List of proposed national monuments of the United States facts for kids

A national monument is a special protected area in the United States. It can be created by the President of the United States using a special announcement called a presidential proclamation. The United States Congress can also create one through a law. The Antiquities Act of 1906 is a law that lets the president protect important places. These places can be historic sites, old structures, or areas with scientific value.

Why Protect Special Places?

In 2010, the United States Department of the Interior looked at many places. They made a list of 14 areas that would be great national monuments. These places were chosen because they have important history or amazing nature. You will see these places highlighted in bluish-green in the list below.

The department also thought about other special areas. Some of these places needed protection but couldn't become monuments right away. They also looked at how much it would cost to protect these important lands.

Working Together for Monuments

During the time President Biden has been in office, many groups have joined forces. These groups include people who care about nature, Native American communities, and Black organizations. They created a group called the "Monuments for All" campaign. This campaign supports President Biden's goals to protect more land and water.

These groups asked President Biden to create many new national monuments. Some of these were on the 2010 list but were not protected by a previous president. The campaign has already helped protect some important places. For example, Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument were restored after their sizes were cut. New monuments like Avi Kwa Ame National Monument and Castner Range were also created. The places still being pushed by this campaign are shown in blue in the list below.

Places That Could Become National Monuments

Here is a list of places that people want to protect as national monuments. These areas are special because of their history, nature, or cultural importance.

Proposed Name	Photo	Location	Area Size	More Information
Bodie Hills		California
Birthplace of Rivers		West Virginia Map	122,000 acres (49,000 ha)	BirthplaceofRivers.org West Virginia Rivers Coalition
Douglas-Fir National Monument		Oregon	530,000 acres (214,500 ha)	Friends of Douglas-Fir National Monument
Expansion of Cascade-Siskiyou		California
Greater Canyonlands	Upper Comb Wash in Greater Canyonlands	Utah Map	1,800,000 acres (730,000 ha)	Greater Canyonlands Coalition
Greater Grand Canyon Heritage		Arizona map	1,700,000 acres (690,000 ha)	Greater Grand Canyon Watershed
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
San Rafael Swell		Utah		Utah Public Lands Initiative
Sutton Mountain		Oregon	66,000 acres	Oregon Natural Desert Association
The Modoc Plateau		California	3,000,000 acres (1,200,000 ha)	Video by Los Angeles Times
Vermillion Basin		Colorado
Bahsahwahbee National Monument		Nevada		Video by Associated Press
Molok Luyuk (Expansion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument)		California		Expand Berryessa
Chuckwalla National Monument		California		Protect Chuckwalla
Historic Greenwood/Black Wall Street National Monument		Oklahoma		Black Wall Street Coalition
1908 Race Riot National Monument		Illinois		Springfield NAACP
Great Bend of the Gila National Monument		Arizona		Respect Great Bend
Dolores River Canyon National Monument		Colorado		Protect the Dolores
Sátittla and Medicine Lake Highlands National Monument		California	200,000 acres	Protect Medicine Lake Highlands
Kw'tsan National Monument		California	390,000 acres	Fort Yuma Quechan Tribe
Mimbres Peaks/Los Lunas National Monument		New Mexico	245,000 acres	Protect Mimbres Peaks

See also

• America's Most Endangered Places
• List of threatened historic sites in the United States
• List of national monuments of the United States
• List of national parks of the United States
• List of national memorials of the United States
• List of areas in the United States National Park System
• National Conservation Lands