Opinion ID: 167827
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Monument

Text: 2 On September 18, 1996, in the midst of his 1996 re-election campaign, President Clinton issued a Presidential Proclamation establishing the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (the Monument), a set-aside of approximately 1.7 million acres of federal land in southern Utah. See Proclamation No. 6920, 61 Fed. Reg. 50,223 (Sept. 18, 1996). The Proclamation described the Monument area as a geologic treasure and an outstanding biological resource that includes world class paleontological sites and is rich in human history. Id. at 50,223-224. Among the items to be protected in the Monument are arches and natural bridges; remarkable specimens of petrified wood; numerous types of [e]xtremely significant fossils; ancient Native American rock art and occupation sites; trails, inscriptions, [and] ghost towns from Mormon pioneers; [f]ragile cryptobiotic crusts; and [o]ver 200 species of birds, including bald eagles and peregrine falcons. Id. at 50,223-225. 3 The proclamation claimed the authority to establish the Monument based on the Antiquities Act of 1906 (Antiquities Act), which provides: 4 The President of the United States is authorized, in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments, and may reserve as a part thereof parcels of land, the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. 5 Antiquities Act of 1906 § 2, 16 U.S.C. § 431 (2000); see Proclamation No. 6920, 61 Fed.Reg. at 50,225 (the President's declaration that the Monument is set aside by the authority vested in me by section 2 of the [Antiquities Act]). 6 Establishment of the Monument generated intense criticism, including in some Congressional circles. Notably, the majority staff of the House Committee on Resources produced two reports critical of President Clinton's decision. See Behind Closed Doors: The Abuse of Trust and Discretion in the Establishment of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. H.R.Rep. No. 105-D (Comm. Print 1997); Monumental Abuse: The Clinton Administration's Campaign of Misinformation in the Establishment of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. H.R.Rep. No. 105-824 (Comm. Print 1998). 1 7 Despite these and other criticisms of the Monument, since 1996 Congress has passed several pieces of legislation that relate to the Monument. For example, in the Automobile National Heritage Area Act, Pub.L. No. 105-355, 112 Stat. 3247 (1998), Congress modified the boundaries of the Monument to exclude certain Utah towns and to take in the East Clark Bench area. Id. §§ 201-02. Congress has also appropriated funds both for acquiring mineral rights within the Monument, see Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2000, Pub.L. No. 106-113, app. C, § 601, 113 Stat. 1501 (1999), and for construction and the development of programs at the Monument. See, e.g., S.Rep. No. 106-99, at 14-15 (1999); S.Rep. No. 105-227, at 10, 13-14 (1998); H.R.Rep. No. 105-609, at 12 (1998).