Protecting America's Natural and Historic Treasures


THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release January 12, 2000



PRESIDENT CLINTON AND VICE PRESIDENT GORE:
PROTECTING AMERICA'S NATURAL AND HISTORIC TREASURES

President Clinton, in a trip today to Grand Canyon National Park, will sign proclamations creating three new national monuments – the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument and the Agua Fria National Monument in Arizona, and the California Coastal National Monument. The President also will sign a proclamation expanding Pinnacles National Monument in California. The newly protected areas are already federal land and, beginning today, will be managed with the overriding purpose of preserving their unique natural, scientific and historic features.

A Century of Land Stewardship. Among the tools available to the federal government to preserve America's natural heritage is the Antiquities Act, which authorizes the President to create national monuments on federal land to protect “objects of historic and scientific interest.” The Act was passed by Congress in 1906 and first used by President Theodore Roosevelt who, precisely 92 years ago today, created the Grand Canyon National Monument -- the core of what later became Grand Canyon Park. In the years since, almost every President has protected natural and historic sites under the Act. These lands, some of which Congress later designated as parks, include Death Valley, California's Muir Woods, Alaska's Glacier Bay, Wyoming's Grand Tetons, portions of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns, and Utah's Bryce and Zion canyons. Today, more than 100 monuments in 24 states and the Virgin Islands protect some 70 million acres, about 10 percent of all federal lands.

New Monuments for a New Millennium. A year ago, President Clinton requested Interior Secretary Babbitt to report to him on unique and fragile federal lands in need of protection. After extensive study and close consultation with local citizens, state and local officials, and members of Congress, the Secretary recommended the following lands, which the President is today protecting as monuments:

The overriding purpose in managing these lands will be protection of the unique natural, scientific and historic features identified in today's proclamations. Valid existing rights, such as water rights and prior mining claims, will be maintained. Other existing uses, such as grazing and hunting, generally will not be affected (although hunting will no longer be permitted in the Pinnacles expansion area). At the Arizona monuments, the current prohibition on off-road vehicles will be made permanent. No new mining claims may be filed and, in some areas, the proclamations reserve water rights for the federal government.

What's New - January 2000

African American History Month

Protecting America's Natural and Historic Treasures

Remarks by Samuel Berger to the National Press Club

The Lowest Unemployment Rate in 30 Years

President Clinton Announces Bioenergy & Bioproducts Tax Incentives January 27, 2000

President Clinton Proposes to Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit

Unprecedented National Effort to Improve Our Nation's Schools by Dramatically Increasing Accountability and Investment

FY2001 New Opportunity Agenda

FY2001 Budget & New Opportunity Agenda

President Clinton Unveils First Accounts

Major New Increase in Funding to Determine Environmental Causes of Disease

New Public-Private Partnerships to Increase Aviation Safety

President Clinton Unveils Largest Ever National Gun Enforcement Initiative

New Multimillion Dollar Increase to Combat HIV and AIDS

The President Triples His Long-Term Care Tax Credit

Major New Health Insurance Initiative

A New Opportunity Agenda for Higher Education: Making Critical Investments in Education and Training

College Opportunity Tax Cut: Providing Tax Incentives to Make Higher Education More Affordable

Nearly a $3 Billion Increase in 21st Century Research Fund

Promoting Bioenergy and Biobased Products

Information Technology For the 21st Century

Remarks by the President at Event Commemorating End of Ramadan

Remarks by the President At America's Millennium Gala - The Lincoln Memorial

Clinton-Gore Administration Proposes Record

National Nanotechnology Initiative: Leading to the Next Industrial Revolution

Getting the Job Done for the American People in 2000

Proclamation: Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2000

President Clinton Announces New Equal Pay Initiative

Largest Ever National Gun Enforcement Initiative, January 18, 2000

New Responsible Fatherhood Initiative to Promote Work and Boost Child Support Payments

2001 Budget Will Pay Down Debt by 2013

President Clinton Proposes State Licenses for Handgun Purchases

The Clinton-Gore Economic Record: Strong and Sustained Economic Growth

Revitalizing America's Cities

President Clinton Unveils Millennium Initiative to Promote Delivery of Existing Vaccines in Developing Countries and Accelerate Development of New Vaccines


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