The Antiquities Act

The Antiquities Act of 1906 is an act passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the president of the United States the authority, by presidential proclamation, to create national monuments from public lands to protect significant natural, cultural, or scientific features. The act has been used over a hundred times since its passage. Its use occasionally creates significant controversy.

History

The Antiquities Act resulted from concerns about protecting mostly prehistoric Indian ruins and artifacts – collectively termed “antiquities” – on federal lands in the West, such as at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Removal of artifacts from these lands by private collectors – “pot hunters,” in the language of the time – had become a serious problem by the end of the 19th century. In 1902, Iowa Congressman John F. Lacey, who chaired the House Committee on the Public Lands, traveled to the Southwest with the rising anthropologist Edgar Lee Hewett, to see for himself the extent of the pot hunters’ impact. His findings, supported by an exhaustive report by Hewett to Congress detailing the archaeological resources of the region, provided the necessary impetus for the passage of the legislation.

Uses

The act was intended to allow the president to set aside certain valuable public natural areas as park and conservation land. The act stated that it was intended for: “... the protection of objects of historic and scientific interest.” These areas are given the title of “National Monuments.” It also allows the president to reserve or accept private lands for that purpose. The aim is to protect all historic and prehistoric sites on United States federal lands and to prohibit excavation or destruction of these antiquities. With this act, this can be done much more quickly than going through the congressional process of creating a national park. The act states that monuments are to be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.

The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld presidential proclamations under the Antiquities Act, ruling each time that the act gives the president nearly unfettered discretion as to the nature of the object to be protected and the size of the area reserved. Some areas designated as national monuments have later been converted into national parks, or incorporated into existing national parks.

Source:Wikipedia