WASHINGTON It could have been an attempt to avoid public backlash, or he might not be totally clear about what his boss expects. Whatever the reason, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke downplayed the threat President Donald Trump s executive order poses to at least two dozen national monuments.

The order, signed Wednesday , tasks the Interior Department with reviewing monument designations made under the Antiquities Act of 1906. The order applies to all federal monuments 100,000 acres or larger that were established after Jan. 1, 1996.

Lets be clear , Zinke said Wednesday. This executive order does not remove any monuments. And this executive order does not weaken any environmental protections on any public lands. Under President Trumps leadership, Im looking forward to working with and being an advocate for local, state and tribal representation, and to review the designations and provide recommendations for action where appropriate.

Zinke was careful not to overstate what the executive order calls for. Trump, on the other hand, made it clear at Wednesdays signing ceremony that hes looking for more than a simple review.

Trump, standing below a portrait of Theodore Roosevelt Zinkes hero and the president who signed the act into law more than a century ago boasted that he was ending another egregious abuse of federal power and putting the states back in charge of their lands.