Republicans demand list of possible monument sites

Nearly three dozen Republican lawmakers yesterday asked Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to disclose which areas of the country she is considering for national monument designations. The letter to Jewell spearheaded by Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Reps. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) comes weeks after Jewell announced in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., that President Obama will use his executive authority to designate monuments if Congress fails to act (E&ENews PM, Oct. 31). "If Congress doesn't step up to act to protect some of these important places that have been identified by communities and people throughout the country, then the president will take action," Jewell said then. The Republican lawmakers requested a list of those "important places" and asked whether the president is considering executive protections for lands not currently proposed for national monuments. They also requested that the Obama administration contact members of Congress from a particular state at least 90 days prior to announcing a monument. "Given the gravity and permanence of national monuments, we believe that should these decisions be necessary, they should be made by Congress in an open, transparent, and public manner using extraordinary caution," the lawmakers wrote. "Especially in consideration of past controversial usage of the Antiquities Act, your statements at the National Press Club have the potential to unravel the good work done by many to develop bottom-up land management solutions." They added that public lands designations should "originate in local communities where the concept enjoys broad support from elected officials, stakeholders, and other impacted individuals." Obama has so far designated nine national monuments, most of which are relatively small and seek to protect historical sites. All were supported locally. But conservationists are calling on Obama to designate larger monuments in his second term, including the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks in southern New Mexico and the Boulder-White Cloud Mountains in central Idaho. Both proposals are supported locally but are opposed by Republican House members in those districts...more

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