WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Donald Trump will order a review of the 1906 law that gives the president of the United States power to set aside lands for federal protection, administration officials tell CNN, setting into motion a process that could see the Trump administration rescind the protection of lands designated by former President Barack Obama.

Trump will sign the executive order Wednesday at the Interior Department, Secretary Ryan Zinke told reporters. The order could lead to the reshaping of roughly 30 national monuments that were designated by Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama after 1996.

At the heart of this proposal is Bears Ears National Monument, a 1.3-million-acre parcel of lands that includes world-class rock climbing, age-old cliff dwellings and land sacred to Pueblo Indians that Obama designated a monument in 2016.

Zinke said Tuesday in a briefing with reporters that he will make a recommendation on the contested parcel of land in 45 days and later provided Trump will a fuller report.

"We feel that the public, the people that monuments affect, should be considered and that is why the President is asking for a review of the monuments designated in the last 20 years," Zinke said, adding that he believes the review is "long overdue."

Utah Republicans, angry that Obama designated the land for federal protection, have called on the Trump administration to remove the protection and give the parcel back to the deep red state -- possibly to authorize drilling. But that action has been met with vocal opposition from environmental groups, outdoor outfitters and Native American tribes, who argue federal protection is not only better for the environment, but better for the economy in a rural, economically depressed area of the Beehive State.

"The policy is consistent with the President Trump's promise to give American's a voice and make sure their voices are heard," the interior secretary added, arguing that the order "restores the trust between local communities and Washington" and lets rural America know "states will have a voice" in land designation.

That argument is largely dismissed by the White House.

"Past administrations have overused this power and designated large swaths of land well beyond the areas in need of protection," a White House official said Tuesday. "The Antiquities Act Executive Order directs the Department of the Interior to review prior monument designations and suggest legislative changes or modifications to the monument proclamations."

The move by Trump will not resolve the Bears Ears issue. Instead, it will set up a process to review the designation and make a decision at a later date. But groups that support keeping Bears Ears in federal control believe the Trump administration's decision, led by Zinke, is the first step in the process to give the land back to Utah.

Rose Marcario, president and CEO of the outdoor outfitter Patagonia, said the review "is an assault on America's most treasured lands and oceans."

"Bears Ears and other national monuments were designated after significant community input because they are a critical part of our national heritage and have exceptional ecological characteristics worth protecting for future generations," Marcario said. "It's extremely disturbing to see the Trump administration apparently laying the groundwork to remove protections on our public lands."

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