By Alan J. Peterson First published 5/25/17
Helper, Utah
Helper, Utah
Monument Review MS-1530
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 202240
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the abusive use of the Antiquities Act over the past 20 years. Wow, where to begin? Perhaps we should start with a better understanding of the reason for the Antiquities Act and when it was enacted:
The Antiquities Act of 1906, (Pub.L. 59–209, 34 Stat. 225, 54 U.S.C. § 320301–320303), is an act passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by presidential proclamation, create national monuments from federal lands to protect significant natural, cultural, or scientific features. The Act has been used over a hundred times since its passage. Its use occasionally creates significant controversy.
History of Antiquities Act of 1906:
The Antiquities Act resulted from concerns about protecting mostly prehistoric Native American ruins and artifacts – collectively termed "antiquities" – on federal lands in the West, such as at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Removal of artifacts from these lands by private collectors – "pot hunters," in the language of the time – had become a serious problem by the end of the 19th century. In 1902, Iowa Congressman John F. Lacey, who chaired the House Committee on the Public Lands, traveled to the Southwest with the rising anthropologist Edgar Lee Hewett, to see for himself the extent of the pot hunters' impact. His findings, supported by an exhaustive report by Hewett to Congress detailing the archaeological resources of the region, provided the necessary impetus for the passage of the legislation.[1]
Let’s think about how different our environmental laws are now in 2017, compared to 1906. There are now many, many environmental laws in place that did not exist in 1906. Perhaps the most far reaching is FLPMA of 1976. The list below is just an example of “laws on the books” which render The Antiquities Act to be obsolete:
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act, or FLPMA (Pub.L. 94–579), is a United States federal law that governs the way in which the public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management are managed. The law was enacted in 1976 by the 94th Congress and is found in the United States Code under Title 43. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act phased out homesteading in the United States by repealing the pre-existing Homestead Acts.
Congress recognized the value of the public lands, declaring that these lands would remain in public ownership. The National Forest Service, National Park Service, and now, the Bureau of Land Management, are commissioned in FLPMA to allow a variety of uses on their land (of greater concern for the BLM, who is the least restrictive in terms of uses) while simultaneously trying to preserve the natural resources in them. This concept is best summarized by the term 'multiple-use.' 'Multiple use' is defined in the Act as "management of the public lands and their various resource values so that they are utilized in the combination that will best meet the present and future needs of the American people." FLPMA addresses topics such as land use planning, land acquisition, fees and payments, administration of federal land, range management, and right-of-ways on federal land. FLPMA has specific objectives and time frames in which to accomplish these objectives, giving it more authority and eliminating the uncertainty surrounding the BLM’s role in wilderness designation and management.
Parts of FLPMA relating specifically to Wilderness are found under the heading Designated Management. Here, the BLM is also given power to designate Wilderness and are given 15 years to do so. The BLM is to conduct studies, classifying areas as 'Wilderness Study Areas.' These areas are not official Wilderness areas but are, for all intents and purposes, treated as such until formal adoption as Wilderness by Congress. Approximately 8.8 million acres of BLM wilderness are currently included in the National Wilderness Preservation System as a result of the wilderness reviews mandated by FLPMA. Those ordered to implement policies from FLPMA are trained government employees using guidelines expressly stated within the act itself.
Further legislation following FLPMA has continued to address these concerns as the needs of the American people have expanded to include natural resources such as oil shale and tar sands in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
