On Friday, President Barack Obama announced that he is creating three new national monuments in California, Nevada and Texas. As part of these monuments more than one million acres of wilderness, unique fossil sites, and prehistoric artwork will become protected.
“With these new designations, President Obama will have used the Antiquities Act to establish or expand 19 national monuments,” since taking office. To date, President Obama has set aside “more public lands and waters than any administration in history.”
Many environmental advocates have praised the new monuments for bringing sorely needed protection to natural American treasures.
“By creating these three new national monuments, President Obama is continuing his commitment to preserving America’s treasured places and cementing his well-deserved place in conservation history,” Gene Karpinski, president of the League of Conservation Voters told the Hill. “The president acted in response to the overwhelming support expressed by local communities and stakeholders across the country for protecting these places of extraordinary environmental, historic, and scientific value.”
In Texas, President Obama is creating a monument at Waco Mammoth, a small site in central Texas which features the remains of the Columbian Mammoths from more than 65,000 year ago. Archaeologists have also discovered the remains of many other animals of the Pleistocene Epoch (ice age) within this fossil rich area including Saber-toothed Cat, the giant tortoise and the Western Camel. Not only will the preservation of this site provide unparalleled opportunities for scientific study, the site will also provide significant economic revenue to surrounding communities; annually, more than 20,000 people already visit the fossil filled site.
Nevada’s Basin and Range, a site famous for its beauty and collection of prehistoric rock art panels, will also be made into a national monument. Also featured within the site is a modern art piece entitled ‘City.’ The piece which was created over decades in the desert is composed of a series of sculptures by artist Michael Heizer.
In California, more than 330,000 acres of the states northern region will be set aside to create a new monument at Berryessa Snow Mountain. The area, which is “knows as a prime recreational destination and one of the most biologically diverse areas in California,” has been inhabited by Native Americans for at least the last 11,000 years, making it home to many irreplaceable cultural artefacts.
Although the President’s actions to protect these sites are widely supported, some Republicans have spent many years arguing that Obama has abused his authority to designate monuments; Republicans in Congress even began pursuing legislation to stop the president. As reported by CBS News, “In anticipation of Obama’s move, this week Nevada Rep. Cresent Hardy introduced an amendment to an Interior Department bill that would block Obama from creating monuments in areas where there’s been local opposition.” The amendment, which lists counties in Nevada, Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah as off-limits, successfully made its way into the bill.
“Any decisions that restrict ranching, recreation or other types of land-use activities should have as much local input as possible,” Hardy said, adding that the amendment was “about empowering local communities and local stakeholders most affected by monument designations.”
On Thursday, Congressional Republicans pulled the House Interior bill from the floor over a provision that would ban the display of the confederate flag on public lands. Since, they have not indicated when they plan to progress with the spending bill.
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