Sierra Club Statement on Trump Administration’s Move That Could Revoke National Monument Designations

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Trump Administration is moving to break with a legal precedent that could threaten the integrity of national monuments across the country.

With little fanfare, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel issued a legal opinion yesterday suggesting presidents have the authority to revoke national monument designations made by their predecessors.

The opinion breaks with more than 100 years of legal precedent, which held that presidents have the authority to create national monuments under the 1906 Antiquities Act, but not to dismantle them. The Trump Administration legal opinion could open the door to neutering the Act and destroying national monuments.

Polling consistently shows majorities of Americans across geography and political ideology oppose attempts to strip protections for public lands, including national monuments. A recent poll from Data for Progressrevealed that majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents explicitly oppose Donald Trump's agenda to dismantle national monuments.

In response, Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club's Lands Protection Program, released the following statement:

"It's been clear since Day One that Donald Trump wants to undo protections for our public lands to benefit his billionaire backers. He tried it in 2017, he's trying it again in 2025, and this legal opinion is a fig leaf to cover what is a troubling break with more than a century of legal precedent and presidential action. Presidents, both Republican and Democratic, have used the Antiquities Act to protect public lands across the United States, and the American people overwhelmingly want to see these places protected for future generations, not given away to corporate polluters."

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.