Niki Tsongas: “Since Theodore Roosevelt's designation of our first national monument, Devil's Tower in Wyoming, 16 Presidents from both…”

“Since Theodore Roosevelt's designation of our first national monument, Devil's Tower in Wyoming, 16 Presidents from both parties have used the Antiquities Act to protect more than 160 of America's best known and loved landscapes. Only three Presidents have not. Many national monuments created through the Antiquities Act have since become some of our greatest national parks, like Zion, Bryce Canyon, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, and Glacier Bay to name a few. All of these parks were first national monuments that Congress decided warranted national park status. The Antiquities Act has also been used on a bipartisan basis to preserve Federal marine areas as marine national monuments, with both President George W. Bush and President Obama using the Antiquities Act to protect some of the most unique and vulnerable areas of the Pacific Ocean. To be clear, the Antiquities Act may only be used on existing Federal lands and waters, areas which belong to all Americans and are typically designated only after an extensive locally driven stakeholder outreach process. Instead of honoring this long bipartisan history of the Antiquities Act that has saved so much for our country, this amendment would foreclose any opportunity for local communities to seek to protect their regions' most valued marine resources located in Federal waters.…”