Chaffetz leads call for transparency in conservation land designations under Antiquities Act

U.S. Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Rob Bishop (R-UT) and Harold Rogers (R-KY) sought information on Tuesday about the designation of 1.8 million acres of conservation land by the Obama administration.

In letters to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Council on Environmental Quality Managing Director Christy Goldfuss, the legislators requested information about the administration’s designation of 1.8 million acres of conservation land in California under the Antiquities Act of 1906.

“The designation, which created three new national monuments in the California desert, nearly doubled the total amount of land set aside as national monuments by the president during his time in office,” the legislators wrote. “In fact, the president has used the Antiquities Act to unilaterally designate approximately 265 million acres of land and water as national monuments — far more than any previous president.”

Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Bishop, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, and Rogers, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, noted that conservation designations have lacked transparency.

“The broad and frequent application of the Antiquities Act raises questions about the lack of transparency and consultation with local stakeholders leading up to the president’s designation of national monuments,” the legislators wrote.

In an effort to add transparency, the legislators requested all documents and communications about the selection or designation of national monuments under the Antiquities Act since January 2015.