By Hillary Hoffmann (June 7, 2017, 10:09 AM EDT) -- On April 26, 2017, the president signed an executive order requiring the U.S. Department of the Interior secretary to review large national monument designations under the Antiquities Act. The president requested this review "in recognition of the importance of the Nation's wealth of natural resources to American workers and the American economy." The review period is short — 45 days — and is driven by the premise that national monument designations are harmful to the economy because they "lock up" federal public lands that could be developed for oil and gas, tar sands, coal, uranium and other exploitable natural resources. According to the E.O., monument designations also "burden State, tribal, and local governments, and otherwise curtail economic growth" in surrounding communities. The order expresses frustration that stakeholders representing these constituents have not been properly consulted about the monument designations, resulting in a federal land grab of the greatest magnitude. Given these injustices, the order purports to rectify them through the review process, and through the eventual reduction or elimination of the monuments altogether....