Outdoor enthusiasts must put a stop to the misguided assault on public lands preservation

This week, public lands in America celebrated an important birthday.

On Thursday, the Antiquities Act turned 111 years old. First used by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, the law has been invoked by 16 presidents of both parties to conserve some of our country’s most important historic, cultural, archaeological and natural treasures. They include the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, and more. All of these were national monuments that were later designated as national parks.

The Antiquities Act has been an essential vehicle for conserving public lands and waters already managed by the federal government that are important to the economy, the health of our wildlife, our connection to nature and our identity as Americans. Monument status protects those spaces by designating them as special and shared by this generation and the next. Monument designation comes only after input from locals residents and thoughtful assessments of the scientific, historic and natural qualities that make them worth saving. Historic uses of the public lands continue, including hunting, fishing and livestock grazing. Site-specific management plans are written with state and local input.

But this important conservation tool is in jeopardy, along with 27 national monuments established over the last 20 years. The Trump Administration has put 27 monuments under review to see if they should be modified or reduced. First up is Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, designated last year after decades of efforts by sportsmen, outdoor enthusiasts and a number of tribes with deep ties to the more than 100,000 cultural and archaeological sites in the area. A report by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on what to do with Bears Ears is due tomorrow. The public has until July 10 to comment on all the other monuments in the bulls-eye. Sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts are concerned that the Administration could take the unprecedented step of trying to reduce the monuments or rescind the designations altogether.

In Ohio, President Obama used the Antiquities Act in 2013 to designate the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Wilberforce, Ohio (more info here). While this isn’t an iconic landscape example, threats to undermine the Antiquities Act also threaten the preservation of cultural heritage of Americans who’s history is only recently being adequately recognized.

Ohioans cherish our public lands, whether they’re just down the road or several states away. They belong to all Americans.

Today, public lands form the bedrock of an $887 billion outdoor recreation economy that supports 7.6 million direct jobs and annually brings 300 million people to sites across the country that are run by the National Park Service.

Active outdoor recreation is an important part of the Ohio economy. The Outdoor Industry Association has found that active outdoor recreation generates $17.4 billion in consumer spending in Ohio, 196,000 jobs which generate $5.1 billion in wages and salaries, and produces $1.3 billion annually in state and local tax revenue. Further, the U.S. Census reports that each year 5 million people hunt, fish, or enjoy wildlife-watching in Ohio, contributing $3.2 billion in wildlife recreation spending to the state economy.

While presidents have made minor adjustments to the boundaries of a few monuments, none has ever tried to outright rescind a designation. Congress has the power to abolish a designation, but many legal authorities say the president doesn’t have the authority to shrink or repeal designations. So, stripping national monuments of their designations would be flouting a great American tradition and perhaps even the law.

The Trump Administration’s review of these national monuments is a direct threat to land and waters owned by every American. It is presidential overreach that ignores overwhelming support to keep public lands in public hands.

Now is the time for outdoor enthusiasts to stand up and speak out to defend public lands from this illegal, exploitive, and un-American assault on public lands. The deadline to submit a public comment opposing the Trump Administration’s plan for 27 national monuments is July 10. You can submit your comments to the Secretary of Interior at this link, or you can contact Frank Szollosi of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center at szollosif@nwf.org to get more information and get your questions answered.

An attack on any national monument is attack on all public lands and waters, the places that Ohioans –and all Americans –own and want to ensure endure for generations to come.