The Interior Department released hundreds of heavily redacted documents on Monday from a two-week review in February. These records contain action plans for national monuments and mineral withdrawals across the U.S. to accelerate President Donald Trump’s American energy agenda.
“This is over-redacted in a way that is almost laughable,” said Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the nonpartisan Center for Western Priorities. “Clearly, they don’t want to say what they’re up to.”
None of the 468 pages reveal any recommendations for several national monuments of cultural significance to tribes scattered throughout the Southwest.
The Trump administration has been eyeing to shrink large swaths of federally protected lands to expedite the extraction of oil, gas and critical minerals — including Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah, Chuckwalla in California as well as Arizona’s Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni that former President Joe Biden designated in 2023.
In a statement, the Interior Department told KJZZ these internal working documents contain “a large amount of pre-decisional and deliberative information,” which it argues is shielded by law.
“It seems like you’re having it both ways,” added Weiss. “Either you had to have action plans completed in 14 days, or they drafted up a bunch of deliberative action plans and didn’t actually finish them.”
The federal agency would not disclose when its final plans will be released.
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Last week, more than a dozen tribes across the U.S. commented on a new proposal by the Trump administration to let developers obtain preliminary permits for hydropower projects on reservations in spite of tribal opposition. -
The official designation comes at a pivotal time when sustained drought threatens this precious natural resource — CRIT considers “a living entity” — running parallel to the nearly 300,000-acre reservation along the California border. -
Beyond the bickering Upper and Lower Basin states, there are 30 federally recognized tribes stuck in the middle of a decades-old debate on how best to divvy the water while keeping the ever-dwindling river flowing. -
Without reliable internet, it’s tough for veterans to apply for and access financial and health benefits, including mental care. But a Phoenix-based company and an Arizona state agency are partnering to help better equip those living on tribal lands. -
The Pentagon pointed KJZZ to Truth Social — adding nothing more at this time — when asked for more information about Trump’s post he made while overseas moments before meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
