Like many others, in between rigorous paper writing and obsessively studying I’ve been trying to get as much last minute Christmas shopping done online. Upon opening up the Patagonia website Monday evening I was greeted with a surprise;
In what is arguably Patagonia’s peak business month, the company decided that maybe their products weren’t as important as a move President Donald Trump just made. On Monday, the president announced the size reduction of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah by almost 2 million acres (combined), making it the largest protected land loss in American history. Not only is this a major blow to American National monuments, but it is putting millions of indigenous people in the west’s land at risk. After putting this into place, the president announced he is ordering a review into 27 other additional national monuments. Trump claims that the monuments are just another example of “egregious use of government power” and believes that the land holds “unnecessary restrictions on hunting, ranching and responsible economic development”.
Not only is this land the roots of the Navajo tribe, it is land that was protected in order to conserve its natural beauty. REI also devoted a small part of their website to the fight against Trump’s decision writing, “Despite the loss of millions of acres of protected lands this week, REI will continue to advocate for the places we all love.”
For more information on the situation and ways to help visit Patagonia’s website here