Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson is advocating for continued access to recreation on public land, sending a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar regarding the use of the Antiquities Act.  The letter followed up to a recent hearing by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment where Simpson addressed concern that was raised over a Department of Interior internal planning document that identified 17 potential sites for new or expanded national monument designation in the western United States under the Antiquities Act.

During the hearing, Salazar committed to Simpson, who is Ranking Republican Member of the Subcommittee, that the Department would not use the Antiquities Act to designate national monuments without consulting with Congress and local officials.  The Antiquities Act was passed in 1906 to give the President the authority to preserve prehistoric Native American cultural and archeological sites, but over the years has been used to set aside large areas for geological and cultural preservation. 

“I recognize the importance of preserving cultural, archeological, and geographic sites, but I am concerned that the Antiquities Act allows national monuments to be designated by executive order without any input from residents and local leaders,” wrote Simpson.  “If we decide that an area should be designated as a national monument, it should be done through the legislative process, the way they were originally intended, so that the Antiquities Act is used as a tool for collaboration instead of a hammer.”

Simpson has repeatedly raised the issue of public access to federal lands during subcommittee hearings, whether it is reiterating his support for snowmobiling and other recreation opportunities in our national parks, expressing concern about reduced funding for roads on Forest Service lands, or securing a commitment from the Administration to look at ways to improve the permit process for outfitters and guides.