March 20, 2024
Representative Bruce Westerman, Chairman
Representative Raúl Grijalva, Ranking Member
House Committee on Natural Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Re: H.R. 5499, Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act
Dear Chairman Westerman and Ranking Member Grijalva,
On behalf of the undersigned organizations and our millions of members across the country, we are writing to express our unwavering support for the Antiquities Act of 1906 and our strong opposition to H.R. 5499, the “Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act,” which poses a significant threat to this bedrock conservation law.
Since its enactment, the Antiquities Act has been one of our nation’s most critical conservation tools for preserving public lands, waters and cultural sites. Our national parks and monuments and other protected public lands and waters unite all people in this country by protecting our shared heritage for future generations to enjoy. Since it was signed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, the Antiquities Act has been used on a bipartisan basis by 18 Presidents (nine Republicans and nine Democrats) to protect America’s most iconic natural, scientific, cultural, and historic places, including the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, Fort Monroe, the Pacific Remote Islands, and Acadia, Zion and Olympic National Parks.
Furthermore, national monuments poll very well with voters across party lines. Per the Colorado College’s 2024 Conservation in the West Poll, 85% of westerners support creating new national parks and monuments to protect historic sites and areas for recreation. The sheer diversity of historic, cultural, and natural treasures that have been protected by the Antiquities Act is the reason why hundreds of groups representing sportsmen, cultural heritage organizations, evangelicals, conservation, recreation businesses, historic preservation, and many others all oppose efforts to undermine this vital law.
H.R. 5499 represents a direct assault on the Antiquities Act. The legislation would forcibly sunset national monument designations while limiting future designations, which blatantly undercuts the original intent of the Antiquities Act to protect places at urgent risk. It would also undermine the meaningful Tribal engagement at the center of many modern designation efforts, disregarding the sovereignty and expertise of indigenous communities whose cultural heritage and ancestral lands are often central to monument designations. Finally, Congress already has the power to pass legislation creating, revoking or modifying national monuments on a case-by-case basis.
As organizations committed to conservation, environmental stewardship, and the preservation of our nation’s heritage, we urge you to oppose H.R. 5499 and to uphold the Antiquities Act as a critical tool for protecting America’s natural and cultural treasures.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We trust that you will consider the long-term implications of H.R. 5499 and stand in defense of the Antiquities Act.
Sincerely,
| Accountable.US Alaska Wilderness League Azul Californians for Western Wilderness CalWild Center for Biological Diversity Coalition to Protect America's National Parks Colorado Wildlands Project Conservation Colorado Conservation Lands Foundation Conservation Northwest Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship Continental Divide Trail Coalition Defenders of Wildlife Earthjustice EarthKeepers 360 Earthworks Endangered Species Coalition Environment America Environmental Protection Information Center- EPIC Friends of Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Friends of the Earth US Grand Canyon Trust Great Old Broads for Wilderness GreenLatinos Healthy Ocean Coalition Hispanic Access Foundation HECHO Institute for a Progressive Nevada John Muir Project Klamath Forest Alliance Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce | League of Conservation Voters Los Padres ForestWatch Marine Conservation Institute Mountain Mamas Mystic Aquarium National Marine Sanctuary Foundation National Ocean Protection Coalition National Parks Conservation Association National Trust for Historic Preservation National Wildlife Federation Native Voters Alliance Nevada Natural Resources Defense Council Nevada Wildlife Federation New Mexico Wild Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness Nuestra Tierra Ocean Defense Initiative Oregon League of Conservation Voters Oregon Natural Desert Association Plaquemines Rising Coastal Restoration Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada Protect Our Winters Sierra Club Silvix Resources Soda Mountain Wilderness Council Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance The Mountain Pact The Wilderness Society Trust for Public Land Tuleyome Union of Concerned Scientists Vet Voice Foundation Western Watersheds Project WildEarth Guardians |