmck]

Integrity and politicians are a rare combination. :o(

[sovay]

Integrity and politicians are a rare combination.

I would like it to be a factor and not just an illusion.

[julian]

I sent comments, too, but yours are way more articulate, for which I thank you.

[sovay]

I sent comments, too, but yours are way more articulate, for which I thank you.

Thank you for writing, however you did it: the more people, the better. I hope someone really is listening.

[ada_hoffmann]

This is a beautiful letter. *applauds*

[sovay]

This is a beautiful letter.

Thank you! I hope it has an effect.