There are 13 United States national monuments which the National Park Conservation Association have identified as being under threat as a result of Donald Trump's recent Executive Order about opening up federal lands for energy exploration. So, if any of the following places are on your list of destinations to visit, prioritize exploring them soon or forever be willing to miss out on the opportunity to do so. [If you don't know about them, I suggest you do some research (or at least look at the pictures below) and decide if they are worth the effort to visit them in the (very) near future.]
Aztec Ruins National Monument (New Mexico)Â
Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni National Monument (near Grand Canyon, Arizona) -- link already removed from federal website
Devils Tower National Monument (Wyoming)  -- the nation’s first national monument, established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906
Dinosaur National Monument (Colorado, Utah)Â
Grand Canyon–Parashant National Monument (Arizona)Â
Hovenweep National Monument (Colorado, Utah)Â
Jewel Cave National Monument (South Dakota)Â
Natural Bridges National Monument (Utah)Â
Scottsbluff National Monument (Nebraska)Â
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument (Arizona)
Vermillion Cliffs National Monument (Arizona) -- link already removed from federal website
Despite the current administration's decision to prioritize energy exploration and encourage oil and gas drilling over land conservation, please know that the national parks are supposed to be protected, in perpetuity, by congress. However, with staffing cuts being made to the National Park Service, it might not be a bad idea to add adjacent national parks to your visits to these monuments. If ever there was an impetus to get out and explore these parts of the country, it is now.
For more information about this sad and worrisome story, click here for a link to an article about it from USA Today.