President Joe Biden has used the Antiquities Act to create six new national monuments since taking office—more national monuments in a single term
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Biden should use the Antiquities Act before Congress takes it away
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Wednesday, December 4, 2024
View of Mount Shasta from Sáttítla. Photo by Bob Wick, used by permission
President Joe Biden has used the Antiquities Act to create six new national monuments since taking office—more national monuments in a single term than any president since Jimmy Carter ([link removed]) . Through these designations, Biden has made progress ([link removed]) toward the national goal of protecting 30 percent of America’s public lands by 2030, as well as honored Indigenous and Black Americans, while protecting nature for generations to come.
But his work is not done. Project 2025, the far-right roadmap written by the Heritage Foundation for the Trump administration, proposes Congress abolish the Antiquities Act ([link removed]) , which has been used since 1906—by both Republicans and Democrats—to designate over 150 national monuments ([link removed]) . These monuments protect iconic landscapes—some of which have since been upgraded to national parks, like the Grand Tetons and the Grand Canyon—from commercial activities like logging, mining, and drilling.
Biden should use the power of the Antiquities Act to protect more public land while he still can, argues Binyamin Appelbaum ([link removed]) , an opinion writer for the New York Times. There are a number of worthy monument proposals ready to go, including three in California ([link removed]) . One is in the northern part of the state, in a volcanic region called Sáttítla ([link removed]) . The second is adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park, called Chuckwalla ([link removed]) . And the third is a stretch of desert down by the Mexican border, called Kw'tsán ([link removed]) . Proposals are also ready to protect the Dolores River Canyon ([link removed]) in Colorado and the Owyhee
Canyonlands ([link removed]) in Oregon. All together, Biden could protect over 2.5 million acres of public land by designating these monuments. He should act now, before it's too late.
** Quick hits
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Oregon governor makes final plea to Biden to protect Owyhee Canyonlands
Idaho Capital Sun ([link removed])
Visitors must conserve water at Grand Canyon's South Rim
Arizona Republic ([link removed])
U.S. winter gas stockpile biggest in 8 years, EIA says
E&E News ([link removed])
Opinion: Despite Trump, Colorado’s environmental work will continue
Colorado Newsline ([link removed])
As disasters multiply, FEMA makes it easier for tribes to get aid
Washington Post ([link removed])
New Mexico calls on Congress to move forward on 6 Tribal water rights settlements
Source NM ([link removed])
The 2024 wildfire season was long, intense, and tragic
Montana Public Radio ([link removed])
Feds sue group that put up fence, claimed ownership over 1,400 acres of Colorado forest
KUNC ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” I think that when one looks back on our elected leaders and thinks about their legacy, protecting lands is often a very powerful part of that legacy. It’s something that endures and is associated with our leaders for long after they leave office. There just aren’t very many instances of people protecting land and us looking back on it and being like, you know, boy, that was a mistake.”
—Binyamin Appelbaum ([link removed]) , New York Times opinion writer
** Picture This
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@USFWS ([link removed])
Gilded flickers are Sonoran Desert specialists. Gilded, because they're golden on the underside of their wings and tail. They look similar Northern flickers, but you don't find the yellow-shafted variety in the SW. Photo: Rick Cameron CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 [link removed] ([link removed])
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