13 de marzo de 2023
La administración Biden anunció que protegerá 16 millones de acres de parajes de la Reserva Nacional Petrolera-Alaska y el Océano Artico.
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
February 9, 2023
BISMARCK, ND — Climate and conservation groups defended the Biden administration in a brief
February 8, 2023
Casper, WY – Seventeen groups represented by Earthjustice and the Western Environmental Law Center moved to intervene today to defend the Biden administration’s postponement of several oil and gas lease sales.
February 2, 2023
A federal appeals court yesterday rejected the Biden administration’s defense of unchecked oil and gas fracking in the Greater Chaco region of northwest New Mexico, ruling the U.S. Interior Department flouted the law when approving 199 drilling permits in the culturally significant landscape.
2 de febrero de 2023
El Departamento del Interior emitió una crucial evaluación ambiental acerca de la operación de ConocoPhillips de gas y petróleo en el Artico Occidental, comúnmente llamada el Proyecto Willow.
February 1, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Department of the Interior issued a key environmental assessment regarding ConocoPhillips’ oil and gas operation in the Western Arctic, commonly called the Willow project.
1 de febrero de 2023
Tras más de una década de disputas, la Agencia de Protección Ambiental (EPA) emitió una Determinación Final de protección para Bristol Bay de daños potenciales de la Mina Pebble.
27 de enero de 2023
En el segundo aniversario del anuncio por parte de la administración Biden de la iniciativa “America the Beautiful” para proteger el 30% de los terrenos y vías acuáticas de Estados Unidos para 2030, una nueva coalición ha publicado su agenda política para alcanzar esta ambiciosa meta.
January 27, 2023
On the second anniversary of the announcement of the Biden Administration’s America the Beautiful initiative to protect 30 percent of lands and waters in the United States by 2030, a new coalition has released a policy agenda to help achieve this ambitious goal.
25 de enero de 2023
La administración Biden restauró hoy la llamada “regla sin carreteras” para restablecer las protecciones ambientales al Bosque Nacional de Tongass en Alaska.