Since its passage by a Republican-led Congress in 1906, the Antiquities Act has been used 231 times—by both Republican and Democratic presidents alike—to protect iconic lands.
Some of our most well-known and well-loved national parks—like Arches and the Grand Canyon—were first protected under the Antiquities Act as national monuments.
The Center for Western Priorities analyzed a random sample (n=1000) of the 654,197 comments posted as of Monday morning. 98 percent of those comments expressed support for keeping or expanding national monument designations.* Just one percent requested President Trump attempt to shrink or erase monument boundaries.
President Trump issued an executive order Wednesday instructing the Department of the Interior to review 24 landscape-scale monuments protected over the last 21 years.
Every indication is that the outcome is preordained: the review will be used to attempt to shrink or eliminate our national monuments.
From the earliest days of American conservation, a vocal minority has remained opposed to any and all new land protection measures.
Thankfully, America’s great conservation leaders had the foresight and courage to protect our nation’s iconic lands in the face of intense hostility from pro-development and anti-conservation interests.
The Antiquities Act gives the president the power to protect “objects of historic and scientific interest” as national monuments. It’s fundamental to our nation’s conservation legacy, but it’s under attack.
A small group of politicians are committed to attacking our national monuments, even if it means ignoring public opinion.
Since its passage by a Republican-led Congress in 1906, the Antiquities Act has been used 231 times—by both Republican and Democratic presidents alike—to protect iconic lands.
Some of our most well-known and well-loved national parks—like Arches and the Grand Canyon—were first protected under the Antiquities Act as national monuments.
The stunning cliffs and buttes of Bears Ears National Monument—named for its distinctive twin plateaus—are nestled in southeast Utah. With tens of thousands of cultural sites, looting, vandalism, and industrial development threaten this landscape’s long cultural history.
And now, Bears Ears is under attack from Utah’s own leaders.
