Interior Secretary Zinke wraps up NV monument review: ‘I’m going to do the right thing'

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wrapped up his first and only visit to Southern Nevada to help make up his mind on the fate of the state’s newest national monuments. Secretary Zinke spoke to a group of reporters in Bunkerville, Nevada following a brief tour of the Gold Butte National Monument near the Nevada-Arizona border and the Basin & Range monument located about 100 miles north of Las Vegas. Zinke spent just a few hours on the ground and was scheduled to meet with a group of local advocates and Congresswoman Dina Titus on Monday but those meetings were canceled after Zinke cut his trip short to head back to Washington D.C. for a cabinet meeting. Nevada’s Gold Butte Monument and Basin & Range Monument are among the 27 monuments nationwide under review at the order of President Donald Trump. “I haven’t decided anything. Bear in mind that the other side of this is public comment – the President has said make sure locals have a voice,” said Zinke. Congresswoman Dina Titus blasted Secretary Zinke on his rushed trip. “We knew he didn't want to meet with us to start. He should be talking to the people who have worked on this for years,” said Titus...more