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In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, a national monument is a protected area that can be created from any land owned or controlled by the federal government by
proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
of the
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
or an act of Congress. National monuments protect a wide variety of natural and historic resources, including sites of geologic, marine, archaeological, and cultural importance. In contrast,
national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...
in the U.S. cannot be created by presidential proclamation; they require legislation by Congress "because of some outstanding scenic feature or natural phenomena", and serve "inspirational, educational, and recreational values." Some national monuments were first created by presidential action and later designated as national parks by congressional approval. The 129 national monuments are managed by several federal agencies: the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...
,
United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
,
United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
, the Bureau of Land Management, and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
(in the case of marine national monuments). Historically, some national monuments were managed by the
War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...
. The
Antiquities Act The Antiquities Act of 1906 (, , ), is an act that was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by presidential procla ...
of 1906 gives presidents the power to proclaim national monuments by executive action. President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
used the act to declare
Devils Tower Devils Tower (also known as Bear Lodge Butte) is a butte, possibly laccolithic, composed of igneous rock in the Bear Lodge Ranger District of the Black Hills, near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fo ...
in
Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
as the first U.S. national monument.


History

The Antiquities Act authorized permits for legitimate archaeological investigations and penalties for taking or destroying antiquities without permission. Additionally, it authorized the president to proclaim "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" on federal lands as national monuments, "the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected." Presidents have used the Antiquities Act's proclamation authority not only to create new national monuments but to enlarge existing ones. For example, Franklin D. Roosevelt significantly enlarged Dinosaur National Monument in 1938.
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
added
Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mil ...
to Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965, and Jimmy Carter made major additions to
Glacier Bay Glacier Bay Basin in southeastern Alaska, in the United States, encompasses the Glacier Bay and surrounding mountains and glaciers, which was first proclaimed a U.S. National Monument on February 25, 1925, and which was later, on December 2, 1980 ...
and Katmai National Monuments in 1978.


Early 20th century origin

The
Antiquities Act The Antiquities Act of 1906 (, , ), is an act that was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by presidential procla ...
of 1906 resulted from concerns about protecting mostly prehistoric Native American
ruin Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
s and artifacts (collectively termed "antiquities") on federal lands in the American West. The reference in the act to "objects of ... scientific interest" enabled President Theodore Roosevelt to make a natural
geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...
feature,
Devils Tower Devils Tower (also known as Bear Lodge Butte) is a butte, possibly laccolithic, composed of igneous rock in the Bear Lodge Ranger District of the Black Hills, near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fo ...
in
Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
, the first national monument three months later. Among the next three monuments he proclaimed in 1906 was
Petrified Forest Petrified wood, also known as petrified tree (from Ancient Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of '' fossilized wood'', the fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. ' ...
in
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, another natural feature. In 1908, Roosevelt used the act to proclaim more than of the Grand Canyon as a national monument. In response to Roosevelt's declaration of the Grand Canyon monument, a putative mining claimant sued in federal court, claiming that Roosevelt had overstepped the Antiquities Act authority by protecting an entire canyon. In 1920, the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
ruled unanimously that the Grand Canyon was indeed "an object of historic or scientific interest" and could be protected by proclamation, setting a precedent for the use of the Antiquities Act to preserve large areas. Federal courts have since rejected every challenge to the president's use of Antiquities Act preservation authority, ruling that the law gives the president exclusive discretion over the determination of the size and nature of the objects protected.


Mid-20th century

In 1918, President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
proclaimed Katmai National Monument in
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
, comprising more than . Katmai was later enlarged to nearly by subsequent Antiquities Act proclamations and for many years was the largest national park system unit.
Petrified Forest Petrified wood, also known as petrified tree (from Ancient Greek meaning 'rock' or 'stone'; literally 'wood turned into stone'), is the name given to a special type of '' fossilized wood'', the fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. ' ...
, Grand Canyon, and Great Sand Dunes, among several other
national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...
, were also originally proclaimed as national monuments and later designated national parks by Congress. Substantial opposition did not materialize until 1943, when President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
proclaimed Jackson Hole National Monument in
Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
. He did this to accept a donation of lands acquired by
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in ...
, for addition to
Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is an American national park in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately , the park includes the major peaks of the Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Grand Teton ...
after Congress had declined to authorize this park expansion. Roosevelt's proclamation unleashed a storm of criticism about use of the Antiquities Act to circumvent Congress. A bill abolishing Jackson Hole National Monument passed Congress but was vetoed by Roosevelt, and Congressional and court challenges to the proclamation authority were mounted. In 1950, Congress finally incorporated most of the monument into Grand Teton National Park, but the act doing so barred further use of the proclamation authority in Wyoming except for areas of 5,000 acres or less.


Late 20th century and early 21st century

The most substantial use of the proclamation authority came in 1978, when President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
proclaimed 17 new national monuments in Alaska after Congress had adjourned without passing a major Alaska lands bill. Congress passed a revised version of the bill in 1980 incorporating most of these national monuments into national parks and
preserves Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the meth ...
, but the act also curtailed further use of the proclamation authority in Alaska. Carter's 1978 proclamations included Misty Fjords and Admiralty Island National Monuments in the U.S. Forest Service and Becharof and Yukon Flats National Monuments in the
Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
, the first to be created outside of the National Park Service. The latter two became national wildlife refuges in 1980. The proclamation authority was not used again anywhere until 1996, when President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
proclaimed the
Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument The Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (GSENM) is a United States national monument protecting the Grand Staircase, the Kaiparowits Plateau, and the Canyons of the Escalante ( Escalante River) in southern Utah. It was established in ...
in
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. This was the first national monument managed by the Bureau of Land Management. This action was unpopular in Utah, and bills were introduced to further restrict the president's authority, none of which have been enacted. Most of the 16 national monuments created by President Clinton are managed not by the National Park Service, but by the Bureau of Land Management as part of the
National Landscape Conservation System National Conservation Lands, formally known as the National Landscape Conservation System, is a collection of lands in 873 federally recognized areas considered to be the crown jewels of the American West.Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the
Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument is a group of unorganized, mostly unincorporated United States Pacific Island territories managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States Department of the Int ...
, the
Marianas Marine National Monument The Marianas Trench Marine National Monument is a United States National Monument (United States), National Monument created by President of the United States, President George W. Bush by the presidential proclamation no. 8335
, and the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument. They are managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration overseeing the fisheries. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
significantly expanded two of them and added a fifth in the Atlantic Ocean. On June 24, 2016, President Barack Obama designated the
Stonewall Inn The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay bar and recreational tavern in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the sin ...
and surrounding areas in
Greenwich Village, New York Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
as the
Stonewall National Monument Stonewall National Monument is a U.S. national monument in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The designated area includes the Stonewall Inn, the Christopher Park, and nearby streets including ...
, the first national monument commemorating the movement for LGBT rights in the United States. Obama's establishments included several others recognizing civil rights history, including the César E. Chávez, Belmont–Paul Women's Equality, Freedom Riders, and
Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument is a United States National Monument in Birmingham, Alabama established in 2017 to preserve and commemorate the work of the Civil Rights Movement. The monument is administered by the National Park Serv ...
s. In December 2017, President Donald Trump substantially reduced the sizes of
Bears Ears The Bears Ears are a pair of buttes located in San Juan County in southeastern Utah, United States. They are protected as part of and the namesake of the Bears Ears National Monument, managed by the Bureau of Land Management and United States ...
and
Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument The Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (GSENM) is a United States national monument protecting the Grand Staircase, the Kaiparowits Plateau, and the Canyons of the Escalante ( Escalante River) in southern Utah. It was established in ...
s, removing protections on about 2.8 million acres of land where mining could resume.Keith Schneider
Trump dramatically shrinks two national monuments in Utah, assailing rule by 'distant bureaucrats'
''Los Angeles Times'' (December 4, 2017).
Three lawsuits challenged the legality of this action in federal court, and in October 2021 President Joe Biden reversed the changes. The restoration of the monuments has been challenged in court in an attempt to attack the Antiquities Act.


List of national monuments


See also

*
List of U.S. National Forests The United States has 154 protected areas known as national forests, covering . National forests are managed by the U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The first national forest was established as the Yellowst ...
*
List of areas in the United States National Park System The National Park System of the United States is the collection of physical properties owned or administered by the National Park Service. The collection includes all national parks and most national monuments, as well as several other types of ...
(includes list of NPS-managed national monuments) *
List of U.S. wilderness areas The National Wilderness Preservation System includes 803 wilderness areas protecting of federal land . They are managed by four agencies: *United States National Park Service (NPS) *United States Forest Service (USFS) *United States Fish and Wild ...
*
Protected areas of the United States The protected areas of the United States are managed by an array of different federal, state, tribal and local level authorities and receive widely varying levels of protection. Some areas are managed as wilderness, while others are operated wi ...


References


External links

* *
The Proclamation of National Monuments Under the Antiquities Act, 1906-1970

National Monuments and the Antiquities Act
– Congressional Research Service {{authority control * * * National Monument National Monument Monuments and memorials in the United States United States Department of Agriculture United States Department of the Interior