Point Arena National Monument declared This is the Point Arena Lighthouse, part of land newly added

Point Arena National Monument declaredThis is the Point Arena Lighthouse, part of land newly added to the California Coastal National Monument by Presidential decree in mid March.This area encompasses 20 kilometers of coastline, including inlets, sea cliffs, beaches and dunes, small islands, Point Arena Lighthouse, and the estuary of the Garcia River. Adding this territory to the National Monument will increase its environmental protection and will also likely make the area more accessible as government resources are added.However, this designation is not without controversy. In the United States, a National Monument is preserved solely by order of the President under the Antiquities Act, while National Parks require agreement of Congress. Since the President can declare a monument on his own, Congress and local leaders often express annoyance when the President bypasses them using this authority.The authority was originally given to the President to protect small areas rapidly such as those with artifacts at risk of looting. However, that authority rapidly expanded; President Teddy Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon a National Monument in 1908 when local leaders did not support creating a National Park.Many National Monuments have eventually become National Parks, including obviously the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Katmai, Grand Teton, and a number of locations in Alaska. But, declaring an area a full National Park requires the consent of Congress, which is often hesitant.The California Coastal National Monument was originally declared in 2000 by President Clinton. It encompasses nearly 2000 kilometers of California coastline, including reefs, islands, bird habitats, and pinnacles. The Point Arena-Stornetta Unit, added in this declaration, is the first large area on land added to the monument.In response to this usage of the Antiquities Act, last week the US House of Representatives passed, on a nearly party-line vote, an effort to limit the President’s authority under Antiquities Act. Although the bill will not become law given that it would require the President’s signature, we are witnessing another case of resistance to preserving new areas, as has been seen many times since the Antiquities Act was first used.While there may be reasons to consider whether this authority is too broad, I find it hard to look at images of this beautiful coastline, with its sea cliffs and steeply dipping, folded rocks, and find any reason to disagree with adding this to a National Monument. Instead, I hope someday the Congress can find a reason to make this area a full National Park.-JBBImage credit: BLMhttp://www.blm.gov/ca/media/jq_slide_v2/coast/images/photo4.jpgRead more:http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/content/ca/en/prog/blm_special_areas/nm/ccnm.htmlhttp://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/nm/ccnm/proclamation.htmlhttp://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/ukiah/stornetta.htmlhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/03/11/presidential-proclamation-boundary-enlargement-california-coastal-nationhttp://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/votes/201853-house-votes-to-slow-national-monument-designationhttp://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ca/pdf/coastal_monument/ccnm_brochures.Par.56897.File.dat/ccnm_web_brochure_rev.2010.pdf -- source link

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