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Interior secretary recommends shrinking 6 national monuments

WASHINGTON (AP) – Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is recommending that six of 27 national monuments under review by the Trump administration be reduced in size, along with management changes to several other sites.

A leaked memo from Zinke to President Donald Trump recommends that two Utah monuments – Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante – be reduced, along with Nevada’s Gold Butte and Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou.

Two marine monuments in the Pacific Ocean also would be reduced under Zinke’s memo, which was submitted to the White House in August but not officially released. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the memo, which was first reported Sunday by The Wall Street Journal.

Trump ordered the review earlier this year after complaining about improper “land grabs” by former presidents, including Barack Obama.