As of 9 a.m. EST yesterday the extractive industry gained drilling and mining access to previously protected American land, according to an order issued by President Donald Trump late last year.
While the longer-term fate of Trump’s likely illegal action will play out in the courts, also buried in his December proclamation was a provision that on February 2, 2018, the areas excluded from the monuments would become open to private mineral companies to begin staking mining and drilling claims.
LINK (via: Think Progress)
