As a historian working in Montana, I am deeply concerned by President Trump’s recent executive order to review certain National Monuments.

The Antiquities Act of 1906 is a cornerstone of historic preservation in America — a movement that seeks to identify places significant to our shared national identity. In particular, I fear this directive endangers those vast landscapes associated with Native life-ways and traditional beliefs.

More broadly, this review could set a dangerous precedent that opens all monuments to potentially destructive development. Our national monuments should transcend politics. I call on Senators Daines and Tester to vote against any attempts to reduce or rescind our invaluable national monuments.

— Jessie Nunn, Livingston
Originally published in the Billings Gazette