In 1906, Congress passed the antiquities act, which was signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt giving the President of the U.S the authority to set aside public land owned by the federal government.
Coming from concerns about excessive mining and protection for prehistoric ruins, this law has been used over 100 times in our history to protect national monuments and parks from the development that has ravaged much of the other public lands in the U.S.
Having been in effect for over 100 years, Now these lands are coming under threat from radical Republicans wanting to open these precious lands for Development and oil exploration. Many of the monuments and parks in danger include the grand Canyon and Yellowstone national Park which houses fragile ecosystems already under threat from outside forces.
A new bill being sponsored by Republican Don Young could take away these valuable protections. The money hungry Republican majority in congress has no respect for the conservation efforts that have been helping preserve America's wild lands and monuments for decades, they are openly hostile to any form of conservation.
We cannot allow this bill to pass, how would California look with it's giant sequoia groves clear cut? Or Housing developments being set up in the heart of Yellowstone? Taking away protection from these lands can cause all this.
