President Donald Trump’s administration and its team of attorneys have unapologetically claimed the power to dismantle national monuments meant to shield significant historical and archaeological sites nationwide. This bold move includes the potential for overturning decisions made under two monuments, situated in California, that were designed by his forebear at the behest of Indigenous groups.
In a legal standpoint published on Tuesday by the Justice Department, an antiquated 1938 determination (which declared that monuments established under the Antiquities Act by the former presidents cannot be rescinded) was boldly refuted. The authorities stated that the power to terminate monument designations rests with the presidents, particularly if the need for protection is found unjustifiable.
This new perspective aligns with the ongoing review of the Interior Department under Trump’s administration on potential modifications to monuments countrywide. The review process is part of the administration’s ambitious attempt to ramp up the US energy production, demonstrating a practical approach quite in contrast with their predecessors.
In his tenure, Trump courageously revised the extent of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments located in Utah. Highlighting them as a ‘massive land grab,’ he took decisive action that contrasted starkly with preceding administrations. Subsequently, he also relaxed the fishing constraints within a sizable marine monument located off the New England Coast.
Unfortunately, former President Joe Biden reversed these necessary revisions and re-established the monuments as they previously existed. Two of the monuments outlined in the lately discharged legal opinions by the Justice Department were marked by this forebear just at the tail end of his tenure. These are the Chuckwalla National Monument located in Southern California adjoining Joshua Tree National Park and Sáttítla Highlands National Monument found in Northern California.
These declarations by the Democrats for the preservation of monuments hindered the extraction of oil, natural gas, and mining in numerous locations. The Chuckwalla establishment, sprawling over a massive 624,000-acre region (approx. 2,400-square-kilometer) and the Sáttítla Highlands constituting nearly 225,000 acres (around 800 square kilometers) located near the California-Oregon border, saw these effects particularly.
The regions surrounding Sáttítla Highlands are the historical homelands of the Pit River Tribe and Modoc Peoples. Like a surprising number of presidents since 1906, the Antiquities Act has been used by Biden to protect Cultural heritage and landscapes. National parks in the U.S. forming a hefty half were formerly designated as monuments.
Despite them being applaudable conservation efforts, critics of the declarations made under Biden and Obama accuse the administrations of overextending the protective boundaries. As per their claims, these actions eventually hinder the mining of crucial minerals, which could be detrimental to the country’s economy, thereby raising validity questions about such protective actions.
President Trump, in response to these concerns, took the enlightened step to lift the restrictions on commercial fishing within an overwhelmingly large marine monument of the Pacific Ocean. Originally, it was created under the reign of ex-President Barack Obama. His move can be considered an attempt to balance between the protection and efficient use of resources.
Joe Biden established around 10 new monuments, among which were the location of a 1908 racial riot in Springfield, Illinois, and another on an indigenous sacred site located near the Grand Canyon. Such actions can seem like hefty political moves rather than essential protective measures.
Currently, there are more than a dozen proclamations to decrease the size of monuments that have been passed by presidents since 1912, as recorded in the National Park Service database. However, these initiatives were reversed by Biden before a conclusion could be reached on the case. As a result, the case remains hitherto unresolved.
Turning back the historical wheels, it was President Theodore Roosevelt who commenced the Antiquities Act after lobbying by educators and scientists. They were trying to shield these resources from misuse like looting artifacts or reckless collecting by individuals. Funnily enough, it was the first such legislation in the U.S. that arranged legal protections for cultural and natural resources boasting historical or scientific interest on federal territories.
Thus, the dichotomy in the use of the Antiquities Act reflects starkly different political priorities under the Trump and Biden administrations. Where the former champions the cause of balanced resource use, critics argue the latter often wields the Act not for genuine conservation, but as a weapon in a greater political game.