Trump compares himself to Santa while announcing plan to scale back national parks
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supp..
Donald Trump traveled to Utah to officially announce his plans to slash the size of national parks by more than 1,000,000 acres.
The president said he was scaling back Barack Obama‘s monument policy to hand the power back to the people.
Meet the 27-year-old lawyer famous for hunting and skinning animals
Comparing himself to Father Christmas, he said: ‘We’re now one step closer to delivering to the American people the historic tax relief as a giant present for Christmas. Remember I said we’re bringing Christmas back? Christmas is back, bigger and better than ever before.’
He went on to say: ‘Some people think that the natural resources of Utah should be controlled by a very small group of bureaucrats located in Washington, and guess what? They’re wrong.
‘You know how to protect it and you know best how to conserve this land for many many generations to come.
‘I’ve come to Utah to restore the rights of this land to your citizens.’
Leaked maps, obtained by The Wilderness Society, show Bears Ears national park in Utah could shrink from 1.3 million acres to 201,000 acres, while Grand Staircase Escalante — also in Utah — would be cut in half, from nearly 1.9 million acres to 997,490 acres.
Activists say the president is ‘bowing to special interests’ like oil drilling companies.
Trump said he knew his idea was met with huge outcry, but said: ‘I don’t think it is controversial, I think it’s so sensible.’
He said that ‘past administrations have severely abused the purpose, spirit and intent the law… to lock up hundreds of millions of acres of land and order under strict government control’.
Trump said this has put ‘unnecessary restrictions’ on hunting and economic development
He added: ‘Public lands will once again be for public use.
‘We will put our nation treasures to great and wonderful use. Cattle will graze along the open range, sweeping landscapes will inspire young Americans to reach beyond the horizon. Together we will usher in a bright new future of love and wealth.’
Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society: ‘There will be outrage if the President moves forward with the plans outlined in these maps. Fortunately the law is on the side of protecting these valued lands and once again the President’s actions will be met on the courthouse steps.
‘It is no surprise that the Trump Administration is bowing to special interests, including the oil and mining companies, and these maps show how extreme his plans are for some of the most treasured and culturally significant lands in our nation.
‘Despite millions of Americans demanding permanent protection for all of our national monuments, our president and secretary Zinke have now turned their backs and instead are aligning themselves with those who want to exploit our shared lands for personal profit.’
The president added: ‘Tens of thousands of Native American sacred sites in southern Utah will now be at renewed risk of looting and desecration as will vast, world-class discovered and yet-to-be-discovered paleontological resources, including some that are now threatened by the potential mining for new resources at the existing Andalex Coal Mine site.’
The president had previously called for a review of monuments in the wake of politicians’ frustration over lack of new land to drill on.
