Clinton Weighs New U.S. Monuments; Arizona Republicans Upset by
Babbitt Proposal
12/14/99
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Clinton weighs new U.S. monuments; Arizona Republicans
upset by Babbitt proposal
Source: MSNBC
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: December 14, 1999
Byline: Miguel Llanos
Dec. 14 - President Bill Clinton said Tuesday he's weighing a
proposal to add mostly federal lands in Arizona and California to the
list of national monuments. Aimed at protecting areas from sprawl,
vandalism and mining, it's opposed by Republicans like Arizona's
governor and its two U.S. senators, one of them presidential
contender John McCain. They don't like the federal government
throwing its weight around, or that new monuments would limit
commercial ventures and shrink the local tax base.
AT A WHITE HOUSE news conference, Clinton suggested he would adopt
the proposal made Monday by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt.
"By giving these lands national monument status, we would ensure that
they could be passed along to future generations healthy and whole,"
Clinton said, adding he'd make a final decision early next year.
Most of the lands are already federal but monument status would add
greater protections, such as bans on mining and logging, and use
restrictions on off-road vehicles.
Clinton on Tuesday also sent Congress a list of 18 natural and
historic sites he would like to see protected under his "Lands Legacy
Initiative," a $652 million program to protect farms, forests and
urban parks. The sites included land around the first home of Martin
Luther King Jr. in Atlanta, and habitat for sea turtles and manatees
on Florida's Pelican Island.
The proposed new national monuments are:
The Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, covering 1 million
acres northwest of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. In a statement, the
Interior Department claimed that without protection the area would
"be increasingly threatened by potential mineral development and by
intensive recreational use". The 18,000 acres of private land and
22,000 acres of state land within the area would continue in those
hands.
The Agua Fria National Monument, protecting 70,000 acres north of
Phoenix that contain some 450 archeological sites, among them rock
art symbols. The area has already suffered from "extensive
vandalism," the Interior Department said. Some 1,400 of those acres
are private land and would remain so.
The California Coastal National Monument, covering thousands of small
islands that have become refuges for endangered seabirds. "Future
economic or commercial development as well as some recreational use
threaten" the islands, the Interior Department claimed.
Babbitt also wants Clinton add 8,000 acres to the Pinnacles National
Monument south of San Jose, Calif. That would nearly double the size
of the monument, which the Interior Department claims is threatened
by sprawl. Nearly 3,000 of those acres would continue to be in
private hands.
WHAT LAW ALLOWS
The proposals stem from Clinton's request that Babbitt draw up a list
of 12 potential new monuments. Babbitt has said he plans to have the
rest in the coming months.
National monuments can be designated by the president under the
Antiquities Act of 1906 or by an act of Congress. The law gives the
president authority protect any land that has historic, scientific or
archaeological significance. And it allows him to bypass Congress for
sites that already lie on federal land.
Under the monument designation, land would have increased protection
against development such as mining, although some activities
including cattle grazing is still allowed.
Clinton last used the act in 1996 to create the Grand Staircase-
Escalante Monument. That led to several legislative attempts to
overturn the statute.
Babbitt said every president except three since Theodore Roosevelt
has used their authority to protect federal lands under the act. The
three exceptions, he said, were Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and
George Bush.
CONCERN IN ARIZONA
But the proposals faced strong criticism, particularly in Arizona,
where Babbitt was governor from 1978 to 1987.
Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., criticized the proposals as a "unilateral
decision" bypassing the people of Arizona, adding in a statement that
the issue should be resolved through legislation.
And Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said he is writing a letter urging Clinton
not to go forward. Calling the proposal "government by decree," Kyl
said it would send a message that the federal government doesn't care
what Arizonans think. "It's wrong and I don't think the state of
Arizona is going to stand by and let this happen," Kyl said.
Arizona Gov. Jane Hull, also a Republican, echoed Kyl, expressing
concern "about the lands being eaten up by the federal government."
And in Mohave County, where the Grand Canyon-Parashant National
Monument would be, Supervisor Carol Anderson said the area is already
struggling to support services, and the preservation designation
would make it worse.
Off-road enthusiasts are also upset with Clinton for seeking to put
more federal land off-limits to motorized vehicles. The monument
proposals come after Clinton announced a plan to add 50 million
federal forest acres to "roadless" areas.
The enthusiasts say such restrictions make it harder for handicapped
people to enjoy the outdoors and even make it harder for rescuers to
reach people injured or lost in wilderness areas.
CONSERVATIONISTS IN FAVOR
Backing the proposals are conservation groups like the Sierra Club
and the National Parks Conservation Association.
Rob Smith, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Club, said the designations
would protect the areas from mining and off-road vehicles and that
"just makes common sense."
"This Congress has been very reluctant to protect land," he added.
"The time has come to make a move."
The NPCA's president, Tom Kiernan, praised the move as well.
"President Clinton should take the lead in preserving these
treasures," he said, "preferably by seeking congressional approval if
he can get it, or by using his presidential authority should the need
arise."
Kiernan said he hoped recent moves by Congress would make it easier
to get support for the designations. "Congress recently approved more
funding for land acquisition and preservation, so clearly it now
favors moving forward with preservation efforts," Kiernan said.
Moreover, the administration, Republicans and local communities have
agreed on some proposals, such as conserving the Great Sand Dunes in
Colorado, Kiernan noted. "We hope both Congress and the president
will keep politics from stifling the protection of our most cherished
landscapes and will continue their efforts in a spirit of
cooperation."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.