Patagonia protests shrinking monuments with countdown clock projection

Outdoor retailer Patagonia wants to remind the public that time is ticking down for the Trump administration to continue protecting two national monuments.

Patagonia, along with the The Wilderness Society, The Center for American Progress and The Conservation Lands Foundation, projected a countdown clock Wednesday night on the front of a Bureau of Land Management building in Denver.

The projection is part of Patagonia’s ongoing actions to protest the Interior Department’s decision to rollback national monument designations at Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah.

The designations officially end in a week, on Feb. 2 at 9 a.m.

The projection showed the hours, minutes and seconds until the designation expires along with the slogan “Monuments for All.”

Tonight @patagonia and other #OutdoorRetailer participants are spotlighting attacks on #MonumentsForAll. Thx for standing strong in defense of our public lands! #SaveGrandStaircase #StandWithBearsEars pic.twitter.com/Uit0gP3PXi

— Monuments For All (@MonumentsForUSA) January 25, 2018

“The clock last night was really meant to raise awareness for what is going on and on the president’s order that said on Feb. 2 the monuments are open for business from the extractive industries,” Corley Kenna, a Patagonia spokesperson, told The Hill.

{mosads}

Wednesday night also marked the opening night of the twice-a-year Outdoor Retailer Show, for the first time in Denver after 20 years hosted in Salt Lake City.

Patagonia, along with other outdoor retailer groups, announced last year they would boycott any shows held in Utah following word the Interior Department was reviewing national monuments. A number of Utah politicians said they supported the review.

“[The year] 2017 was the worst year on record for public lands, and we came out against the Trump administration in a big way. We help lead the fight out of Utah to Colorado for this very trade show that I’m about to walk into,” said Kenna.

Following recommendations from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, President Trump rescinded protections on 1.9 million acres of Utah land in December.

“I come to Utah to reverse federal overreach and restore this land” to local residents, Trump said in a speech in Utah at the time.

The next day, Zinke recommended that the president shrink the boundaries of two additional monuments.

He also recommended that Trump change management plans for six other monuments, allowing for additional grazing, ranching, fishing, hunting and other activities in those locations.