EDITORIAL: Incoming Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke makes sense when it comes to imposing federal land-use restrictions in western states such as Nevada

Back in 1996, Bill Clinton used the Antiquities Act to declare a wide swath of Southern Utah off limits for productive use, designating acres of rock formations and canyons as the Grand Staircase-Escalante monument. Many Utahns weren’t happy, including the Republican governor, who said he learned of the plan just a week prior to the designation.

To make matters worse, when Mr. Clinton ventured west to sign the proclamation, the photo-op took place on the Arizona side of the Grand Canyon, far removed from the actual land involved.

But at least Mr. Clinton made an effort to visit the area. Barack Obama offered Nevadans no such courtesy when last month he unilaterally used the 1906 law to turn 300,000 acres northeast of Las Vegas known as Gold Butte into a national monument.

Several Republican members of Congress now threaten to reform or repeal the Antiquities Act and to undo the designations Mr. Obama made on his way out the door. During his confirmation hearing this week, Ryan Zinke — the GOP congressman from Montana tabbed by Donald Trump to head the Interior Department — said he would review the Gold Butte designation along with another in Utah.

In fact, overturning these actions is a long shot, as are efforts to kill the law. But Mr. Zinke did make eminent sense when he said during the hearing that it would be appropriate to work “with, rather than against, local communities and the states” when making determinations about federal monuments.

“Before I make a recommendation to the president, I’m going to talk to you,” he said.

Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada’s newly elected Democratic senator, responded by arguing that “the vast majority of Nevadans support these designations.” Maybe, maybe not. But it’s easy for the gentry class sitting in the comfort of their air-conditioned urban offices to support fencing off vast tracts of far-off rural land. What about the people who live and work in these areas and are most affected by these decisions?

Mr. Zinke’s approach would be a breath of fresh air and long overdue.