What federal agency controls national monuments?

Today, depending on how one counts, there are 81 national monuments administered by the USDI National Park Service, 13 more administered by the USDI Bureau of Land Management (BLM), five others administered by the USDA Forest Service, two jointly managed by the BLM and the National Park Service, one jointly ...



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The Antiquities Act of 1906 is one of our nation's most important conservation tools. Used to safeguard and preserve federal lands and cultural and historical sites for all Americans to enjoy, 18 presidents have used this authority and have designated 161 national monuments.

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No President has ever abolished a national monument proclamation. Legal analyses since at least the 1930s have concluded that the Antiquities Act does not authorize the President to repeal proclamations, nor is that power implied.

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The Antiquities Act has been used by 17 Presidents of both parties over 150 times for over a century to establish or expand national monuments in order to preserve and protect objects of historic or scientific interest for future generations.

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Not all national monuments are established the same way. Some are created by presidents using the authority of the Antiquities Act. Congress also creates national monuments through the legislative process.

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Iconic locations like Yosemite and Yellowstone attract visitors from all over the world, but our public lands are so much more than just the big 61 national parks. They're also scenic rivers, national marine monuments, national battlefields and wildernesses.

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National monuments are located in 32 states, Washington, D.C., the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Minor Outlying Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Arizona has the most national monuments, with 19, followed by California with 18 and New Mexico with 13.

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August 2, 1876 Congress appropriates $2 million in federal funds to complete the construction of the Washington Monument. The public funding is contingent upon the transfer of ownership of the monument from The Washington National Monument Society to the federal government.

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Devils Tower was designated as America's first national monument in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt.

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As an introduction, 127 National Monuments have been designated by Presidents since the Antiquities Act of 1906. Fifteen Presidents have designated National Monuments. Presidents Nixon, Reagan, and George H.W. Bush are the only Presidents who have not created National Monuments.

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Obama designated more monuments than any of his predecessors, using the Antiquities Act to protect 550 million acres of land and waters under federal protection.

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Issues have related to the size of the areas and types of resources protected, the inclusion of non-federal lands within monument boundaries, restrictions on land uses, and the manner in which the monuments were created.

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Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni National Monument in Arizona And on August 8, Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni in Arizona became the newest national monument (and the third to conserve Indigenous history).

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