No more national parks? Who’s in favor of that?
This terrible proposal is actually heading toward a vote in the House of Representatives just days from now. Members of Congress proposed the “No More National Parks” bill (H.R. 1459) with the aim to completely stop the President of the United States from establishing new national monuments and parks, just one week after President Obama’s designation of lands along California’s coast as part of a national monument.
The House plans to vote this week to overturn the century-old law that presidents have used to protect iconic American places, including the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, and our beautiful California coastline.
Take action: tell Congress to OPPOSE the “No More National Parks” bill (H.R. 1459).
While Californians are celebrating the designation of a breathtaking stretch of the Mendocino coast as a new national monument, politicians in Washington, D.C., have reacted with a proposal to undermine the creation of National Parks. The bill, H.R. 1459, would block presidents from using our nation’s most important conservation tool, the Antiquities Act of 1906, to establish new national monuments by putting caps on how many times it can be used and requiring congressional review of proposed monuments.
This cynical proposal is an attack on the Antiquities Act, which was enacted by Congress more than 100 years ago so that presidents could move swiftly in the face of congressional inaction to protect areas that showcase America’s natural, cultural, and historic beauty.
According to news reports:
The bill is largely seen as a response to Obama’s decision last week to extend the Coastal California National Monument to reach a stretch of California’s shoreline near Point Arena. [Utah Republican Rep. Rob Bishop, sponsor of H.R. 1459 ] said President Obama had “punked” the House by undermining its own efforts to protect the land under the Congressional process.
The Center for American Progress argued that there are dozens of land conservation bills stalled in Congress that meet the common sense principles that have guided protections for more than a century.
“There is a widening gap between American families who want more parks and open spaces to get outdoors and a Congress that has slashed conservation budgets, shuttered parks and blocked nearly every community-led effort to protect lands for future generations,” said Matt Lee-Ashley, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. “With Congress so broken, the president is rightly stepping up to help conserve the places that matter most to our landscape, our history and our culture.”
Although California Congressmen Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson and Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein had authored legislation to include the Point Arena-Stornetta public lands on the California coast as part of the California Coastal National Monument, their legislation had stalled in Congress.
By designating the coastal land as a national monument, the president used the Antiquities Act exactly as intended… Which must be driving anti-environment members of Congress nuts; at least crazy enough to introduce this terrible legislation.
Rep. Huffman, whose district includes the stunning stretch of coastline that has been newly upgraded to monument status, described his reaction to both events:
I am thrilled that President Obama used his authority under the Antiquities Act to preserve pristine and breathtaking coastal lands in my district. The designation accomplishes the goal of my first bill as a U.S. Congressman: to expand the California Coastal National Monument to include the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands.
The National Monument ensures that our children and grandchildren will always be able to hike along the bluffs and watch whales migrate just off the shore. It is fitting that President Obama followed in the footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt by using the Antiquities Act — the same law used to protect the Grand Canyon and the Statue of Liberty. This jewel of the Mendocino Coast is a worthy addition to the California Coastal National Monument, and I’m thankful that the President agreed.
Sadly, it only took one week for some of my colleagues in the House of Representatives to respond with legislation to undermine the Antiquities Act, a crucial piece of Teddy Roosevelt’s legacy.
We fiercely oppose the bill because it guts the president’s park-creation authority at a time when – with the exception of a single wilderness bill – Congress had not protected a single new acre of public land since 2009. That means this Tea Party-controlled Congress is responsible for the longest gap in public lands protection since World War II.
With Congress refusing to advance dozens of locally-supported bills led by members from both parties that would create new national parks and other conservation areas, a vote for H.R. 1459 is a vote in favor of no new national parks being created.
H.R. 1459 is an insult to Californians and all Americans who cherish our national parks and other public lands. Polling has shown that voters overwhelmingly believe elected officials should do more to create new parks instead of closing national parks like they did during last year’s government shutdown.
Rather than putting up more barriers to protecting places Americans love, our members of Congress should focus their energy on creating new parks. Tell them to vote NO on H.R. 1459.
