The Antiquities Act of 1906 celebrates its 111th birthday today. The title itself feels ancient and calls up images of dusty artifacts, ruins, dwellings and landscapes as old as the earth.
Since being passed by Congress and signed into law by Teddy Roosevelt, the Act gives authority to and has been used by 16 presidents (eight Republican and eight Democratic) to protect and preserve America’s national heritage, its lands and oceans, cultural and scientific resources, in 129 national monuments on federal lands and waters nationwide.
In 1906, 85.5 million people were living in the United States compared to today’s 326.5 million. It was a different time on the land and in the halls of Congress. So much so that John F. Lacey, the Representative from Iowa who introduced the bill that became the Antiquities Act, was a Republican. Republican legislators used to call for conserving resources - natural and financial. Conservation was not, as it is today, so partisan. Lacey carried the legislation because he was concerned about rampant looting of Native American ruins and artifacts in the American southwest at the end of the 19th century that continues today.
That is why in December, President Obama designated the 1.3 million-acre Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. It contains over 100,000 archaeologically significant sites within the monument boundaries. It also holds untapped coal and natural gas reserves and is why President Trump with his new “American Energy First” strategy along with Utah’s elected officials - its governor and members of Congress - would like to see monuments like Bears Ears reduced or eliminated and developed at the exclusion of other economic uses, like outdoor recreation and tourism.
The Antiquities Act imbues the president with the power to act swiftly to preserve historic and prehistoric sites on federal lands without waiting for legislation to be passed by an indifferent Congress. Before Obama, Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton did just that.
In late April, President Trump signed an executive order that calls for a review of all national monuments of 100,000 acres or more designated since 1996 by these three presidents, or that Interior Secretary Zinke determines were designated with insufficient public input.
The order charges Secretary Zinke with this review and is an unprecedented action that has not been clearly defined. It undermines years of dialogue and deliberation by the general public and stakeholder and interest groups working for a balanced approach to resource conservation and development. And it largely left out the elected representatives of the five sovereign tribes who called on President Obama for the designation.
Instead, the Executive Order calls for 45 days for the Secretary to review Bears Ears and 120 days for his review of all other monuments. The E.O. calls for a 15-day public comment period for Bears Ears (most are 60 days) that ended on May 26th; and a 45-day public input period for all other monuments (that ends on July 10th).
Though Zinke recently said, “The policy is consistent with President Trump’s promise to give American’s a voice and make sure [they] are heard,” his on-site meetings at Bears Ears were held mostly with opponents. In fact, many fewer people were heard than who participated in the broad and diverse public engagement activities that led up to Bears Ears and other monument designations.
On the anniversary of the Antiquities Act, the public has spoken. Over 1 million comments were submitted in support of Bears Ears and the 26 other land and marine national monuments under review, including Canyon of the Ancients west of Cortez. They mostly call for no changes to our national monuments, preserving America’s heritage and maintaining them for posterity, as museums without walls.
Let’s hope Secretary Zinke, President Trump and our representatives are listening. That would be a nice birthday present.
