Hello everyone. I'm just composing this diary to announce a creation of a new group-
Antiquities Act Defenders and Supporters. As the name shows it will focus on the Antiquities Act, its history as legislation, and court cases that have sprung from use of the Act by various Presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt, FDR, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. the goal of the group will be to see a restoration of Act authority to states currently exempted from the Act or have limits on Act usage in the state- specifically Wyoming and Alaska. A modernization of the act to include much stronger fines and penalties for damaging antiquities or removing artifacts, such as petrified woods, petroglyphs etc, combined with a said restoration of Presidential ability, is the ideal outcome.
As those of you who have read my National Parks diaries know, I'm a very strong supporter of presidential creation of monuments- and there are still 20 states (22 if Puerto Rico and Guam are included) without any monuments. since Congress has become very hostile to monument creation - only 2 monuments have been created by Congress in Obamas 6 years of office- the Antiquities Act is essentially the only way that this country's special areas can be protected. Congress does not act quickly in the best of times - and this was partly the reason that monument-making was given to the President alone instead of requiring Congress to sign off as well- and several areas that are worthy of monument status have waited decades for Congress to act. Browns Canyon had several tries in Congress over 20 years. Boulder White Clouds has seen 30 years of Congressional deadlock. Areas like San Gabriels saw attempts for monument or park status in the 1930s and then nothing until Presidential action. This group will partly be about history, and partly about political action. The Antiquities Act will celebrate its 110th anniversary on June 8th , 2016, and if we regain Congress we can ensure the Act endures for as long as this country does, and that areas ranging from the Arctic to El Yunque receive the protections they need. I look forward to the diaries and discussions this group will put out, and I look forward to the response to this diary.