Following President Obama’s decision to protect more than a million acres of public lands in Nevada, California, and Texas last week, misinformation has been flying. Take, for example, an opinion piece today from a mining industry representative, who claimed that the government is “swallowing up large chunks of land,” or Utah Representative Rob Bishop who claimed that the tool to protect public lands is “evil in the flesh.”
Westerners know that protected public lands are good for our economies, livelihoods, and way of life. That’s why we’re taking a moment to correct a few of the inaccurate claims recently made about national monuments.
It can’t be a land grab if the land is already owned by the government
Time and time again, opponents of conservation claim that the government is seizing land when the President designates national monuments. For example, last week’s monuments were referred to as “new land added to federal rolls” and “a land grab.”
That’s simply false. All the land protected under the Antiquities act was already public land, managed on behalf of all Americans. Adding an extra layer of protection for future generations does not constitute a “land grab.”
President Obama didn’t lock up “three Californias” of land
One critic claimed that by designating national monuments, the administration has locked up:
A swath of land that would encompass the 15 states of the Eastern Seaboard, from Maine to Florida, including all of New York State. For the West Coast set, that’s nearly three Californias.
It is true that President Obama has protected the most lands and waters of any president in history, totaling 263 million acres. But that leaves out a key piece of information:
Of the 263 million acres President Obama has protected as national monuments using the Antiquities Act, only 2.1 million acres are on land. The vast majority is the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, which is, as its name suggests, remote and in the middle of the ocean, although it was a key area in need of protection.
It’s misleading—and just plain false—to state that Obama has locked up the equivalent of the Eastern Seaboard. The amount of land he’s protected is actually three tenths of one percent of the entire Western U.S.
There was input from the public
Another claim often made by industry opponents is national monuments receive “no input from Congress and no comment from the American public.”
This isn’t the case. In fact, members of Congress had long wanted these areas protected:
- Nevada Senator Harry Reid sponsored legislation to protect the Basin and Range area last year.
- California representatives introduced legislation to protect the Berryessa-Snow Mountain Region earlier this year.
- Texas members of Congress attempted to protect the Waco Mammoth National Monument in 2009 and 2011, and asked the National Park Service to study the area for potential designation in 2001.
The Obama administration also held public meetings at each of these locations to gain public input.
By designating these national monuments, President Obama is responding to the groundswell of support for land conservation. Public opinion research from earlier this year found that 80 percent of Western voters want to see their president continue designating national monuments. As Congress has become more partisan and less responsive, the American public has turned to the President to ensure deserving lands are protected for future generations.
And, with just over two million acres of lands protected since entering office, there’s broad support for future land conservation in places like Idaho’s Boulder-White Clouds and Arizona’s Grand Canyon Watershed.
Photo: Basin and Range National Monument by Tyler Roemer