RL30528: National Monuments and the Antiquities Act

This report addresses the authority of the President to create national monuments on federal lands under the Antiquities Act of 1906. It discusses aspects of the Act that have been controversial. These include the size and types of resources protected; the level of threat to designated areas; effects of proclamations on land uses; consistency of the Act with the withdrawal, public participation, and environmental review aspects of other laws; monument management by agencies other than the National Park Service (NPS); and the constitutionality of the Act. It also provides background on the four monuments President Clinton created or enlarged by proclamation on January 11,2000, and
discusses the land uses permitted within these monuments. It provides similar information for the Giant Sequoia National Monument created on April 15, 2000. The report discusses possible future monument designations, especially the possibility of "national landscape monuments." It briefly identifies options for Congress related to presidential designation of monuments. This report will be
updated as events may require. For additional information on national monuments, especially the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, see CRS Report 98-993 ENR and CRS General Distribution Memorandum, Legal Issues Raised by the Designation of the Grand Staircase Escalante-National Monument.