ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt took significant action under the Antiquities Act by designating Devils Tower in Wyoming as the nation’s first national monument. This act paved the way for further protections of notable sites, which included the Petrified Forest in Arizona, Chaco Canyon and the Gila Cliff Dwellings in New Mexico, as well as the Grand Canyon, Death Valley in California, and the now-renowned Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks in Utah.
Since then, nearly every president, with three exceptions, has utilized the Antiquities Act to protect extraordinary landscapes and cultural resources. Currently, President Joe Biden has established six new monuments and made adjustments to the boundaries of others. As his administration approaches its conclusion, there is increasing pressure from Native American tribes and conservationists for further designations.
The proposed sites for additional protections encompass a diverse array of locations. These include a rich area filled with palm trees and historic petroglyphs in Southern California, a sacred site in Nevada’s high desert of significance to Native Americans, a historic Black neighborhood in Oklahoma, and a Maine homestead associated with Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet member in U.S. history.
When the Antiquities Act was signed by Roosevelt, it addressed a pressing need as educators and scientists fought to safeguard sites from vandalism and wanton artifact collection. This foundational legislation was the first in the U.S. to offer legal protection for culturally and scientifically significant resources located on federal lands.
Roosevelt recognized the scientific importance of preserving Devils Tower, where geologists have studied the cooling processes of ancient lava that sculpted the columns forming the geological landmark. Additionally, Native American tribes continue to hold ceremonies there, sharing their cultural narratives about the tower’s origins.
In 2021, Biden invoked the Antiquities Act for the first time by restoring protections for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante areas in southern Utah. These two monuments were among 29 established by President Barack Obama during his tenure. Concerns over presidential overreach and restrictions on energy development prompted President Donald Trump to diminish their boundaries while adding unprotected land to Bears Ears.
Biden emphasized that Bears Ears represents the first national monument created at the request of federally recognized tribes and called it a “place of healing.” Historically, however, the establishment of national monuments often displaced Indigenous tribes from their ancestral territories. For instance, Herbert Hoover designated Death Valley as a national monument in 1933, a decision that halted mining claims but also forced the Timbisha Shoshone tribe out of a significant portion of their traditional land—a struggle they faced for decades to reclaim even a fraction of it.
The Biden administration has worked to improve collaboration with Indigenous tribes in managing public lands and has incorporated Native knowledge into governmental policies. His second monument designation, Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, located near Las Vegas, holds great importance for local tribes based on their creation stories tied to the land. However, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo criticized the lack of consultation from the White House about this designation, arguing it hindered clean energy projects and other developments.
Opposition emerged again when Biden established the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument in Arizona a few months later, this time driven by a need to protect the region from uranium mining threats close to the Grand Canyon, which drew the support of both tribes and environmental advocates.
While Biden’s number of designated monuments and total land protections are not record-breaking, environmental advocates argue that effectively using the Antiquities Act will be essential as developers eye new locations for solar and wind energy projects and the extraction of vital minerals needed for transitioning to green energy.
Conservationists are urging Biden to take action in his remaining time to expand Joshua Tree National Park in California and to create a new monument stretching from its border to the Colorado River, where it separates California and Arizona. The proposed Chuckwalla National Monument has garnered backing from several tribes and would significantly contribute to one of the largest interconnected protected areas in the United States, spanning thousands of square miles along the Colorado River, including areas already designated by Obama and Biden.
“The concern out there is that so much land is getting used for renewable energy and it just kills the desert completely. If we’re not more proactive about protecting these places in the desert, we could lose them forever,” said Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government relations for the National Parks Conservation Association.
Conversely, Biden’s efforts have also included designations beyond the traditional scope of iconic Western landscapes. In May, he announced a national monument in Springfield, Illinois, commemorating the 1908 race riot, a move aimed at enhancing his relevance as he navigates the final months of his presidency while boosting Vice President Kamala Harris’s image ahead of presidential campaigning. Following this, in 2023, he created a national monument across three sites in Illinois and Mississippi to honor Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. Till, a Black teenager from Chicago, was horrifically murdered in 1955 after allegedly whistling at a white woman in Mississippi.
Additionally, petitions are ongoing to establish the Greenwood area in North Tulsa, Oklahoma, as a national monument, recognizing the site of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. There is also interest in creating a monument along the Maah Daah Hey Trail in North Dakota, emphasizing the narratives of the land’s original inhabitants.
