Obama Establishes Three New National Monuments

"President Obama announced on Friday that he was designating new national monuments covering more than a million acres in California, Texas and Nevada, his latest use of executive power to preserve public land.

Mr. Obama designated Berryessa Snow Mountain in California; a paleontological site in Texas known as Waco Mammoth; and the Basin and Range in Nevada, which includes rock art dating back 4,000 years, the White House said in a statement.

The designations, made under the Antiquities Act of 1906, bring to 19 the number of national monuments that Mr. Obama has established or expanded. They cover more than 260 million acres of public lands and waters. Republicans have criticized Mr. Obama, who has turned to that law more than any other president, for his expansive use of his authority to preserve sites of ecological, historical or cultural significance."

Julie Hirschfeld Davis reports for the New York Times July 10, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"Obama Has Now Preserved More Land Than Any Other US President" (Christian Science Monitor)

"Obama Designations Place Antiquities Act In GOP Crosshairs" (Greenwire)