美国国家公共电台 NPR Was It 'Illegal' For Trump To Shrink Utah's Monuments? The Battle Begins

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

All right, President Trump¹ has dramatically scaled back two large areas of land that had been designated national monuments in Utah. But a battle over his authority to do this may be just beginning. Native American tribes and conservation groups are mounting legal challenges even as the administration considers shrinking half a dozen more monuments in other states. Here's NPR's Kirk Siegler.

KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE²: Before President Trump even finished his triumphal visit to Utah yesterday, the first lawsuits³ were being filed. At the center of this sagebrush battle is a relatively⁴ obscure federal law called the Antiquities⁵ Act. Signed by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1906, it was intended to stop the pilfering⁶ of ancient Indian artifacts from public land. But it also gave presidents the authority to create national monuments on their own without Congress. Here in Utah, where about two-thirds of the entire state is federally owned, and there are seven large monuments, this act is a household name. And in some rural areas, it's a dirty word.

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RYAN ZINKE: I've become an expert in monuments.

SIEGLER: Here's President Trump's Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke speaking at the Utah Capitol yesterday.

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ZINKE: And the Antiquities Act was never intended to prevent. It was intended to protect.

SIEGLER: When the administration began its controversial review of 27 large monuments, including Utah's Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, it said the act needed to be tested. Tribes and conservationists have been preparing lawsuits for months.

ETHEL BRANCH: There is nothing in the Antiquities Act that authorizes⁷ the president to modify a national monument once it's been designated.

SIEGLER: This is Ethel Branch, attorney general for the Navajo Nation, one of the tribes suing the administration. The tribes point to a federal lands law from the 1970s that says only Congress can actually reduce or nullify a national monument. Previous presidents have made small reductions to monument boundaries but never until yesterday had one used the Antiquities Act to so dramatically shrink them.

BRANCH: There is not room for a subsequent president to come in and second-guess that authority.

SIEGLER: But there's another tricky⁸ issue here. The Antiquities Act also expressly states that presidents should protect the important sites while using the smallest amount of land possible. That's partly why there was so much opposition⁹ to Bears Ears, which originally was 1.3 million acres in size.

BRUCE ADAMS: It was more about control than it was about protection.

SIEGLER: San Juan County Commission Chairman Bruce Adams is ecstatic that President Trump is trying to shrink monuments across the rural West. He says these designations take everything off the table, like expanding cattle grazing or mining.

ADAMS: He listened to the local people even though they weren't millions of voters, only 15,000 people in our community. He understands what rural communities are about.

SIEGLER: The administration is also considering shrinking national monuments in states like Nevada and Oregon. If they press forward, more legal challenges are sure to follow.

Kirk Siegler, NPR News, Salt Lake City.

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1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

6 pilfering   

v.偷窃（小东西），小偷( pilfer的现在分词 )；偷窃（一般指小偷小摸）

参考例句：

• He was caught pilfering. 他行窃时被抓个正着。
• Pilfering has stopped entirely since they put Angus in charge of the stores. 自从他们让安格斯掌管商店以来，小偷小摸就杜绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 authorizes   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings 'traveler' and 'traveller'. 字典裁定traveler和traveller两种拼法都对。
• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings "honor" and "honour.". 字典裁定 honor 及 honour 两种拼法均可。

8 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。