President Obama announced Friday the designation of three new national monuments including the Basin and Range National Monument in southeastern Nevada. While U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell applauds action, Utah Congressman Rob Bishop railed against the President’s use of authority that dates back to the Antiquities Act of 1906.
“It is all politics and no protection whatsoever. And it just creates a different classification of public land that was already public land with protections by it,” says Bishop.
The area covers about 1,100 square miles in Lincoln and Nye counties 2 hours directly north of Las Vegas. Interior Secretary Jewel said in a statement the action builds on local efforts to protect the rugged mountains and sweeping valleys of Basin and Range. She said it also allows traditional ranching practices, recreational opportunities, future scientific study and use by the defense department.
