April 3, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, the Department of the Interior announced a new scheme to downsize its workforce.
National Monuments
National Monuments
Protecting existing monuments, expanding these cherished spaces, and fighting for new monuments is an important piece of Sierra Club's conservation work.
Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument
What is a national monument?
National monuments are lands and waters designated for permanent protection by the federal government. They include areas of important natural, cultural, and historic resources, from geological wonders to sacred Indigenous landscapes to sites that have shaped the history of the United States.
Unlike national parks, which only Congress can designate, national monuments can either be established by the President under the authority of the 1906 Antiquities Act or by an act of Congress.
The United States has over 130 national monuments that are managed by federal agencies. While most are managed by the National Park Service, some are managed by other agencies like the US Forest Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.
Canyon of the Ancients National Monument
Why are monuments important?
National monuments are protected lands, waters, or historic sites that safeguard our natural, cultural, scientific, and historic resources and legacies. They are an important tool for protecting public lands and waters for generations to come.
National monuments are also part of our response to the climate crisis. Conserving 30 percent of US lands and waters by 2030 will protect the air we breathe, water we drink, and provide a powerful climate solution. Preserving wildlands will protect vital habitats for imperiled species and save more places to connect with nature. Safeguarding places of cultural and historical significance will help honor the stories, sites, and landscapes that make us who we are.
33
states with national monuments
18
presidents have designated monuments
National monuments protect geologic, marine, archaeological, and cultural sites
Protecting wild places will keep drilling and logging from polluting our air and water, and suck existing climate pollution out of the air. Creating national monuments is one of the best ways to protect public lands and preserve homes for wildlife and opportunities for people to enjoy the outdoors together.
What We Are Doing
Paria Rimrocks, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
The Sierra Club has been pivotal in the conservation and expansion of national monuments for more than a century, reflecting a broader commitment to preserving natural landscapes, combating climate change, and ensuring everyone’s history and connections to US lands are honored and celebrated.
Right now, Donald Trump, the billionaires who bought access to him, and their allies in Congress are waging an all-out assault on our parks and public lands, firing thousands of federal workers who steward these landscapes, shredding conservation protections for fragile ecosystems and places, and seeking to overturn more than a century's worth of conservation history. Their goal is to give public lands to corporate polluters and billionaires to mine, drill, log, and pollute as they please — activities that effectively block access to public lands for everyday people.
We must use every tool at our disposal, from the courts to pressuring our leaders to collective action, to stop this polluter giveaway. Every victory we've won to protect the places we hold dear has been thanks to the grassroots support of advocates like you who have written a letter, called your legislators, attended an event, posted on social media, talked to friends and family, donated, and so much more.
What You Can Do
Congress: Urge the Trump Admin to Protect Existing National Monuments
Tell Congress to urge the Trump Administration to not attack national monument designations. Send your message today!
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Press Releases
April 3, 2026
Diné, Pueblo, and allied groups condemn the Trump Administration’s proposal to revoke Public Land Order (PLO) 7923, which withdraws federal minerals from future oil and gas leasing within approximately 10-miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
March 18, 2026
SALT LAKE CITY – Yesterday, Utah Sierra Club and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) held a press conference with community members speaking out against Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Celeste Maloy’s (R-UT-02) attempt to overturn the Monument Management Plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.* Watch the Press Call Here *
March 16, 2026
SALT LAKE CITY — On Tuesday, March 17th, the Utah Sierra Club and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) will host a virtual press call with community members speaking out against Senator Mike Lee and Rep. Celeste Maloy’s plan to overturn the Monument Management Plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.SPEAKERS:
March 16, 2026
Changes recommended at wildlife refuges, fish hatcheries, offices reveal Interior’s contradictory approach to implementing executive order
March 10, 2026
Ten Alaska and national groups sued the Interior Department today for unlawfully removing federal protections over public lands in an area stretching from the Yukon River to the Brooks Range. These lands had been protected for over 50 years and subject to federal oversight that intended to ensure Arctic health and a stable corridor for the Dalton Highway and Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
March 5, 2026
SACRAMENTO - This week the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee voted 11-9 down party lines to move forward the nomination of Steve Pearce for Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Pearce is facing steep backlash from conservation, hunting and outdoor groups for his radical positions on land management.
March 4, 2026
PORTLAND, Ore. – Today, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources advanced Donald Trump’s nomination of Steve Pearce to run the Bureau of Land Management.By a party-line vote of 11-9, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources moved Pearce’s nomination to a vote by the full Senate. Oregon’s Senator Ron Wyden, a committee member, voted against the nomination.
March 4, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources advanced Donald Trump’s nomination of Steve Pearce to run the Bureau of Land Management.By a party line vote of 11-9, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources moved Pearce’s nomination to a vote by the full Senate.
February 26, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressional Republicans began the process of overturning the management plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.