I am sure you’ve seen the news: President Trump, acting upon Interior Secretary Zinke’s recommendation, has announced the shrinking of two national monuments: Bears Ears—created last December by President
Barack Obama—by about 85 percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante—designated in 1996 by President Bill Clinton—by nearly half. Now Zinke is recommending drastic changes to our local Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, reducing the size to exclude lands coveted by Big Timber.
You have a right to be pissed off—these are public lands and should be protected for the benefit of all, not just special interest. Thankfully, Native American tribes and conservation groups are taking Trump to court over this illegal use of power.
When Zinke first recommended reducing the size of our national monuments, EPIC held a press conference to “officially” rename toilets “Zinkes” in honor of our Interior Secretary, because he’s leaving a crappy legacy on our public lands.
If you donate $100 today, you can get your own commemorative Zinke sign! Each Zinke sign is handmade by our Executive Director, Tom Wheeler, out of reclaimed wood. All proceeds will go to EPIC’s Public Lands Defense program, which has commented on every major timber sale in our region for the past 15 years. Our public lands defense program, led by Kimberly Baker, has the highest rate of success against the U.S. Forest Service in the country—winning over 60% of all cases.
We encourage all of our members to take up the name. For example, you can say, “Wow, that’s a stinky Zinke,” upon encountering a particularly smelly toilet. Or before hitting the trail, you can tell your hiking partner, “Hold on, I need to hit the Zinke.” Or, if the Zinke is nearing capacity, you can let someone know, “That Zinke is full of crap.”
Give the gift of public lands this Christmas. If you ask nicely, we’ll even gift wrap it for you! Donate by December 15th in order to ensure your sign arrives in time for Christmas!
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