Senate legislation has been introduced to curb the abuse of the Antiquities Act. Under that Act, the President has the power to unilaterally designate national monuments without the consent of Congress, state or local governments or impacted stakeholders. The Public Lands Council is backing the bill. Executive Director Ethan Lane says there’s widespread support in the Senate for the measure.
He says the Improved National Monument Designation Process Act requires congressional and state approval for the designation of any new monument.
Lane says his group is already weighing in with the President Elect and his transition team on the importance of the legislation.
Ranchers own nearly 120 million acres of private land and manage more than 250 million acres of land under federal government authority. Recently 1.5 million acres of land was lost when President Obama issued an Antiquities Act order in Nevada and Utah.
