LAS VEGAS (AP) — A debate is raging in the inbox of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior about whether President Donald Trump should keep the scenic and artifact-rich Gold Butte area in southern Nevada as a national monument.
Hundreds of public comments have been posted in recent weeks about the future of the rugged and arid rangeland covering 470 square miles northeast of Las Vegas.
They range from, "I hope this area will remain protected" to "shut down this monument designation."
Many messages are unsigned. Some just mention Gold Butte among the 27 national monuments under presidential review.
Gold Butte is perhaps best-known as the grazing area at the center of a cattle round-up and armed standoff in April 2014 involving federal land management agents and Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy.