July 25, 2018
Washington, DC— Today, the House Appropriations Committee marked up a budget that includes $5 billion for a border wall— the most money that’s appeared in an appropriations bill to date.
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
July 25, 2018
Monday’s report in the Washington Post further proves that the Trump administration’s national monument review has been a predetermined exercise from the very beginning, designed to prioritize extractive uses of protected public lands and waters. It is clear that the Department of the Interior repeatedly ignored science, public opinion, local economic benefits, cultural resources and all other available evidence to arrive at recommendations to eliminate protections for national monuments.
July 25, 2018
Washington, DC -- Today, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who is facing numerous investigations, announced that his Department will no longer require fossil fuel companies to pay into environmental restoration funds which offset development on public lands.In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
July 24, 2018
Salt Lake City -- Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is scheduled to visit Salt Lake City tonight where he’ll be participating in Pioneer Day celebrations. His visit comes just a day after news broke that the Interior Department ignored the benefits of public lands in their review of national monuments-- a review that ultimately led to the illegal elimination of Bears Ears National Monument and significant reductions in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. In advance of Zinke’s visit, Utahns are taking to social media to oppose Zinke’s efforts to sell out public lands using #…
July 23, 2018
Internal Interior Department documents publicized today by the Washington Post confirm that Sec.
July 18, 2018
PHOENIX -- Rep. Gosar (R-AZ) has introduced an amendment to an Interior Department funding bill that would withhold funding to manage Ironwood Forest National Monument, de-facto stripping the area and its resources of protections afforded by the monument.
July 17, 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Rep. Lujan Grisham introduced legislation to safeguard and enhance national monuments. The America’s Natural Treasures of Immeasurable Quality Unite, Inspire, and Together Improve the Economies of States (ANTIQUITIES) Act is the House companion to Sen. Udall’s bill already introduced in the Senate.
July 16, 2018
“The Handmaid’s Tale” actress joins Sierra Club Outing
July 10, 2018
Denver, CO-- According to AP, today, in response to mounting public pressure against the sellout of public lands for dirty fuels, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that the agency will defer the lease sale near Great Sand Dunes National Park and in the Huerfano River Valley Community until it consults further with the Navajo Nation.
June 27, 2018
The Government Accountability Office today sent a letter, released by U.S.