National Monuments

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.

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

February 25, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a confirmation hearing on Donald Trump’s nomination of Steve Pearce to run the Bureau of Land Management.During the hearing, Pearce was peppered with questions about his previous support for selling off vast swaths of federal public lands to private interests and opposition to national monuments. BLM manages approximately 245 million acres of public surface land and an additional 700 million acres of subsurface mineral rights.

February 25, 2026

DENVER - The U.S. Senate hearing for Steve Pearce, nominee for Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is triggering fierce push back from conservation and environmental groups this week. 

February 9, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Donald Trump has signed a proclamation attempting to allow commercial fishing in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, off the coast of New England.

February 6, 2026

Proposed changes at National Monument in Mississippi the latest in a string of censorship actions ordered by the Trump Administration

January 23, 2026

Washington, DC – Today, the Sierra Club is highlighting the transparency generated by the organization’s Environmental Law Program in the first year of Donald Trump’s second term in office.

December 17, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee considered 15 bills largely focusing on conservation, public lands, and wildfire prevention.Among the bills considered during the markup session, the committee's first legislative markup since September, were the following:

November 19, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Republicans have approved resolutions intended to undermine the protection of millions of acres of public lands in Alaska and overturning guardrails on coal leasing in Wyoming.

November 10, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  A broad cross-section of Americans voiced their support for protecting public lands and preserving the Public Lands Rule as the Trump administration's 60-day public comment period to rescind the rule closed today.

November 5, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Donald Trump announced his latest pick to run the Bureau of Land Management.

November 5, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, documents emerged suggesting the Department of the Interior was putting plans for orchestrated widespread layoffs on hold.