89–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 115–1081 

NATIONAL MONUMENT CREATION AND PROTECTION ACT 

DECEMBER 19, 2018.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

DISSENTING VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 3990] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 3990) to amend title 54, United States Code, to reform 

the Antiquities Act of 1906, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and 

recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Monument Creation and Protection Act’’ 

or the ‘‘National Monument CAP Act’’. 

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON SIZE; CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE OBJECTS. 

Section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, is amended— 

(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric 

structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest’’ and inserting ‘‘object or objects of antiquity’’; 

(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘confined to the smallest area compatible 

with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected’’ and inserting ‘‘in accordance with the limitations outlined in subsections (e), (f), (g), and 

(h)’’; and 

(3) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON SIZE OF NATIONAL MONUMENTS.—Except as provided by subsections (f), (g), and (h), after the date of the enactment of this subsection, land may 

not be declared under this section in a configuration that would create a national 

monument— 

‘‘(1) that is more than 640 acres; and 


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‘‘(2) whose exterior boundary is less than 50 miles from the closest exterior 

boundary of another national monument declared under this section. 

‘‘(f) EXCEPTION FOR MONUMENTS OF LESS THAN 5,000 ACRES.—Subsection (e) shall 

not apply to the designation of a national monument under this section if the national monument so designated— 

‘‘(1) would be less than 5,000 acres; 

‘‘(2) would have all exterior boundaries 50 miles or more from the closest exterior boundary of another national monument declared under this section; and 

‘‘(3) has been reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate. 

‘‘(g) EXCEPTION FOR MONUMENTS OF 5,000 ACRES AND UP TO 10,000 ACRES.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (e) shall not apply to the designation of a national monument under this section if the national monument so designated— 

‘‘(A) would be at least 5,000 acres but not more than 10,000 acres; and 

‘‘(B) would have all exterior boundaries 50 miles or more from the closest 

exterior boundary of another national monument declaration under this section. 

‘‘(2) OTHER REQUIREMENT.—A monument described in this subsection shall be 

subject to the preparation of an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement as part of a review under the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The choice of environmental review document 

shall be within the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary 

of Agriculture, as appropriate. 

‘‘(h) EXCEPTION FOR MONUMENTS 10,000 ACRES AND UP TO 85,000 ACRES.—Subsection (e) shall not apply to the designation of a national monument under this section if the national monument so designated— 

‘‘(1) would be at least 10,000 acres but not more than 85,000 acres; 

‘‘(2) would have all exterior boundaries 50 miles or more from the closest exterior boundary of another national monument declaration under this section; and 

‘‘(3) has been approved by the elected governing body of each county (or county equivalent), the legislature of each State, and the Governor of each State 

within whose boundaries the national monument will be located (and the Governor of each such State has transmitted a copy of each such approval to the 

President). 

‘‘(i) EXCEPTION FOR EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (e) shall not apply to the designation under this 

section of a national monument of any acreage amount if designation is made 

to prevent imminent and irreparable harm to the object or objects of antiquity 

to be protected by the designation. 

‘‘(2) ONE YEAR LIMITATION.—A national monument designation under this 

subsection shall terminate on the date that is one calendar year after the date 

of the designation. 

‘‘(3) ONE TIME DESIGNATION.—Land designated as a national monument under 

this subsection— 

‘‘(A) may only be so designated one time; and 

‘‘(B) may not also be permanently designated as a national monument 

under this section. 

‘‘(4) RIGHTS AND USES.—Land designated as a national monument under this 

subsection shall remain subject to— 

‘‘(A) valid existing rights; and 

‘‘(B) uses allowed on the day before such designation under an applicable 

Resource Management Plan or Forest Plan. 

‘‘(j) PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY TO REDUCE SIZE OF DECLARED MONUMENTS.—The 

President may— 

‘‘(1) reduce the size of any national monument declared under this section by 

85,000 acres or less; or 

‘‘(2) reduce the size of any national monument declared under this section by 

more than 85,000 acres only if the reduction— 

‘‘(A) has been approved by the elected governing body of each county (or 

county equivalent), the legislature of each State, and the Governor of each 

State within whose boundaries the national monument will be located (and 

the Governor of each such State has transmitted a copy of each such approval to the President); and 

‘‘(B) has been reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate. 

‘‘(k) NON-FEDERALLY OWNED PROPERTY.—After the date of the enactment of this 

subsection, land may not be declared as a national monument under this section in 


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1Public Law 59–209; 34 Stat. 225; 54 U.S.C. 320301 et seq. 

2 Id. 

3 Id. 

4 Benderson, Judith. ‘‘The Archaeological Resources Protection Act and the native American 

Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.’’ Offices of the United States Attorneys. https:// 

www.justice.gov/usao/priotity-areas/indian-country/native-american-artifacts. 5https://www.nps.gov/archeology/sites/antiquities/monumentslist.htm. 

a configuration that would place non-federally owned property within the exterior 

boundaries of the national monument without the express written consent of the 

owners of that non-federally owned property. 

‘‘(l) EFFECT OF DECLARATION ON FEDERAL FUNDS.—No declaration under this section shall be construed to increase the amount of Federal funds that are authorized 

to be appropriated for any fiscal year. 

‘‘(m) WATER RIGHTS ASSOCIATED WITH A DECLARATION.—Water rights associated 

with a declaration under this section— 

‘‘(1) may not be reserved expressly or by implication by a declaration under 

this section; and 

‘‘(2) may be acquired for a declaration under this section only in accordance 

with the laws of the State in which the water rights are based. 

‘‘(n) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

‘‘(1) DECLARATION; DECLARED.—The terms ‘declaration’ and ‘declared’ shall 

only include the creation or expansion of a national monument under this section. 

‘‘(2) LAND.—The term ‘land’ shall not include submerged land or water. 

‘‘(3) OBJECT OR OBJECTS OF ANTIQUITY.— 

‘‘(A) The term ‘object or objects of antiquity’ means— 

‘‘(i) relics; 

‘‘(ii) artifacts; 

‘‘(iii) human or animal skeletal remains; 

‘‘(iv) fossils (other than fossil fuels); and 

‘‘(v) certain buildings constructed before the date of the enactment of 

this subsection. 

‘‘(B) The term ‘object or objects of antiquity’ does not include— 

‘‘(i) natural geographic features; and 

‘‘(ii) objects not made by humans, except fossils (other than fossil 

fuels) or human or animal skeletal remains.’’. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 3990 is to amend title 54, United States 

Code, to reform the Antiquities Act of 1906. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

At the beginning of the 20th century, vandals began looting sacred Native American burial grounds and archeological sites 

throughout the U.S. territories of the Southwest. The destruction 

of archeological artifacts prompted Congress to enact the Antiquities Act of 1906, which authorized the President to designate national monuments on federal lands containing ‘‘historic landmarks, 

historic and prehistoric structures, or other objects of historic or 

scientific interest.’’ 1 The law also specified that national monuments were ‘‘to be confined to the smallest area compatible with 

proper care and management of the objects to be protected.’’ 2 Furthermore, the President could only designate national monuments 

‘‘upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the 

United States.’’ 3

The Antiquities Act granted Presidents the flexibility to quickly 

protect small Native American sites in imminent danger of looting 

and destruction.4 President Theodore Roosevelt designated the first 

National Monument, Devil’s Tower, in 1906.5 Since that time, 

Presidents have broadly interpreted the Antiquities Act to expand 

both the size and justifications for national monument designaVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 Dec 28, 2018 Jkt 089006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR1081.XXX HR1081

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6 In their discussions of the bill that became the Antiquities Act of 1906, Congressmen Lacey 

and Stephens debated whether Presidents would eventually abuse the Act. Congressman Lacey, 

the bill’s sponsor, reassured that the bill provides that monuments ‘‘shall be the smallest area 

necesstry [sic] for the care and maintenance of the objects to be preserved’’, Congressional 

Record 1906, https://coast.noaa.gov/data/Documents/OceanLawSearch/Congressional%20Record— 

House%20&%20Senate%201906.pdf?redirect=301ocm. 7 Information provided by the Congressional Research Service. 

8http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R41330?source=search&guid=c64c8af27d3d4ccd80ffae04a033 

e0f3&index=2. 9 Id. 

10https://www.nps.gov/archeology/sites/antiquities/monumentslist.htm. 11https://www.nps.gov/archeology/sites/antiquities/monumentslist.htm; https://www.nps.gov/ 

apco/mclean-house.htm; https://moon.com/2016/07/history-badlands-national-park/; https:// 

www.nps.gov/bisc/learn/historyculture/the-birth-of-biscayne-national-park.htm. 12 Carol Hardy Vincent, ‘‘National Monuments and the Antiquities Act), Congressional Research Service (2017), page 1. 

tions, despite its clear language and legislative history plainly reflecting Congress’ intent to limit the scope of the designations.6

Presidents have used their authority under the Antiquities Act 

more than 230 times to establish and enlarge 158 National Monuments totaling over 840 million acres-roughly 10 times the size of 

the National Park System.7 The monuments sites have ranged 

from approximately 1 acre to 283 million acres.8 President Obama 

exercised Antiquities Act authority more than any other president, 

issuing 34 national monument declarations covering more than 553 

million acres of land. Presidents have also used their authority to 

reduce the size of national monuments, most recently President 

Trump.9

Although the National Park Service administers most of the 

monuments, in recent decades national monuments have been 

placed under the management of the Bureau of Land Management, 

the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.10 Congress also 

has established 45 national monuments by law, including Appomattox (1940), Badlands (1939) and Biscayne (1968).11

In its 112-year history, the Antiquities Act has only been amended twice-both times to enact statutory restrictions on the President’s authority to declare national monuments. The first, passed 

in 1950, prohibited the designation of monuments in Wyoming. The 

second, passed in 1986, requires prior Congressional approval of executive land withdrawals in Alaska greater than 5,000 acres. These 

actions followed controversial declarations of the Jackson Hole National Monument by President Franklin Roosevelt and President 

Jimmy Carter’s establishment of several national monuments in 

Alaska.12

The Antiquities Act predates the establishment of five states (including New Mexico and Arizona), the establishment of the National Park Service, and the creation of major environmental and 

archeological resources protection laws. These include the organic 

act for the National Park System (1916), the Archeological and Historic Preservation Act (1974), Archeological Resources Protection 

Act (1979), National Historic Preservation Act (1966), Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990), the National 

Stolen Property Act (1948), the Historic Sites Act (1935), the Reservoir Salvage Act (1980), Abandoned Shipwreck Act (1987), National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act (1980), Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act (1976) and National Environmental 

Policy Act (1969). In many cases, enactment of these more modern 

authorities renders the protections of the Antiquities Act outdated. 


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H.R. 3990 restores Congress’ original intent for the Antiquities 

Act of 1906 while modernizing it for the 21st century. The comprehensive reform legislation includes provisions to protect endangered antiquities, prevent abuse of executive authority and the designation of excessive national monuments, and empowers local 

communities. These reforms balance the protection of archeological 

resources with the elimination of egregious Executive Branch overreach. 

As ordered reported, the bill retains Presidential authority to 

designate national monuments up to 640 acres, allowing the President to rapidly protect objects of antiquity in imminent danger, restoring the original focus of the Antiquities Act. This limited authority cannot be used to create multiple small monuments in the 

same locale, however. New monument designations between 640 

and 10,000 acres will now require environmental review under the 

National Environmental Policy Act prior to being finalized. 

The bill also empowers State and local voices by requiring approval by all county commissions, State legislatures, and governors 

impacted by a proposed national monument for any monument designation between 10,000 and 85,000 acres. Any monument designation greater than 85,000 acres would require an act of Congress. 

The bill also creates new Presidential authority to create ‘‘emergency’’ national monuments for up to one year, to protect areas of 

any size in times of emergency, as determined by the President. 

However, lands so declared may not be permanently designated a 

national monument in the future. 

The bill also clarifies Presidential authority to reduce national 

monuments, requiring reductions of more than 85,000 acres be approved by all affected counties, State legislatures and governors 

and also be subject to environmental review under the National 

Environmental Policy Act. 

The bill also gives much needed clarification to the definition of 

‘‘antiquities’’, returning the Act to its original focus of protecting 

specific objects of archeological value such as Native American burial remains. This will prohibit future marine national monuments 

and sprawling land-based national monuments with no archeological or historic features in need of protection. The bill does not 

affect the protection of these sites under other laws. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 3990 was introduced on October 6, 2017, by Congressman 

Rob Bishop (R–UT). The bill was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. On October 11, 2017, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Congressman Rob Bishop offered an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute designated 036. It was 

adopted by voice vote. The bill, as amended, was ordered favorably 

reported to the House of Representatives by a roll call vote of 23 

ayes and 17 noes, as follows: 


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COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT

1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 308(a) and 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 

received the following estimate for the bill from the Director of the 

Congressional Budget Office: 

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, December 8, 2017. 

Hon. ROB BISHOP, Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3990, the National Monument Creation and Protection Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani Shankaran. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, 

Director. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 3990—National Monument Creation and Protection Act 

Under current law, the President can declare areas of historic or 

scientific interest located on federally owned or managed lands as 

national monuments to be preserved permanently. H.R. 3990 would 

modify the President’s authority to designate national monuments 

and provide the President with the authority to reduce the acreage 

of existing national monuments. Under the bill, monument designations for areas larger than 85,000 acres would require an act 

of the Congress to be established. 

H.R. 3990 also would subject certain monument designations and 

reductions to review under the National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 (NEPA). CBO expects that the Department of the Interior 

and the Forest Service would incur administrative costs associated 

with NEPA reviews, However, CBO cannot estimate those costs because of uncertainty about whether or when executive action to establish or modify a national monument would occur. Any such 

spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

Enacting H.R. 3990 could affect direct spending; therefore, payas-you-go procedures apply. Reducing the size of an existing national monument would return the affected lands to the status they 

held before a national monument was established. That earlier status may have permitted mining, logging, or other resource extraction activities that generate offsetting receipts, which are treated 


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as reductions in direct spending. However, CBO cannot estimate 

the direct spending effects of H.R. 3990 because the potential for 

existing national monument lands to be used for resource extraction is unknown as is whether any future executive action would 

reduce the size of an existing monument. Enacting H.R. 3990 

would not affect revenues. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3990 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

H.R. 3990 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani Shankaran. 

The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director for Budget Analysis. 

2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to amend title 54, United States Code, to reform the 

Antiquities Act of 1906. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4 

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5 

Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any directed 

rule makings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 


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TITLE 54, UNITED STATES CODE 

* * * * * * * 

SUBTITLE III—NATIONAL PRESERVATION 

PROGRAMS 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 3203—MONUMENTS, RUINS, SITES, AND 

OBJECTS OF ANTIQUITY 

* * * * * * * 

§ 320301. National monuments 

(a) PRESIDENTIAL DECLARATION.—The President may, in the 

President’s discretion, declare by public proclamation øhistoric 

landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of 

historic or scientific interest¿ object or objects of antiquity that are 

situated on land owned or controlled by the Federal Government 

to be national monuments. 

(b) RESERVATION OF LAND.—The President may reserve parcels 

of land as a part of the national monuments. The limits of the parcels shall be øconfined to the smallest area compatible with the 

proper care and management of the objects to be protected¿ in accordance with the limitations outlined in subsections (e), (f), (g), and 

(h). 

(c) RELINQUISHMENT TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—When an object 

is situated on a parcel covered by a bona fide unperfected claim or 

held in private ownership, the parcel, or so much of the parcel as 

may be necessary for the proper care and management of the object, may be relinquished to the Federal Government and the Secretary may accept the relinquishment of the parcel on behalf of the 

Federal Government. 

(d) LIMITATION ON EXTENSION OR ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL

MONUMENTS IN WYOMING.—No extension or establishment of national monuments in Wyoming may be undertaken except by express authorization of Congress. 

(e) LIMITATION ON SIZE OF NATIONAL MONUMENTS.—Except as 

provided by subsections (f), (g), and (h), after the date of the enactment of this subsection, land may not be declared under this section 

in a configuration that would create a national monument— 

(1) that is more than 640 acres; and 

(2) whose exterior boundary is less than 50 miles from the 

closest exterior boundary of another national monument declared under this section. 

(f) EXCEPTION FOR MONUMENTS OF LESS THAN 5,000 ACRES.— 

Subsection (e) shall not apply to the designation of a national 

monument under this section if the national monument so designated— 

(1) would be less than 5,000 acres; 

(2) would have all exterior boundaries 50 miles or more from 

the closest exterior boundary of another national monument declared under this section; and 


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(3) has been reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) by the Secretary of the 

Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate. 

(g) EXCEPTION FOR MONUMENTS OF 5,000 ACRES AND UP TO

10,000 ACRES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (e) shall not apply to the designation of a national monument under this section if the national monument so designated— 

(A) would be at least 5,000 acres but not more than 

10,000 acres; and 

(B) would have all exterior boundaries 50 miles or more 

from the closest exterior boundary of another national 

monument declaration under this section. 

(2) OTHER REQUIREMENT.—A monument described in this 

subsection shall be subject to the preparation of an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement as part 

of a review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The choice of environmental review document shall be within the discretion of the Secretary of 

the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate. 

(h) EXCEPTION FOR MONUMENTS 10,000 ACRES AND UP TO 85,000 

ACRES.—Subsection (e) shall not apply to the designation of a national monument under this section if the national monument so 

designated— 

(1) would be at least 10,000 acres but not more than 85,000 

acres; 

(2) would have all exterior boundaries 50 miles or more from 

the closest exterior boundary of another national monument 

declaration under this section; and 

(3) has been approved by the elected governing body of each 

county (or county equivalent), the legislature of each State, and 

the Governor of each State within whose boundaries the national monument will be located (and the Governor of each such 

State has transmitted a copy of each such approval to the President). 

(i) EXCEPTION FOR EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (e) shall not apply to the designation under this section of a national monument of any acreage amount if designation is made to prevent imminent and irreparable harm to the object or objects of antiquity to be protected by the designation. 

(2) ONE YEAR LIMITATION.—A national monument designation under this subsection shall terminate on the date that is 

one calendar year after the date of the designation. 

(3) ONE TIME DESIGNATION.—Land designated as a national 

monument under this subsection— 

(A) may only be so designated one time; and 

(B) may not also be permanently designated as a national monument under this section. 

(4) RIGHTS AND USES.—Land designated as a national monument under this subsection shall remain subject to— 

(A) valid existing rights; and 

(B) uses allowed on the day before such designation 

under an applicable Resource Management Plan or Forest 

Plan. 


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(j) PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY TO REDUCE SIZE OF DECLARED

MONUMENTS.—The President may— 

(1) reduce the size of any national monument declared under 

this section by 85,000 acres or less; or 

(2) reduce the size of any national monument declared under 

this section by more than 85,000 acres only if the reduction— 

(A) has been approved by the elected governing body of 

each county (or county equivalent), the legislature of each 

State, and the Governor of each State within whose boundaries the national monument will be located (and the Governor of each such State has transmitted a copy of each 

such approval to the President); and 

(B) has been reviewed under the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) by the Secretary 

of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate. 

(k) NON-FEDERALLY OWNED PROPERTY.—After the date of the enactment of this subsection, land may not be declared as a national 

monument under this section in a configuration that would place 

non-federally owned property within the exterior boundaries of the 

national monument without the express written consent of the owners of that non-federally owned property. 

(l) EFFECT OF DECLARATION ON FEDERAL FUNDS.—No declaration 

under this section shall be construed to increase the amount of Federal funds that are authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal 

year. 

(m) WATER RIGHTS ASSOCIATED WITH A DECLARATION.—Water 

rights associated with a declaration under this section— 

(1) may not be reserved expressly or by implication by a declaration under this section; and 

(2) may be acquired for a declaration under this section only 

in accordance with the laws of the State in which the water 

rights are based. 

(n) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section: 

(1) DECLARATION; DECLARED.—The terms ‘‘declaration’’ and 

‘‘declared’’ shall only include the creation or expansion of a national monument under this section. 

(2) LAND.—The term ‘‘land’’ shall not include submerged land 

or water. 

(3) OBJECT OR OBJECTS OF ANTIQUITY.— 

(A) The term ‘‘object or objects of antiquity’’ means— 

(i) relics; 

(ii) artifacts; 

(iii) human or animal skeletal remains; 

(iv) fossils (other than fossil fuels); and 

(v) certain buildings constructed before the date of 

the enactment of this subsection. 

(B) The term ‘‘object or objects of antiquity’’ does not include— 

(i) natural geographic features; and 

(ii) objects not made by humans, except fossils (other 

than fossil fuels) or human or animal skeletal remains. 

* * * * * * * 


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DISSENTING VIEWS 

H.R. 3990 is a misleading proposal designed to undermine the 

Antiquities Act and establish barriers to future national monument 

designations. Chairman Bishop hastily introduced the bill just days 

before markup in response to the minority’s request for information 

about the Trump administration’s review of existing national 

monuments. Rather than work with Democrats to promote transparency in government, the Chairman chose to steer his bill directly to markup without holding a hearing or providing any other 

opportunity for public scrutiny. 

H.R. 3990 is premised on a series of falsehoods about the Antiquities Act and its legacy of protecting public lands. First and foremost, the bill expressly grants the president the authority to reduce the size of previously designated monuments. The inclusion of 

this provision in the Chairman’s bill is an admission that the president does not currently have this authority. In our view, this admission weakens the legality of the president’s actions to shrink 

monuments. 

Congress passed the Antiquities Act in response to rampant 

looting and destruction of archaeological sites on federal land. 

Since Congress created the authority in 1906, sixteen presidents 

have used it to designate national monuments, many of which have 

been validated by Congress and turned into national parks. In fact, 

Theodore Roosevelt—the law’s first champion—designated sixteen 

national monuments, including the Grand Canyon and Muir 

Woods. 

Despite the well-documented role of the Antiquities Act protecting prominent natural areas, H.R. 3990 rewrites history to redefine future use of the Antiquities Act. Specifically, the bill restricts presidential authority to ‘‘objects or objects of antiquity’’ and 

expressly excludes natural geographic features, which define many 

of the visually-stunning monuments that we cherish. Sponsors of 

the bill claim presidents have drifted from Congressional intent by 

creating large monuments, but the language and history of the Act 

state otherwise. The Antiquities Act already provides guidance to 

determine the appropriate size of monuments and early usage of 

the Act by former presidents began with the protection of large 

landscapes. Recent marine monument designations by Presidents 

George W. Bush and Barack Obama—two of which total nearly 376 

million acres—skew the overall average and are not representative 

of a typical land monument. 

H.R. 3990 also subjects future monument designations to the environmental review and public participation requirements of the 

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This is incredibly disingenuous. Republicans are bending over backwards to short circuit 

environmental review for any kind of commercial activity—from 

highway projects to oil and gas developments. To suggest that 


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monuments designations, which are designed to preserve precious 

resources for future generations, deserve the same level of scrutiny 

does not add up, especially when NEPA is applied at the agency 

level and existing activities are not always affected by designations. 

Monuments are by no means shielded from public review. Following a presidential proclamation, agencies develop a management plan pursuant to NEPA and go through several rounds of 

public scoping and review prior to implementation. The public has 

ample opportunity to participate in monument management and 

administration. 

Furthermore, presidents engage in plenty of public outreach and 

monument designations are widely supported by the American people. Chairman Bishop would understand the vast amounts of public 

support for national monuments if he ever held hearings on any of 

the designation bills referred to the committee. Instead, H.R. 3990 

gives local governments veto power over future designations. This 

completely distorts the intent of the law—Congress created the authority with the understanding that politics can often slow down or 

otherwise hamper efforts to protect certain special places. Rather 

than honor that insight, this bill simply relocates the political fight 

and jeopardizes the future efforts to protect our most treasured resources. This bill is more about erecting barriers to future designation than addressing a lack of transparency in the current designation process. 

Plus, nothing stops Congress from adjusting a monument boundary or rescinding it altogether. House Republicans complain about 

the monument designation process, but it is curious that they 

never introduce legislation to repeal monuments they claim lack 

public support. That’s because national monuments and the Antiquities Act are extremely popular. For example, a poll conducted by 

Colorado College found that 80 percent of Western voters support 

existing monuments. We oppose H.R. 3990 and encourage our Senate colleagues to reject this attack on the future of the Antiquities 

Act. 

RAU ́ L M. GRIJALVA, 

Ranking Member, Committee 

on Natural Resources. 

NIKI TSONGAS. 

DONALD S. BEYER, JR. 

JIMMY GOMEZ. 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO. 

JARED HUFFMAN. 

NANETTE DIAZ BARRAGA ́ N. 

COLLEEN HANABUSA. 

Æ 


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