Three Arizona Congressmen are asking Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to consider “total rescission” of four national monuments in Arizona.
Republican Reps. Trent Franks, Andy Biggs, and Paul Gosar joined 11 other congressmen in signing a June 30 letter responding to Zinke’s request for congressional input on 27 monuments the Department of the Interior is reviewing for President Donald Trump.
“Over the past 20 years, presidents from both sides of the isle have used the stroke of a pen to unilaterally lock up hundreds of millions of acres using the oft-abused Antiquities Act,” the letter states. “As with many laws, the Antiquities Act originated with good intentions; however, it has transformed into a tyrannical tool that presidents have manipulated to exercise unfettered land grabs to the detriment of state and local interests.”
The four national monuments are the Grand Canyon-Parashant, Ironwood Forest, Sonoran Desert, and Vermilion Cliffs. Former President Bill Clinton designated the four monuments under the 1906 Antiquities Act, according to The Arizona Republic.
The letter cites a variety of reasons for the recommendation to rescind each monument — from disrupting recreational activities, to preventing multiple-use plans, and cutting off state revenue streams by prohibiting other entities from using the land. In some cases, the national monument status has harmed the land by forbidding proper management of predators and response to illegal activities.
“The Antiquities Act of 1906 is broken and in desperate need of reform. No one person should be able to unilaterally lock-up millions of acres of public land from multiple use with the stroke of a pen,” the letter concludes. “Local stakeholders deserve to have a voice on public land use decisions that impact their livelihoods.”
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