[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 25, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2502-S2503]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Antiquities Act

  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, President Trump is expected to issue an 
Executive order directing the Department of the Interior to review all 
of the national monuments issued over the past 20 years, to see whether 
those monuments should be reduced in size or repealed. It is clear to 
me that many of us know the value of our public lands. But I am 
questioning whether our President understands that trying to illegally 
roll back those national monuments--some of the most treasured lands in 
our country--is something we should not do.
  This shortsighted move is a pretext to attacking the designation of 
the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, which is sacred to the five 
tribes that form the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, and is a 
breathtaking site for all Americans who come to experience what is the 
unbelievable, unique beauty of the West.
  Whether they are there hiking or climbing or vacationing, it is a 
special place. But President Trump's Executive order is expected to go 
even further than just Bears Ears, reviewing any designation in the 
last 20 years, threatening the question of the San Juan Islands or 
Hanford Reach National Monuments and the creation of other sites around 
the United States and threatening our economy.

[[Page S2503]]

  Time and again, the Trump administration is pushing for policies that 
are harmful to our recreation economy and a disaster for our pristine 
places, and it sets a terrible precedent for future conservation 
efforts.
  The Antiquities Act is one of our Nation's most successful 
conservation laws. It was signed into law in 1906 by President Theodore 
Roosevelt to designate Devils Tower in Wyoming as our Nation's first 
national monument.
  In the 110 years since its enactment, the Antiquities Act has been a 
very useful tool by 16 different Presidents--eight Republicans, eight 
Democrats--to designate more than 140 national monuments, including, as 
I mentioned, the San Juan Islands and Hanford Reach in the State of 
Washington.
  Nearly half of all of our national parks, including national icons 
such as the Grand Canyon or Olympic National Park, were first 
designated as national monuments under the Antiquities Act. So it is a 
very helpful tool to making sure we preserve those special places. I 
will note, too, that only 4 percent of all land in the United States is 
set aside this way, designated as part of the national park system or 
as a national monument.
  So, of all the lands in the United States, we are asking to protect 4 
percent of the lands, that are these unique special places, to be 
persevered for the American public and not turned over to special 
interests for oil and gas mining.
  I also think it is important to note that the Antiquities Act gives 
the President the authority to make sure that these monuments are 
designated because from time to time there are those who do not believe 
in these special places.
  I note that when the Grand Canyon was being considered, an editorial 
in that time period editorialized: ``The idea of protecting the Grand 
Canyon represents a fiendish and diabolical scheme.'' Now, I don't 
think that is what Americans think today about the Grand Canyon, nor do 
they think that it is something that hasn't enriched the lives of 
millions of Americans over the years or added to our economy and 
tourism. So I find it ironic that the same people think that the 
designation of Bears Ears is somehow a ``fiendish and diabolical 
scheme.''
  Well, what I know is that the President is wrong to think he can use 
the Antiquities Act in reverse. In 1938, an Attorney General's opinion 
was issued stating that the President did not have the authority to use 
it in reverse.
  So I think any attempt by the Trump administration to modify or 
revoke earlier national monument proposals is without the legal 
authority to do so. But I also want to make sure that we are talking 
about how important and how special Bears Ears is. It is a monument of 
true significance. It encompasses 1.3 million acres of beautiful desert 
hills, mesas, and sandstone canyons in southeastern Utah and is home to 
some of the most spiritually significant lands of the local Tribes and 
some of the best rock climbing in the world.

  Bears Ears encompasses Native American archaeological sites dating 
back at least 13,000 years. The area is covered in rock art, 
petroglyphs and pictographs, cliff dwellings, and artifacts. So if 
nothing else, those special places should be preserved.
  It is also special to many of the early inhabitants of that area: the 
Ute Tribe, the Navajo Tribe, the Uintah Ouray Tribe, the Hopi Tribe, 
and the Zuni Tribe. Bears Ears is important to these Tribal members for 
sacred ceremonies, and hunting, and fishing.
  Bears Ears also continues to be one of the richest paleontological 
resources in our Nation, with fossil records dating back millions of 
years. So it is easy to see why it is so important that this special 
place was designated.
  In addition to its historical and cultural significance, Bears Ears 
is also a world-class recreation resource visited by rock climbers from 
all over the world. It is also visited by hunters, hikers, canyoneers, 
white water rafters, mountain bikers, and the entire conservation 
community. That is why the Outdoor Retailer show, which had previously 
located its biannual event in Utah, decided after two decades that they 
were pulling out. That is right. They are pulling out their $40 million 
contribution to the Utah economy because they are against the efforts 
by many in Utah to oppose the Bears Ears monument and try to get the 
President to reverse the Antiquities Act and then use that Federal land 
for oil and gas exploration. I was so proud to see the outdoor industry 
take such a bold step. Companies like REI, Patagonia, Black Diamond, 
and Outdoor Research really made a big and bold statement. They decided 
that if a State was going to attack the very economy that was so 
important to their jobs in recreation, they were going to do something 
about it.
  I agree with the Salt Lake Tribune editorial on the Outdoor 
Retailer's decision, which said that the debate over public lands is 
about ``who we are and where we are headed. To get there, we need 
leaders with a better appreciation of the magnificent gifts God has 
given everyone, not just Utahans.''
  So what is ironic and, frankly, a bit sad is that at the same time 
the Trump administration is waging war on our public lands and fighting 
imaginary ones, like the War on Coal, we have new data on just what an 
economic engine the recreation industry has become. Just today, the 
Outdoor Industry Association released a new report on the economic 
contributions of the recreation economy. Today, the recreation industry 
generates $887 billion in consumer spending every year. That is up more 
than $200 billion--from $646 billion--since the last time the study was 
done a few years ago. What does this tell us? Not only do more 
Americans enjoy recreation on our public lands, but an economy has been 
built around it, and it continues to grow and thrive, with new 
products, new services, and more comfortable and innovative ways to 
enjoy the outdoors. The outdoor recreation economy is responsible for 
7.6 million jobs in this country. That is a growth of 1.5 million jobs 
since the last time the report was done.
  Meanwhile, the Trump administration seems perfectly content to do the 
bidding of these natural resources industries instead of focusing on 
these jobs and these recreational opportunities that are booming. In 
fact, the clean energy economy is now supporting more jobs than fossil 
fuels in 26 States and the District of Columbia. So it is an economy 
that exists in many parts of our country.
  On top of this effort to try and weaken these national monument 
designations and use the Antiquities Act in reverse, the President is 
also expected to gut some of our key investments in science and 
innovation that are also helping us grow in new ways.
  I will tell you that pollution is not an economic strategy. We cannot 
turn the economy of the past into hope for the future. What we need to 
do is make sure we are paying attention to the unique resources that 
these special places represent and the great heritage of both 
Democratic and Republican administrations, which have done great work 
by protecting places like the Grand Canyon and Bears Ears.
  I hope all of my colleagues will realize that this is a futile effort 
and that these special places do not belong only to us. They do not 
belong to the people who are here on the Senate floor. They belong to 
generations and generations of Americans.
  To those great Presidents--Republican and Democratic--who made those 
decisions and created those special places for all of us, thank you. I 
hope that some future generation will be standing here thanking us for 
protecting Bears Ears and all of the national monument designations 
that have taken place over the last two decades.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.