Frequently Asked Questions: The Antiquities Act
The Antiquities Act is one tool the President can use to protect federal land as new parks and protected areas. Places like the Grand Canyon and Statue of Liberty were originally established by Presidential monument designation. Below are answers to your frequently asked questions about this important law.
Q: What exactly does the Antiquities Act authorize?
Q: Who owns the land that can be designated a national monument using the Antiquities Act?
Q: Can private property be designated?
Q. How would a new national monument designation affect local businesses and tourist attractions?
Q: How does the Act impact the authority of Congress to designate national parks and monuments?
Q: How many Presidents have used the Antiquities Act in the past?
Q: Once an area is proclaimed a national monument, what happens next?
Q: What percentage of U.S. land does the National Park System hold?
Q: Can Congress reverse a presidential proclamation?
Q: What exactly does the Antiquities Act authorize?
A: The Antiquities Act of 1906 allows the President to designate federal lands containing objects of historic, scientific, or scenic significance, to prevent their damage from activities such as mining, logging, cattle grazing, and development. A president’s official act is the proclamation of a national monument. For example, the Grand Canyon was proclaimed to protect it from commercial development. Petrified Forest was proclaimed to protect against the looting of mineralized remains of Mesozoic forests.
Q: Who owns the land that can be designated a national monument using the Antiquities Act?
A: The Antiquities Act only permits the president to designate national monuments from existing federal lands—already owned by the federal government and already being paid for by the American taxpayer.
Q: Can private property be designated?
A: There is no private property involved unless a private citizen chooses to donate land to the federal government.
A: Typically, there are minimal costs associated with the designation of a national monument, mainly because the land is already owned by the federal government. The law does not automatically authorize management plans, programs, and funds for designated monuments. Such authority depends upon congressional action. The change in management and use because of the monument designation could require greater or lesser management costs.
Q. How would a new national monument designation affect local businesses and tourist attractions?
A: Very positively. National parks and monuments are investments in the future of our country. In fact, they support $13.3 billion of local private-sector economic activity and 267,000 private-sector jobs annually.
Q: Why is the Antiquities Act important? Does it really protect places that have helped make America special?
A: America is losing at least one million acres a year to development—roughly equivalent to the size of Delaware. The act provides a way to respond rapidly to both immediate (e.g., a housing development) and long-term (e.g., protecting wildlife corridors) conservation threats without prior congressional approval. This is similar to other authorities available to the Executive Branch. The Antiquities Act has a proven track record of protecting especially sensitive federal land and the unique natural, historic, and scientific objects that are to be preserved.
Q: How does the Antiquities Act impact the authority of Congress to designate national parks and monuments?
A: The act properly balances legislative and executive powers. It leaves undisturbed Congress’ authority to declare monuments, to determine the level of resources for the management and maintenance of presidentially proclaimed national monuments, and to re-designate any monument as a national park or other federal reserve.
Q: How many presidents have used the Antiquities Act in the past?
A: Since 1906, 16 presidents have declared 132 national monuments under the act; eight Republican presidents, eight Democratic presidents. Outstanding national park units such as the Grand Canyon, Statue of Liberty, Joshua Tree, Olympic, Zion, and the C&O Canal were all established originally by presidential monument designation.
Q: Once an area is proclaimed a national monument, what happens next?
A: Proclamation of a national monument immediately protects the special qualities of public lands from potential development and exploitation. The act does not automatically authorize management plans, programs, and funds for designated monuments. Such authority depends upon congressional action, as does any re-designation of a monument as a national park that was originally established by Congress.
Q: What percentage of U.S. land does the National Park System hold?
A: The National Park System makes up a small portion of all U.S. land—just 3.6 percent (84.6 million acres of land, 55 million of which are in Alaska).
Q: Can Congress reverse a presidential proclamation?
A: Yes. However, of the 70 million acres of national monuments proclaimed since 1906 (not including President George W. Bush’s Marine Monuments), Congress has increased the size of nearly 50 monuments and repealed less than 15,000 acres.
