Interior Dept Reviewing Federal Lands for Energy Needs

As part of President Donald Trump's push to increase domestic energy production, the Interior Department is reviewing ways to utilize federal lands, which has alarmed environmental activists.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (photo above) on Feb. 3 directed his assistant secretaries to "review and, as appropriate, revise all withdrawn public lands," citing a federal statute corresponding to the Antiquities Act of 1906, which allows presidents to create national monuments, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

Burgum's directive builds off an Inauguration Day executive order by Trump titled "Unleashing American Energy" that says it is now U.S. policy to "encourage energy exploration and production on federal lands and waters, including on the Outer Continental Shelf, in order to meet the needs of our citizens and solidify the United States as a global energy leader long into the future."

Burgum gave his assistant secretaries 15 days to submit plans on how to comply with his order, which are now under review, according to the Times.

"At this stage, we are assessing these reports to determine if any further action is warranted, and we remain dedicated to ensuring that all items are thoroughly evaluated as part of our internal management process," J. Elizabeth Peace, senior public affairs specialist for the Interior Department's Office of the Secretary, told the Times.

She did not indicate when the review might conclude or what actions could be taken.

The Antiquities Act gave presidents the authority to designate monuments to protect "objects of historic and scientific interest" and can encompass geologic wonders, archaeological sites and wildlife habitat. Presidents on both sides of the political aisle have used the law to set aside land.

Monuments can be managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other agencies, according to the Times. They typically exclude oil and gas drilling, coal mining, and other forms of energy production.

During his first term, Trump sharply reduced the boundaries of two monuments in Utah — Bear's Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — and stripped protections from a marine monument off the coast of New England to allow commercial fishing, the Times reported. Former President Joe Biden reversed the changes, but some believe the review will pave the way for similar actions in Trump's second term.

"Donald Trump made it clear on Day 1 what his priorities for public lands and waters would be, and these orders are the next step in his reckless ‘drill, baby, drill' agenda," Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club's Lands Protection Program, said in a Feb. 4 statement. "But … we won't stop until these lands and waters are protected for the next generation."

Sean Hecht, managing attorney for the California regional office of Earthjustice, a nonprofit focused on litigating environmental issues, told the Times the state's youngest monuments are most at risk of being rolled back.

During his final days in office, Biden designated two national monuments in California's desert and far north — Chuckwalla National Monument, located south of Joshua Tree National Park, and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, located near the Oregon border.

"Older and more established monuments tend to be popular in California — while new monuments are often not as established with a wide constituency, and therefore are more vulnerable politically," Hecht said, adding that Trump might target the monuments as part of an effort to undo recent actions by Biden.

Michael Katz ✉

Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.