Changes coming to US protected lands, but details unknown

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Tribes, ranchers and conservationists know that none of the national monuments ordered reviewed by President Donald Trump will be eliminated, but what kind of changes await the sprawling land and sea areas remain a mystery after the administration kept a list of recommendations under wraps.

That left people on all sides of the contentious debate clinging to only shreds of information and anxiously waiting for more details.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told The Associated Press that none of the 27 monuments will be rescinded. But he said he would push for boundary changes on a “handful” and left open the possibility of allowing drilling, mining or other industries on the sites.

The White House said only that it received Zinke’s recommendations Thursday, a deadline set months ago.

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