"Legislation was introduced Thursday in the U.S. House of Representatives to strip presidents of their authority under The Antiquities Act to designate national monuments.
The measure, introduced by Reps. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, and Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, would rewrite the act to say only Congress has the authority to designate national monuments.
“Congress, not the executive branch, has jurisdiction to make decisions on public land,” said Rep. Maloy. “Congress trusted Presidents with a narrow authority to declare national monuments in the Antiquities Act. Unfortunately, Presidents have continued to abuse that narrow authority to designate millions of acres of land in Utah and across the West without proper Congressional oversight. My bill aims to rebalance the powers between Congress and the executive branch and restore transparency and accountability to these designations.”
The move was immediately criticized.
“The Antiquities Act has played a pivotal role in our country’s history, and in the history of the National Park Service," said Phil Francis, who spent more than four decades with the Park Service and now chairs the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks. "The National Park Service manages over 100 parks that were designated thanks to The Antiquities Act, including well-known national parks such as Acadia, Carlsbad Caverns, Grand Canyon, and Olympic. Today, these places are integral to our national identity and are hugely popular sites within the National Park System.""
Kurt Repanshek reports for National Parks Traveler January 16, 2025.
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