On Saturday, Montezuma Great Old Broads for Wilderness will host a rally at the Sand Canyon trailhead to support national monuments.
Montezuma Broadband leader Pat McClenny said the rally is in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday to shrink the nearby Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in southeast Utah.
“We support keeping those monuments at their original sizes and also want to show appreciation for Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and public lands in general,” she said.
In April, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced that 27 national monuments, including Canyons of the Ancients, could be reviewed for changes. But in June, he told local lawmakers the 176,000-acre monument was not a priority for adjustments.
“We are also making the point that we are supportive of our local monument and would not let something happen to it,” McClenny said. “It will be a civil and respectful rally, and we invite the public to attend.”
The rally will begin at 10 a.m. at the Sand Canyon trailhead, on County Road G, 13 miles west of the U.S. Highway 491 intersection.
Participants are encouraged to bring signs.
President Bill Clinton created Canyons of the Ancients in 2000. Colorado Republicans Rep Scott Tipton and Sen. Cory Gardner have urged Zinke to leave it alone.
