110 | september | october 2017SHUTTERSTOCK.COMMOTORCYCLIST (ISSN 0027-2205, USPS 517-970), September/October 2017, issue No. 1705, is published 6 times per year in January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, November/
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Publication agreement # 40612608. Canada Return Mail: IMEX, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2, Canada.MEGAPHONETIME TO RETIRE THE ANTIQUITIES ACT
Hard work, cooperation, and thoughtful deliberation undone- question: What year in US history
could be argued as the single most detri-
mental from a public-policy perspective
for off-road motorcycle enthusiasts,
general outdoor-recreation lovers, and
states-rights proponents? Answer:
- That’s the year the Antiquities
Act—otherwise known as the “National
Monuments Act”—was passed, allowing
the president of the United States
to unilaterally set aside public land
as conservation land without public
comment or input.
At first glance, the Antiquities
Act was not a bad idea, perhaps even
noble. After all, who would argue
against preserving and protecting our
country’s rare natural wonders and
heritage for future generations? In
spirit, the Antiquities Act serves this
purpose but only when implemented
as originally intended using “the
smallest area compatible with proper
care and management.” Such power
requires foresight, restraint, and a clear
conscience regarding motivation.
Unfortunately, what was originally
intended as an executive tool designed
to expedite the protection of historical
and culturally significant areas has
now become a currency for paying back
special interests and campaign debts.
Former President Obama designated
34 national monuments encompassing
550,000,000 acres of public land during
his presidency—almost twice as much
as the next most active US president,
Theodore Roosevelt. Some of this land
includes national monument designa-
tion for areas that are already protected
inside existing national parks.
The Antiquities Act has negative rami-
fications for all forms of public access and
land-use policy in general. In many cases,
it undoes years of hard work, cooperation,
and thoughtful deliberation between
private citizens, Native American
interests, access advocacy groups,
conservationists, and state and federal
land-management agencies, which have
all collaborated to develop thoughtful,
balanced, and sustainable land-use policy.
All undone with a single stroke of a pen.
When the Antiquities Act was first
passed, the national park movement
was in its infancy, and conservation
in general did not exist. Likewise, a
myriad of other state and federal land-
use agencies and policies were decades
away. Today, we have the National Park
Service, the Wilderness Act, the Wild
and Scenic Rivers Act, the National
Environmental Act, the Endangered
Species Act, the Bureau of Land
Management, and the Federal LandPolicy and Management Act, to name
but a few. All have processes for designa-
tion and preserving our cultural heritage
and natural resources.
With these in place, the Antiquities
Act no longer makes sense. Federal
ownership of land has taken manage-
ment control away from states and
local interests. The result has been
environmental degradation of America’s
national monuments and parks, billions
of dollars in maintenance backlogs, lost
economic opportunity, and concentra-
tion of power in Washington.
The current administration has asked
the interior secretary to look into scaling
back or reversing altogether the most
recent national monument designations
made by the Obama administration.
And while the legality of scaling back or
reversing the most egregious executive
actions in this area will most likely play
out in court, the off-road community can
act now to help build momentum.
Let your voice be heard. Call or write
your state representative and let them
know how you feel. We must protect
access to public lands for future genera-
tions of off-road motorcycle enthu-
siasts before we are all considered
“antiquities” as well. —Scot Harden- • \ \
At first glance, the
Antiquities Act
was not a bad idea,
perhaps even noble.- •
/ /
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