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
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
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
18
presidents have designated monuments
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.
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.
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Send My MessagePinedale, WY – Today the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission voted to approve the final Wyoming Elk Feedgrounds Management Plan that sustains the artificial feeding of elk herds, contradicting science-based recommendations, and jeopardizing northwest Wyoming’s delicate ecosystem. The plan, published in February after years of development, was meant to initiate the phased withdrawal of the 21 state run feedgroun
UTAH – On Friday, March 8, 2024, five Tribal Nations including the Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Zuni Tribe, Hopi Tribe, and the Navajo Nation, collaborated with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S.
***Sierra Club Staff are on the ground in Dubai.******Contact Jonathon Berman for interviews or specific comments on COP28 proceedings***
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Over the weekend, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone-Manning visited Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument to meet with federal, Tribal, state, and local officials, along with community members to hear their vision for preserving the region’s natural and cultural resources.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Representative Raul Ruiz (CA-25) called on President Biden to use his powers under the Antiquities Act to designate Chuckwalla National Monument in the California Desert and protect lands adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park. Ruiz has also introduced legislation to achieve this goal. The effort seeks to protect about 660,000 acres of the California Desert south of Joshua Tree National Park, reaching west from the Coachella Valley region to the east near the Colorado River.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT — Conservation and community groups sued the state of Utah today for its failure to ensure that enough water reaches the Great Salt Lake to prevent ecological collapse.
GRAND CANYON, AZ -- Today, the White House announced President Biden would designate Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni - Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona as the country’s newest national monument.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Department of the Interior unveiled a proposed rule to reform the federal onshore oil and gas leasing program. The proposed rule includes significant changes to bonding and royalties, which have long-favored the fossil fuel industry.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Sierra Club welcomed Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's Friday announcement of new actions to protect the Greater Chaco region and said it should be part of a new focus on prioritizing conservation on federal public lands. Haaland unveiled a new order withdrawing public lands within a 10-mile radius of Chaco Culture National Historical Park for a period of 20 years.
Esta mañana, el Presidente Biden anunció que se presentará a la reelección.
