A tiny tributary within the Rio Grande Del Norte
President Trump signed another executive order last week, this one ordering Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review all Presidential designations made under the Antiquities Act since 1996. Unfortunately, that includes a number of national monuments that have unique (and public) fly-fishing resources, including the Rio Grande del Norte in New Mexico, and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, which may contain the southernmost Colorado cutthroat trout habitat in the country. If the protections these national monuments have now are revoked after review, these areas could be opened for oil and gas drilling and other uses. Which would suck. Let’s hope that Secretary Zinke gets the message from anglers that some spots are worth keeping protected and public. The review must be completed within 120 days.
