List of proposed national monuments of the United States
The President of the United States can establish a national monument by presidential proclamation, and the United States Congress can by legislation. The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorized the president to proclaim "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" as national monuments.[1]
Interior Department memorandum
In a 2010 "Not for Release" - memorandum by the United States Department of the Interior 14 areas were listed in the "Prospective Conservation Designation" attachment as "good candidates for National Monument designation under the Antiquities Act".[2] These areas are included in the list of proposed National Monuments in the next section and marked with a blue-green background.
In subsequent attachments in the same draft "areas worthy of protection that are ineligible for Monument Designation and unlikely to receive legislative protection in the nearm term" and "cost estimates" of "high priority land-rationalization efforts" were listed.[2]
Proposed National Monuments
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Formerly proposed National Monuments
Some areas have been proposed as a National Monument earlier, but are no longer eligible to be listed above, because they are protected somehow now, e.g. as National Monument, National Park or Wilderness Area in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Some reasons for nevertheless keeping them in the following list might be:
- The proposed area is now included in another, larger area which is protected meanwhile. (Symbol:
) - A smaller part of the originally proposed area is now protected. (Symbol:
) - The area was officially proposed for monument designation by a federal or state agency or department, e.g. in the memorandum mentioned above, and is finally protected now. Those entries are marked with a blue-green background. (Symbol:
)
| Proposed Name | Photo | Location | Area [note 1] | Status | External information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berryessa Snow Mountains | 
|
California | 330,780 acres (133,860 ha) |  July 15, 2015
|
U.S. Forest Service |
| Boulder-White Clouds | 
|
Idaho | 570,000 acres (230,000 ha)[4] |  August 7, 2015 [note 4]
|
BoulderWhiteClouds.org The Wilderness Society |
| Maine Woods[4] | 
|
Maine Map |
3,200,000 acres (1,300,000 ha) | August 24, 2016[note 5]
|
Pro: RESTORE the North Woods National Resources Council of Maine Contra: Maine Woods Coalition |
| Rocky Mountain Front[4] | 
|
Montana Map |
275,000 acres (111,000 ha) | December 19, 2014 [10] [note 6]
|
Save the Front |
| San Juan Islands | .jpg)
|
Washington Map |
1,000 acres (400 ha) | March 25, 2013
|
Bureau of Land Management |
Notes
- ^ a b Area according to the memorandum if included there, otherwise according to the campaign website or the official area if the National Monument has been established meanwhile.
- ^ a b c The proposed Bears Ears National Monuments includes most of the proposed Cedar Mesa region National Monument and the southern part of the proposed Greater Canyonlands National Monument.
- ^ a b c Links to the protected area which will be extended
- ^ A smaller area than the proposed National Monument was designated as wilderness in August 2015
- ^ The smaller "Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument" was designated as National Monument in August 2016.
- ^ Instead of a National Monument designation the "Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Management Area" was established and 67,112 acres of land were designated as additions to existing components of the "National Wilderness Preservation System" in the Lewis and Clark National Forest.
References
- ^ 16 U.S.C. § 431 § 432, and § 433. U.S. Code collection. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved on 11 February 2009.
- ^ a b "Prospective Conservation Designation: National Monument designation under the Antiquities Act" (PDF). Congressman Rob Bishop's House.gov website. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
- ^ Graham Averill (9 September 2013). "Will Birthplace of Rivers Be West Virginia's First National Monument?". Blueridgeoutdoors.com. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Wuerthner, Georg (6 June 2014). "A Tentative List of Potential National Monuments". The Wildlife News. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ Burr, Thomas (30 July 2014). "12 most likely places Obama may make a national monument". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
- ^ Reid, Harry (20 January 2015). "Gold Butte National Conservation Area Act". congress.gov.
- ^ Clark, Roger (14 October 2015). "3 Things about the New Grand Canyon National Monument". Grand Canyon Trust. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ Grijalva, Raul (3 November 2015). "Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument Act". congress.gov.
- ^ Wuerthner, George (19 February 2010). "Wuerthner re: Obama's New National Monuments - Native Forest Council". Native Forest Council. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ "Joint press statement from members of the Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front on passage of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act". Save the Front. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
