Senate rejects bid to block future national monuments in Utah
Source: The Hill
Senate rejects bid to block future national monuments in Utah
BY TIMOTHY CAMA - 02/11/19 06:10 PM EST
In a bipartisan vote, senators on Monday blocked a measure that would have prevented presidents from unilaterally protecting land in Utah as national monuments.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wanted to attach the amendment to the Natural Resources Management Act, a wide-ranging public lands bill that has bipartisan support. The legislation includes provisions related to recreation, access to land and indefinitely extending the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
A motion to table Lee's amendment, or reject it, passed 60-33.
Under the Antiquities Act, presidents can unilaterally designate any piece of federal land as a national monument, protecting it from development or other harms. In Wyoming, such monuments can only be created with consent from Congress, while Alaska has a restriction against large monuments.
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Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/429502-senate-rejects-bid-to-block-future-national-monuments-in-utah