“We must not allow the people’s national parks to be changed with the swipe of a pen" -- NPCA Senior Wildlife Program Director Bart Melton
WASHINGTON – Today, the National Park Service announced a proposed rule to rubber stamp President Trump’s decree to open some national parklands to hunting.
The limited 30-day public review process follows a September Executive Order, where President Trump directed the Department of Interior and National Park Service to unlawfully open the national monument portion of Craters of the Moon in Idaho and Castle Mountains National Monument in California to hunting. Only Congress could authorize these new park uses.
“We must not allow the people’s national parks to be changed with the swipe of a pen,” said National Parks Conservation Association Senior Wildlife Program Director Bart Melton. “The Antiques Act gives the President the power to protect ecologically and culturally important sites. The President lacks the authority to retroactively authorize hunting, grazing, mining, data centers and other activities in national monuments or parks without an act of Congress. This issue isn’t about hunting; it’s about protecting our nation’s most special places. If we want to consider changes at Crater of the Moon, Castle Mountains, or any other national monument, let Congress debate the issue.“
Since 1906, the Antiquities Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Theodore Roosevelt, has allowed sitting presidents to designate public lands as national monuments. This delegated power provides enhanced protections and acknowledges the cultural and conservation value of these special places. President Coolidge established Craters of the Moon National Monument in 1924, and President Obama established Castle Mountains National Monument in 2016. Neither monument proclamation allowed hunting.
“NPCA supports hunting on appropriate National Park Service lands when it’s determined by Congress to be an acceptable use. However, we strongly oppose this illegal overreach and see this as the latest attempted use of force by this administration to ignore existing National Park Service regulations and bypass Congressional jurisdiction,” said Melton. “NPCA and our partners are already fighting the unlawful reduction in the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. This pattern raises the question: what will the administration attempt next at national monuments and other parks?”.
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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.9 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.
