Earlier this week, Rep. Don Young (R-AK) introduced a bill
to strip current and future presidents’ authority to designate national
monuments, proposing an overhaul to a law that presidents have used for nearly
a century to protect some of the country’s most iconic and treasured places.
The bill,
introduced Tuesday, would amend the 1906 Antiquities Act to effectively block
the President from designating any new national monuments without congressional
approval and an extensive environmental review. Additionally, the bill would
require the President to seek approval from nearby state governments for marine
monument proposals.
“Americans value our National Parks and iconic areas like
Grand Canyon and Statue of Liberty, but this legislation would attack the
century-old law that has helped protect them,” said Alex
Taurel, Deputy Legislative Director at the League of Conservation Voters. “By
introducing this bill, Rep. Young has proven how out of step with the American
people he truly is.”
Sixteen presidents,
both Republicans and Democrats, have used the Antiquities Act to permanently
protect public lands and historic sites since the Act’s passage in 1906. Some
of America’s most beloved and iconic landmarks, like the Grand Tetons and
Arches National Park, were originally protected as national monuments under the
Act. President Obama recently used the Act for the 13th
time in his presidency to protect the San
Gabriel Mountains National Monument outside of Los Angeles.
Rep. Young, who has co-sponsored similar
legislation in the past, is one of several other
members of Congress who are fighting to gut the Antiquities Act and weaken
protections on public lands, but who feature national monuments prominently on
social media and their websites: the background of Rep.
Young’s website currently
features a stock
photo of Denali National Park and Preserve, a portion of which was originally
designated as a national monument by President Carter in 1978.
Attacks on the Antiquities Act from Republican members of
Congress are not
new. Last March, the House passed
legislation to block presidents from establishing national monuments
by limiting the number of designations a president can make per term, and
creating additional roadblocks to limit executive authority under the Act. More
attacks on the Act and attempts to weaken protections for public lands are
expected this year as the GOP-controlled Congress works to implement its agenda.
Despite the efforts of Rep. Young and his allies, new
polling data shows that 70 percent of American voters strongly support
efforts by President Obama to permanently protect some public lands for future
generations as national monuments or wildlife refuges, including 76 percent of
independent voters. The poll also found that more than two out of three
Americans oppose efforts to stop the creation of new national monuments, parks
and wilderness areas.
“The new Congress is already moving quickly on an agenda
backed by fossil-fuel interests that would weaken protections for clean air and
clean water, roll back investments in renewable energy, fast track exports of
American oil, and prioritize special interest giveaways on America’s public
lands,” said former
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, Counselor to the Center for American Progress and
President of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. “The fossil-fuel
agenda of the new Congress is out of step with public opinion and it’s out of
step with the priorities of middle-class families who want more renewable energy,
cleaner air for their kids, and places that will be set aside for future
generations to enjoy.”
Until late last
year, Congress had failed to pass any significant land conservation
legislation since 2009, and the 113th Congress closed with numerous bills to
protect public lands left
on the table. President Obama has said that
he will continue to “pick up a little bit of the slack” while Congress fails to
act, and is expected to designate new national monuments this
year.
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