House Republicans react to newest monument designation

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement regarding President Obama’s announcement to unilaterally designate almost half of the Angeles National forest as the San Gabriel National Monument amid local opposition and without public input.

“President Obama once again is using unilateral action to lock up hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands, ignoring local input and circumventing Congressional action. Local leaders, business owners, forest management experts, and community members have raised serious economic, recreational public safety, wildfire, and environmental concerns about creating a national monument in the Angeles National forest. President Obama is acting behind closed-doors, leaving local residents in the dark about the impacts and effects of this action. 
“Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1459, the Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of National Monuments Act. This legislation, which would require public participation before a presidentially declared national monument is made official, would have opened the door on the decision to create the San Gabriel National Monument and involved the voices of local citizens. The President appears intent to spend the rest of this year unilaterally locking up our public lands, further reinforcing why this legislation needs to become law.”

Yesterday, President Obama announced that he would unilaterally seize 350,000 acres of the Angeles National Forest to create the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. Western Caucus Co-Chairs Steve Pearce (NM-02) and Cynthia Lummis (WY-At Large) along with Western Caucus Member and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) released the following statements in response to the announcement:

“The President continues to ignore Western communities by misusing the Antiquities Act to seize Western land,” said Chairman Pearce.  “The people most affected by the monument designation should have a say in the process. Unilateral executive action is not the answer.  Community members have valid concerns regarding the potential for decreased access to recreation and the negative economic implications of this designation.  This administration needs to stop closing the door on the western communities who have to live with these designations.”

“President Obama has again unilaterally declared -- without adequate public input and over local opposition -- more land as a new National Monument,” said Chairman Lummis.  “Local business owners in California, the latest victim of the President’s designation-happy administration, have said that this designation would result in serious economic effects, but President Obama has chosen to ignore these concerns.  The President has no business circumventing Congress yet again to designate yet another National Monument while shutting out local voices in the process.”

“Once again this Administration is taking unilateral action without Congressional or public input by naming the San Gabriel Mountains a National Monument,” said Majority Leader McCarthy. “This action restricts access to public lands and would put nearly half of the Angeles National Forest under lock and key. I strongly support multiple use of our national forests and other public lands, but this decision severely limits usage. I remain concerned about the impact the San Gabriel Mountain National Monument designation will have on recreation, fire prevention and suppression, and private property, as well as the economic impacts to communities in and around the forest.”