Scandal-plagued Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke must resign

The petition to Sec. Ryan Zinke reads: "Your unethical behavior, mounting scandals, waste of taxpayer money, and policies to hand over public lands to the fossil fuel and mining industries make you unfit for public service. You must resign immediately." Add your name:

The evidence of corruption and incompetence just keeps piling up for Trump's Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Considered "the most scandal-plagued member" of Trump’s cabinet, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke – public lands-enemy number-one – is facing a dozen federal investigations into shady business dealings, unethical behavior, violations of federal law and misuse of taxpayer money.1 Just this week, the Interior Department's Inspector General released a report accusing Zinke of violating department policy by inappropriately using government vehicles and his security detail for personal matters.2 Zinke is wholly unfit to serve, and we must again build massive public pressure on another corrupt Trump administration official to force his resignation. Tell Sec. Zinke: Resign immediately. Click here to sign the petition. The number of investigations Zinke faces is more than the last four Interior secretaries combined. The actions federal watchdogs have looked at or are looking into include Zinke's threats to a sitting senator, illegal use of a private jet, the removal of references to climate change in scientific reports and multiple violations of the Hatch Act, a law that prohibits executive branch employees from engaging in political activity.3 One of Zinke's most egregious and bizarre scandals involves a sketchy land deal with Halliburton, the multinational oil services company and government contractor that ripped off billions from the American taxpayer during the Iraq War and who now benefits from Zinke's industry-friendly public land policies. Zinke reportedly met with Halliburton's chairman on official business to work on sealing a land development project in Montana that could enrich Zinke's family.4 Halliburton even reportedly bribed Zinke with a microbrewery, a lifelong dream of his, to sweeten the deal.5 Like all of Trump's cabinet secretaries who have left in shame, Zinke is a grifter who is using his status in public office to enrich himself and his friends in corporate America. It's time for him to go, and we must show him the door now. Tell Sec. Zinke: Resign immediately. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/zinke_resign?t=7&akid=30440%2E3130208%2E22SrMa - Josh Nelson, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Chris D’Angelo, "Scandals Pile Up For Interior Chief Ryan Zinke," HuffPost, July 23, 2018. Tom McCarthy, "Inspector general: interior secretary Zinke's travel with wife violated policy," The Guardian, October 18, 2018. Juliet Eilperin, "Trump administration officials dismissed benefits of national monuments," The Washington Post, July 23, 2018. Ben Lefebvre and Nick Juliano, "Zinke's Halliburton mess deepens," POLITICO, June 21, 2018. Bess Levin, "Is Halliburton Bribing Ryan Zinke with a Microbrewery?" Vanity Fair, Aug. 2, 2018.

Ask scandal-plagued Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke to resign

The petition to Sec. Ryan Zinke reads: "Your unethical behavior, mounting scandals, waste of taxpayer money, and policies to hand over public lands to the fossil fuel and mining industries make you unfit for public service. You must resign immediately." Add your name:

It's Scott Pruitt all over again. Considered "the most scandal-plagued member" of Trump’s cabinet, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke – public lands-enemy number-one – is facing 14 federal investigations into shady business dealings, unethical behavior, violations of federal law and misuse of taxpayer money.1 In addition, although Zinke is charged with protecting our national parks and monuments, new uncovered documents reveal that he and his close aides have been conspiring to undermine the protection of our public lands and hand them over to the fossil fuel and mining industries.2 Zinke is wholly unfit to serve, and we must again build massive public pressure on another corrupt Trump administration official to force his resignation. Tell Sec. Zinke: Resign immediately. Click here to sign the petition. The number of investigations Zinke faces is more than the last four Interior secretaries combined. The actions federal watchdogs have looked at or are looking into include Zinke's threats to a sitting senator, illegal use of a private jet, the removal of references to climate change in scientific reports and multiple violations of the Hatch Act, a law that prohibits executive branch employees from engaging in political activity.3 One of Zinke's most egregious and bizarre scandals involves a sketchy land deal with Halliburton, the multinational oil services company and government contractor that ripped off billions from the American taxpayer during the Iraq War and who now benefits from Zinke's industry-friendly public land policies. Zinke reportedly met with Halliburton's chairman on official business to work on sealing a land development project in Montana that could enrich Zinke's family.4 Halliburton even reportedly bribed Zinke with a microbrewery, a lifelong dream of his, to sweeten the deal.5 Like all of Trump's cabinet secretaries who have left in shame, Zinke is a grifter who is using his status in public office to enrich himself and his friends in corporate America. It's time for him to go, and we must show him the door now. Tell Sec. Zinke: Resign immediately. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/zinke_resign?t=7&akid=29543%2E3130208%2EiHbCNK - Josh Nelson, CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Chris D’Angelo, "Scandals Pile Up For Interior Chief Ryan Zinke," HuffPost, July 23, 2018. Greg Zimmerman, "Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s conduct attracts unprecedented scrutiny from government investigators," The Center for Western Priorities, June 1, 2018. Juliet Eilperin, "Trump administration officials dismissed benefits of national monuments," The Washington Post, July 23, 2018. Ben Lefebvre and Nick Juliano, "Zinke's Halliburton mess deepens," POLITICO, June 21, 2018. Bess Levin, "Is Halliburton Bribing Ryan Zinke with a Microbrewery?" Vanity Fair, Aug. 2, 2018.

Tell Congress to oppose bills that roll back protections on public land

Citadel Ruins at Bears Ears 

Right now, some of our most cherished landscapes, cultural landmarks, and pristine natural preserves are threatened by three separate bills in Congress.

We can stop these bills, but only if we act now. Send a message to your lawmakers: our country's natural treasures need more protection, not less.

Opposing these bills is crucial — if passed, they would permanently enshrine the recent, controversial rollbacks shrinking Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments into law and fundamentally change the Antiquities Act itself. That's the law that allows Presidents to protect special places through a national monument proclamation, originally championed by Teddy Roosevelt starting in 1906. It's protected countless national treasures like Devil's Tower, Chaco Canyon and the Grand Canyon.

To stop these bills, every member of Congress needs to hear from people like you — people who are committed to safeguarding the fragile beauty of our public lands. Stand up now and tell Congress that you oppose these dangerous bills.

- Shiloh Stark, The Nature Conservancy

By filling out the form found on the link above, the following message will be delivered to your Senators and your Representative:

Stop legislation that threatens public lands

I stand in firm support of our nation's public lands and urge you to help defeat H.R. 3990, H.R. 4532, and H.R. 4558. Our cherished landscapes and waters are home to our greatest natural treasures, and we cannot afford to roll back protections that previous Presidents have enacted.

National monuments and public lands not only inspire us; they give us clean water and air, provide vital wildlife habitat, and generate billions of dollars in recreational activities. Places like these need more protection, not less.

Arizona Contact Info:

Rep. Martha McSally
Tucson office: (520) 881-3588
https://mcsally.house.gov/contact/email

Sen. Jeff Flake
Tucson office: 520-575-8633
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-jeff

Sen. John McCain
Tucson office: (520) 670-6334

https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form

Urge Pres.Trump and Secr. Zinke to stop attacks on our beloved national monuments

Along with his Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke, President Trump is dismantling two of our country's most spectacular national monuments — Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — so the land can be opened up to drilling, mining, and other exploitation.

Make no mistake: an attack on any national monument is an attack on all of them. We must speak up in defense of these priceless treasures before it's too late.

That's why I've recorded this new short video. Please, watch my video now — then join me in calling on President Trump and Secretary Zinke to stop their dangerous, destructive attacks on our beloved national monuments.

The threat this administration poses to our national monuments extends far beyond those found in Utah — Secretary Zinke has also recommended that President Trump downsize two monuments in Oregon and Nevada, and throw open six more to industrialization, including our nation's first marine monument off the coast of New England.

These are natural treasures that have been handed down to us from generation to generation. And it's on us — all of us — to ensure they are protected for future generations to enjoy.

Thank you for joining me in standing up for our natural heritage, our national monuments, and our shared environmental future.

Sincerely,
 
Robert Redford
Trustee, NRDC

Click here to send the following message to President Trump and Secretary Zinke:
 (Consider personalizing your message for even more impact.) 

Your message will be sent to:

President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke

Subject line: Stop attacks on our beloved national monuments

Dear President Trump and Secretary Zinke:

I am outraged that you are working to dismantle some of our priceless national monuments. I call on you to rescind these attacks immediately and honor the legacy of Teddy Roosevelt by protecting our monuments from industrial exploitation. 

Your proclamations stripping protections from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments are simply unlawful. Presidents have the authority to create national monuments under the Antiquities Act, but only Congress can revoke or shrink them. 

The proposal to downsize and allow logging, mining, drilling, and commercial fishing in six other national monuments, including Gold Butte and Cascade Siskiyou, is reckless and shortsighted. These sites have irreplaceable historic and cultural value, and once they are lost to industrial ruin, there is no bringing them back.  

Our national monuments are a cherished part of our natural heritage as Americans -- and it's our responsibility to protect them for future generations, not open them up to be plundered for coal, oil, gas, and uranium profits. Please reverse your decision to roll back national monument protections and instead fulfill your duty as public officials to protect our treasured national monuments and public lands.

Thank you.

UPDATE: ON JUNE 12 PRUITT RECOMMENDED THAT BEARS EARS NATIONAL MONUMENT BE DOWNSIZED

Secretary Zinke’s decision today to recommend to reduce the boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument is a disappointment and a threat to all monuments under review, including the Grand Staircase-Escalante.

After a “listening” tour that intentionally excluded stakeholders and a public comment period where the people of Utah joined with the American public to overwhelmingly implore the Secretary to make no recommendations altering our beloved national monuments, today’s news comes with little surprise. “Disregarding the very process this administration constructed, this report from Secretary Zinke is blatant attack on a monument that has been decades in the making. Bears Ears already represents a compromise between Rep. Rob Bishop’s Public Lands Initiative and the requests of the Bears Ears Intertribal Coalition,” said Nicole Croft, Executive Director of Grand Staircase Escalante Partners. “ This recommendation should be viewed for what it is: another land grab in a shameful history of violating the sovereignty of Native American people.”

The vast majority of legal scholars agree that while the Antiquities Act grants the President the power to designate a monument, only Congress can modify the boundaries, and any attempt to shrink the national treasure that is Bears Ears National Monument through executive action would certainly be vigorously challenged within the courts.

That is just the beginning! Now our own Arizona Congressmen are after the nearby Ironwood Forest National Monument and the Sonoran Desert National Monument!

Have you added your public statement yet? Please, take a moment to share why these monuments are important to you, Arizona or the planet. 

The deadline is TODAY,  Monday, July 10th. 

http://monumentsforall.org/

Arizona Republicans Paul Gosar, Andy Biggs and Trent Franks are calling to rescind the declarations of the monuments including the Sonoran Desert National Monument and Ironwood Forest National Monument

Members of the Congressional Western Caucus, including U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, the chair, and Reps. Andy Biggs and Trent Franks, all Arizona Republicans, are calling on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to rescind the declarations of the monuments including the Sonoran Desert National Monument and Ironwood Forest National Monument - right outside of Tucson. Time to speak out. Here is the e-mail I just sent to Rep. Gosar and the link to where you can send your own e-mail.

Dear Congressman Gosar,

I've lived in Tucson for over 23 years. I love our desert home. I'm raising my boys here. It's important to me that my sons and their children be able to continue enjoying our beautiful desert. Did you know that there is enough rainwater every year to provide every Tucsonan's water needs - without relying on the already depleted Colorado River water? Groups like Watershed Management Group (https://watershedmg.org) are teaching Arizonans how to incorporate rainwater harvesting and to conserve the water we already have. My husband and I work everyday to get our rivers flowing again so we have a more sustainable water source.

In order to maintain a sustainable water source we need to protect our National Monuments including the Sonoran Desert National Monument and the Gila River.

It's time to transition out of coal, not build more dirty coal powered plants. We just can't spare the water! It requires water to extract coal from the ground and water to run the plant. The toxic tailings also seep into our springs poisoning our water source. First and foremost we must protect our water! Without water, there is no life in the desert.

Coal jobs are temporary. Just check out all the abandoned coal towns along Arizona highways and the gaping holes left behind when the mining companies were done savaging our beautiful desert.

Please, protect our cherished National Monuments and help us build a sustainable water source for our children.

Jana Segal
Tucson, AZ. 85712

More information.

Washington, DC
504 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2315

I couldn't leave a comment for Congressman Biggs because I wasn't from his district, so I left a message on his facebook page and on Congressman Trent's page.