President Donald Trump  signed an executive order Wednesday requiring a review of national monuments which he said was aimed at ending an “egregious abuse of federal power.”

At a ceremony at the Department of the Interior, the President said people’s ability to access and utilize land must be protected, and that the Obama  administration had put hundreds of millions of acres under federal control through monument designation.

[ See Also] Canada’s Foreign Minister has a warning for Trump  – ‘We’re going to play hard’

The order is part of a push to open up more federal lands to drilling, mining and other development, which is  cheered by industry but opposed by conservationists. Critics worry that Trump’s order could lead to a loss of protections on federal land and open new areas to oil and gas drilling.

The action could upend protections put in place in Utah and other states as Trump tries to rack up accomplishments in his first 100 days. The order comes as Trump tries build on the presidential acumen he’s established early on at the White House.

[ Read Also] Millenials rate President Trump’s 100 days a whooping ‘F’

The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorizes the president to declare federal lands as monuments and restrict how the lands can be used.

Itunuoluwa