President Joe Biden restored Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante’s statuses as national monuments. We explain the controversial law that allows him to do so
IT WAS A decision months in the making. On October 7th, President Joe Biden said that he would restore two national monuments in southern Utah’s canyon country to roughly the size they were during the Obama administration. The move pleased conservationists and enraged western Republicans. It also dashed the hopes of some Native American tribes that wanted to further enlarge the protected lands. Mr Biden likewise restored a marine monument off the coast of New England.
In the late 19th century museums and fairs, such as the World’s Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893, increasingly displayed Native American artefacts. This exposure and the rise of American archaeological studies led to a surge in demand for antiquities from the country’s western states. Looting, vandalism and grave-robbing became common.
The vagueness of the act’s wording made it a powerful tool for environmental conservation. Theodore Roosevelt, who signed the bill into law, made immediate use of his new executive power. An avowed conservationist, he created 18 national monuments—as well as 150 national forests and five national parks—during his tenure in the White House. Roosevelt’s successors followed suit. Every president since except Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush declared or enlarged national monuments .
The law has long been controversial, hardening battle lines between the legislative and executive branches, federal and state governments, tribes, scientists and industry. Individual states viewed it as a land grab by the feds; tribes were often not consulted when monuments were declared, enlarged or diminished; miners, ranchers, loggers and oilmen complained that the protections were bad for business.
These competing interests still define the debate around America’s public lands. But even among westerners, national monuments are popular. A recent Colorado College poll found that 74% of Utahns support restoring protections for them. That is good news for the Biden administration, which hopes to protect 30% of American lands and waters by 2030.
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