List of proposed national monuments of the United States facts for kids
The President of the United States can establish a national monument by presidential proclamation, and the United States Congress can by legislation. The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorized the president to proclaim "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" as national monuments.
Interior Department memorandum
In a 2010 "Not for Release" memorandum by the United States Department of the Interior, 14 areas were listed in the "Prospective Conservation Designation" attachment as "good candidates for National Monument designation under the Antiquities Act". Those areas are included in the lists below, shaded bluish-green.
In subsequent attachments in the same draft, "areas worthy of protection that are ineligible for Monument Designation and unlikely to receive legislative protection in the near term" and "cost estimates" of "high priority land-rationalization efforts" were listed.
Proposed national monuments
Proposed name | Photo | Location | Area | Status | External information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bodie Hills | ![]() |
California | |||
Birthplace of Rivers | ![]() |
West Virginia Map |
122,000 acres (49,000 ha) | ![]() |
BirthplaceofRivers.org West Virginia Rivers Coalition Video by Pew & This American Land |
Expansion of Cascade-Siskiyou |
![]() |
California | |||
Greater Canyonlands | Upper Comb Wash in Greater Canyonlands |
Utah Map Threats |
1,800,000 acres (730,000 ha) | ![]() |
Greater Canyonlands Coalition Utah Public Lands Initiative with ArcGIS map |
Greater Grand Canyon Heritage | ![]() |
Arizona map |
1,700,000 acres (690,000 ha) | ![]() |
Greater Grand Canyon Watershed Grand Canyon Waters, at the Abyss (New York Times) |
Heart of the Great Basin | Nevada | ||||
Lesser Prairie Chicken Preserve | ![]() |
New Mexico | 58,000 acres (23,000 ha) | ![]() |
|
Montana's Northern Prairie | Montana | 2,500,000 acres (1,000,000 ha) | |||
Northwest Sonoran Desert | Arizona | 500,000 acres (200,000 ha) | ![]() |
||
Otero Mesa | ![]() |
New Mexico | 1,200,000 acres (490,000 ha) | ![]() |
|
Owyhee Canyonlands | ![]() |
Oregon | 2,100,000 acres (850,000 ha) | Oregon Natural Desert Association | |
Owyhee Desert | ![]() |
Oregon/Nevada | |||
Range of Light | California | Approximately 1,427,750 acres | Unite the Parks
Range of Light Video featuring Frank Helling as the voice of John Muir |
||
San Rafael Swell | ![]() |
Utah | ![]() |
Utah Public Lands Initiative with ArcGIS map | |
The Modoc Plateau | ![]() |
California | 3,000,000 acres (1,200,000 ha) | Video by Los Angeles Times | |
Vermillion Basin | Colorado |
Formerly proposed national monuments
Some areas have been proposed as a national monument earlier, but are no longer listed above, because they are now designated as national monuments or are protected via a different designation, e.g. as a national park or wilderness area in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Some reasons for keeping them in the following list might be:
- The proposed area is now included in another, larger area which is protected. (Symbol:
)
- A smaller part of the originally proposed area is now protected. (Symbol:
)
- The area was officially proposed for monument designation by a federal or state agency or department, e.g. in the memorandum mentioned above, and was subsequently protected. Those entries are shaded with a bluish-green background. (Symbol:
- marks all monuments protected, including some after proposals from non-governmental organizations)
Proposed name | Photo | Location | Area | Status | External information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears Ears | ![]() |
Utah Map |
Originally 1,350,000 acres (550,000 ha) Reduced to 201,876 acres (81,696 ha) |
![]() |
Bears Ears Coalition Bears Ears reduced by 85% on 2017 Dec 04 by Donald J. Trump |
Berryessa Snow Mountains | ![]() |
California | 330,780 acres (133,860 ha) | ![]() |
U.S. Forest Service |
Boulder-White Clouds | Idaho | 570,000 acres (230,000 ha) | ![]() |
BoulderWhiteClouds.org The Wilderness Society |
|
Cedar Mesa region | ![]() |
Utah Map |
256,000 acres (104,000 ha) | ![]() |
Utah Public Lands Initiative with ArcGIS map |
Gold Butte | ![]() |
Nevada Map ACEC Map |
300,000 acres (120,000 ha) | ![]() |
Friends of Gold Butte Friends of Nevada Wilderness Video by Pew & This American Land |
Maine Woods | ![]() |
Maine Map |
3,200,000 acres (1,300,000 ha) | ![]() |
Pro: RESTORE the North Woods Natural Resources Council of Maine Contra: Maine Woods Coalition |
Rocky Mountain Front | ![]() |
Montana Map |
275,000 acres (111,000 ha) | ![]() |
Save the Front |
San Juan Islands | ![]() |
Washington Map |
1,000 acres (400 ha) | ![]() |
Bureau of Land Management |
