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M/CLOUDY Temp: 46 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Friday, November 22, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend October 19, 2002 Court affirms monuments President Clinton’s use of the Antiquities Act was perfectly legal, says a federal appeals court By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a challenge to former President Clinton’s use of the Antiquities Act of 1906 to create national monuments. The Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., reaffirmed a president’s power to establish national monuments to protect public lands containing significant natural values. Clinton used that criteria to create 19 monuments and expand three others, protecting 5.9 million acres. That included creating the now 2-year-old 52,947-acre Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument on the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Medford District in the region where the Cascade and Siskiyou mountain ranges converge. While applauded by environmental groups, the executive decision sparked an angry backlash from local officials, ranchers, off-road vehicle users and others who complained that Clinton exceeded his authority. Two different lawsuits, one by the timber industry and Tulare County, Calif., challenged the creation of the Giant Sequoia monument in California. The Mountain States Legal Defense Fund of Denver filed a lawsuit against the monuments in other states. But the appeals court agreed with the Washington, D.C., district court that Congress passed the law to give the president the power to protect land of historic and scientific interest from development. The decision didn’t surprise Greensprings resident Dave Willis, chairman of the Soda Mountain Wilderness Council. The council was part of a coalition of interveners in the case. "This is totally consistent with court rulings of the almost century-old Antiquities Act," he said. "This has never really been a question of the power of the presidency to protect land with historic, culture or scientific interests. "Monument opponents initiated this frivolous lawsuit as a public relations fund-raising gimmick," he added. "It’s ironic this is happening, when we hear about frivolous environmental lawsuits, that they would pursue such a frivolous lawsuit at a cost to taxpayers." Jackson County Commissioner Jack Walker disagreed it was frivolous. But Walker, who has joined the other commissioners in speaking out against the creation of the local monument, agreed the decision was no surprise. "It’s something I would have expected," he said. "But if you could have the judge fly over that monument today and judge it was warranted under the Antiquities Act, I would question his sanity. "This is not earthshaking to us," he said of monument opponents. "This is just one more federal decision that affects local property owners." In addition to the Cascade-Siskiyou monument, other monuments named in the case were the Hanford Reach in Washington state; the Grand Canyon-Parashant, Ironwood Forest and Sonoran Desert national monuments in Arizona; Giant Sequoia National Monument in California; and the Canyons of the Ancients in Colorado. Presidents have used the 1906 act to establish about 120 monuments spanning more than 70 million acres. President Theodore Roosevelt first used it to establish Devil’s Tower in Wyoming as a national monument nearly a century ago. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] The Associated Press contributed to this report. Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S