What do our National Monuments mean to you? Do you think of them as places to play, to recreate and enjoy the beauty of our public lands? Do you think of them as places that protect the past, conserving prehistoric fossils and Ancestral Puebloan ruins? Do you think of them as “mini-National Parks”? Do you think of them as a way to offer important American landmarks a level of protection?
There’s a bill before the House right now you should know about. It’s HR 3990, The “National Monument Creation & Protection Act”.
Don’t let the title fool you. It’s not about national monument creation. It’s about national monument destruction and the evisceration of the Antiquities Act.
A Few Provisions of this Bill:
- It would change the language, striking “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest” and inserting “object or objects of antiquity”.
- Limit the size of any new national monuments, in some cases to no more than 640 acres.
- Limit a national monument’s proximity to other national monuments.
- The President could remove up to 85,000 acres from existing national monuments, even more with agreement from a state’s governor and legislature.
- Prohibits national monuments that protect oceans.
A Little Historic Background
There are a few misconceptions out there about what the Antiquities Act is all about. Even in the very earliest days of the Antiquities Act, the “scientific interest” clause was important. Of the 18 national monuments created by Theodore Roosevelt, one third were created to preserve places of scientific interest. Proponents of this bill state that the Antiquities Act was only created to preserve objects of antiquity.
Proponents of this act state that the original act was meant to preserve only small areas. Is the Grand Canyon a small area? Fully half of our national parks started out as national monuments, most in excess of 85,000 acres at their creation as national monuments.
Think of Zion, Canyonlands, Death Valley, Olympic, Katmai, Wrangell-St. Elias, just to name a few. If the Antiquities Act meant what proponents of H.R. 3990 believe it does, none of these crown jewels would have ever received protection. Just think of the loss to our national heritage if these lands had not been protected!
The most troubling clause of this bill is the ability of the president to drastically reduce the size of existing national monuments. This means that any of our national monuments can be arbitrarily reduced by up to 85,000 acres at any time and for any reason. Essentially it means a national monument designation is no protection at all.
It’s Not All Bad News
There is a ray of hope. New Mexico’s Senator Tom Udall has sponsored another bill, S. 2354, the Antiquities Act of 2018. This bill reaffirms and strengthens the original Antiquities Act and will demonstrate the public’s support for our national monuments. This bill currently needs more sponsors.
What You Can Do
- Educate yourself about just how important the Antiquities Act and our National Monuments are. Here’s a link to get started.
- Write your congressman. Let them know that you support the Antiquities Act and do not support HR 3990.
- Write your senators. Let them know you support the Antiquities Act and Senate bill S. 2354 and ask them to help sponsor this bill.
- Donate to organizations that are fighting the repeal of the Antiquities Act.
- The BLM is preparing management plans for the reduced Bear’s Ears and Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monuments proposed by Trump, even though the court cases challenging the legality of this action have not yet been heard. There is a comment period open until April 11. Protest this action. Comments must be sent individually for each National Monument.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Make comments for Bear’s Ears and Grand Staircase/Escalante here.
- Spread the word! Tell your friends and neighbors about this unprecedented threat to some of our most sacred places.
- Be an activist! Organize or join a rally or demonstration in support of the Antiquities Act.
Our national monuments have never been so endangered. It’s up to us to speak up and let our voices be heard. Time is short. Let our government know now how much you care about our public lands.