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A new report from the Center for American Progress and the Monumental Shift Coalition says President Biden has the opportunity to address inequities in land protection by designating new national monuments. According to the report, only 24 percent of existing national park sites were designated with the purpose of documenting historically underrepresented communities. The report finds that there are more sites dedicated to white American military history than to any of the marginalized communities included in the report.
Previous administrations have made progress on designating national monuments that tell the story of underrepresented communities. Data shows that the average rate at which presidents have protected these national sites has tripled since 1981. President Obama designated 23 of these sites, including Honouliuli National Historic Site, Stonewall National Monument, and Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument.
President Biden has the opportunity to continue this legacy of inclusive land protection by using the Antiquities Act, which gives the president the authority to designate national monuments. While President Biden has yet to use the Antiquities Act to designate any new national monuments, it was used broadly by presidents in the past to designate sites with historical and cultural significance. The report suggests Texas' Castner Range as a starting point, since it has strong community support along with significant historical and cultural value, and there are many other cultural sites that are ready for protection under the Antiquities Act.
"President Biden should take swift action to designate culturally significant lands, such as Castner Range, as national monuments under the Antiquities Act," the report states. "Making the outdoors more inclusive to people of color cannot be done without designating more national monuments to tell the history of underrepresented communities."
New ad urges candidates to connect with voters on outdoor issues
The Center for Western Priorities released a new video ad urging political candidates to connect with voters on outdoor issues because pro-public lands conservation positions are key to winning the West.
The ad comes on the heels of CWP's Winning the West 2022 poll which makes it clear that the outdoors are central to Western voters, their way of life, and how they vote. Ninety percent of Western voters say that national public lands, parks, and wildlife issues are important to them, and 81 percent of voters say that these issues will play an influential role in how they choose to vote. The finding holds true across party lines with 87 percent of Democrats, 81 percent of Independents, and 73 percent of Republicans reporting that conservation issues will impact their vote.
Watch the "Escape" ad and extended directors cut online now.
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We have to remember our history. We need to take better care of our land, and these kind of places that become a national monument — that helps to contain it, to bring it into a place where everybody's accessing these memories too, and we won't forget what happened.”
