The Antiquities Act of 1906 resulted from concerns about protecting mostly prehistoric Indian ruins and artifacts-collectively termed "antiquities "-on federal lands in the West. It authorized permits for legitimate archeological investigations and penalties for persons taking or destroying antiquities without permission. And it authorized presidents to proclaim "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" as national monuments-"the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected."

The bill's sponsors originally expected that national monuments would be proclaimed to protect prehistoric cultural features, or antiquities, in the Southwest and that they would be small. Yet the reference in the act to "objects of ... scientific interest" enabled President Theodore Roosevelt to make a natural geological feature, Devils Tower, Wyoming, the first national monument three months later. Among the next three monuments he proclaimed in 1906 was another natural feature, Petrified Forest, Arizona, and two cultural features, El Morro, New Mexico, and Montezuma Castle, Arizona.

President Roosevelt continued to interpret the provisions of the Antiquities Act broadly. In 1908 Roosevelt again used the act to proclaim more than 800,000 acres of the Grand Canyon as a national monument-a very big "object of scientific interest." And in 1918 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Katmai National Monument in Alaska, comprising more than a million acres. Katmai was later enlarged to nearly 2.8 million acres by subsequent Antiquities Act proclamations and for many years was the largest national park system unit. Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, and Katmai were among the many national monuments that Congress later converted to national parks.

There was no significant congressional opposition to this expansive use of the Antiquities Act in Arizona and Alaska. Substantial opposition did not materialize until 1943, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Jackson Hole National Monument in Wyoming. He did this to accept a donation of lands acquired by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., for addition to Grand Teton National Park after Congress had declined to authorize this park expansion. Roosevelt's proclamation unleashed a storm of criticism about use of the Antiquities Act to circumvent Congress. A bill abolishing Jackson Hole National Monument passed Congress but was vetoed by Roosevelt, and congressional and court challenges to the proclamation authority were mounted. In 1950 Congress finally incorporated most of the monument into Grand Teton National Park, but the act doing so barred further use of the proclamation authority in Wyoming.

For decades after 1943 the proclamation authority was used sparingly, and often with advance congressional consultation and support. In 1949, for example, President Harry S Truman proclaimed Effigy Mounds National Monument to accept a donation of the land from the state of Iowa, at the request of Iowa's delegation. On those rare occasions when the proclamation authority was used in seeming defiance of local and congressional sentiment, Congress again retaliated. Just before he left office in 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Monument after Congress had declined to act on related national historical park legislation. The chairman of the House Interior Committee, Wayne Aspinall of Colorado, responded by blocking action on subsequent C & 0 Canal Park bills to the end of that decade.

The most substantial use of the proclamation authority since President Theodore Roosevelt's administration came in 1978, when President Jimmy Carter proclaimed 15 new national monuments in Alaska after Congress had adjourned without passing a major Alaska lands bill strongly opposed in that state. Congress passed a revised version of the bill in 1980 incorporating most of these national monuments into national parks and preserves, but the act also curtailed further use of the proclamation authority in Alaska.

Grosvenor Arch at Grand Staircase National Monument. Photo courtesy of Jerry Sintz, 1996.

The presidential proclamation authority was not used again anywhere until 1996, when President Bill Clinton proclaimed the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah. This action was widely unpopular in Utah, and bills were introduced to further restrict the president's authority. To date none of them have been enacted. President Clinton made extensive use of the presidential proclamation authority to establish new national monuments and significantly expand others.

President Clinton was not the first to use the Antiquities Act's proclamation authority to enlarge existing national monuments but to enlarge existing ones. A few examples: Franklin D. Roosevelt significantly enlarged Dinosaur National Monument in 1938, Lyndon B. Johnson added Ellis Island to Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965, and Jimmy Carter made major additions to Glacier Bay and Katmai national monuments in 1978.

Although the provisions of the Antiquities Act have remained largely unchanged since 1906, they have been broadly interpreted to include both large and small areas, containing a diverse array of cultural and scientific features. The Antiquities Act has become much more than a way to protect antiquities. It has become an effective means for Presidents seeking to protect public lands that faced immediate threats.

* * *

NATIONAL MONUMENTS

While most national monuments have been established by presidential proclamation under the Antiquities Act of 1906, Congress also has the authority to establish monuments and has done so 38 times. This authority does not derive from the Antiquities Act of 1906, which concerns itself only with the power of the President to proclaim national monuments. Congressional establishment of a national monument can take years, from the first introduction of the special authorizing legislation to the final enactment. Though the procedure is not rapid enough to respond to immediate threats to public land, it reflects Congress' determination to exercise its responsibility for approving additions to the national park system.

The following is a list of all national monuments either proclaimed by presidents under authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906 or authorized by Congress. National monuments established by Congress are designated with a plus sign (+). The list does not include presidential additions to preexisting national monuments. The names or designations of some national monuments changed over time. For example, some became national parks. National monuments that have retained their designation as monuments are marked with an asterisk (*). The National Park Service has responsibility for administering most of the national monuments, but some are managed by other federal agencies. Three (Becharof, Yukon Flats, and Hanford Reach) remain under the jurisdiction of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and two (Admiralty Island, Misty Fjords, Grand Sequoia) are under the U.S Forest Service. The Bureau of Land Management manages Grand Staircase-Escalante, Agua Fria, Grand Canyon-Parashant, California Coastal, Ironwood Forest, Canyons of the Ancients, Cascade-Siskiyou, Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains, Vermilion Cliffs, Carrizo Plain, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks, Pompeys Pillar, Sonoran Desert, and Upper Missouri River Breaks. The Armed Forces Retirement Home administers Abraham Lincoln and Soldiers' Home in cooperation with the National Park Service. Eleven national monuments (Lewis and Clark Cavern, Wheeler, Shoshone Cavern, Papago Saguaro, Old Kasaan, Verendrye, Fossil Cycad, Castle Pinckney, Father Millet Cross, Holy Cross, Santa Rosa Island) were transferred from the NPS to other federal, state, or local jurisdictions by Congress.

Theodore Roosevelt
9/24/06 Devils Tower, WY*
12/8/06 El Morro, NM*
12/8/06 Montezuma Castle, AZ*
12/8/06 Petrified Forest, AZ
3/11/07 Chaco Canyon (now Chaco Culture), NM
5/6/07 Cinder Cone (now part of Lassen Volcanic NP), CA
5/6/07 Lassen Peak (now Lassen Volcanic NP), CA
11/16/07 Gila Cliff Dwellings, NM*
12/19/07 Tonto, AZ*
1/9/08 Muir Woods, CA*
1/11/08 Grand Canyon, AZ
1/16/08 Pinnacles, CA*
2/7/08 Jewel Cave, SD*
4/16/08 Natural Bridges, UT*
5/11/08 Lewis and Clark Cavern, MT
9/15/08 Tumacacori, AZ
12/7/08 Wheeler, CO
3/2/09 Mount Olympus (now Olympic NP), WA

William Howard Taft
3/20/09 Navajo, AZ*
7/12/09 Oregon Caves, OR*
7/31/09 Mukuntuweap, UT
9/21/09 Shoshone Cavern, WY
11/1/09 Gran Quivira (now Salinas Pueblo Missions), NM*
3/23/10 Sitka, AK
5/30/10 Rainbow Bridge, UT*
6/23/10 Big Hole Battlefield, MT
5/24/11 Colorado, CO*
7/6/11 Devils Postpile, CA*

Woodrow Wilson
10/14/13 Cabrillo, CA*
1/31/14 Papago Saguaro, AZ
10/4/15 Dinosaur, UT-CO*
11/30/15 Walnut Canyon, AZ*
2/11/16 Bandelier, NM*
7/8/16 Sieur de Monts (now Acadia NP), ME
8/9/16 Capulin Mountain (now Capulin Volcano), NM*
10/25/16 Old Kasaan, AK
6/29/17 Verendrye, ND
3/18/18 Zion, UT (incorporated Mukuntuweap NM)
8/3/18 Casa Grande (now Casa Grande Ruins), AZ*
9/24/18 Katmai, AK
12/12/19 Scotts Bluff, NE*
12/12/19 Yucca House, CO*

Warren G. Harding
1/24/22 Lehman Caves, NV
10/14/22 Timpanogos Cave, UT*
10/21/22 Fossil Cycad, SD
1/24/23 Aztec Ruin (now Aztec Ruins), NM*
3/2/23 Hovenweep, UT-CO*
3/2/23 Mound City Group, OH
5/31/23 Pipe Spring, AZ*
6/8/23 Bryce Canyon, UT

Calvin Coolidge
10/25/23 Carlsbad Cave (now Carlsbad Caverns NP), NM
4/18/24 Chiricahua, AZ*
5/2/24 Craters of the Moon, ID*
10/15/24 Castle Pinckney, SC
10/15/24 Fort Marion (now Castillo de San Marcos), FL*
10/15/24 Fort Matanzas, FL*
10/15/24 Fort Pulaski, GA*
10/15/24 Statue of Liberty, NY*
12/9/24 Wupatki, AZ*
2/26/25 Glacier Bay, AK
2/26/25 Meriwether Lewis, TN
9/5/25 Father Millet Cross, NY
11/21/25 Lava Beds, CA*

Herbert Hoover
4/12/29 Arches, UT
5/11/29 Holy Cross, CO
5/26/30 Sunset Crater (now Sunset Crater Volcano), AZ*
7/3/30 Colonial, VA +
2/14/31 Canyon de Chelly, AZ*+
3/30/31 George Washington Birthplace, VA*+
3/17/32 Great Sand Dunes, CO*
12/22/32 Grand Canyon, AZ
1/18/33 White Sands, NM*
2/11/33 Death Valley, CA-NV
3/1/33 Saguaro, AZ
3/3/33 Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO

Franklin D. Roosevelt
4/26/33 Channel Islands, CA
8/22/33 Cedar Breaks, UT*
6/14/34 Ocmulgee, GA*+
1/4/35 Fort Jefferson (now Dry Tortugas NP), FL
8/13/35 Appomattox, VA+
8/21/35 Fort Stanwix, NY*+
8/27/35 Ackia Battleground (now part of Natchez Trace Parkway), MS+
8/29/35 Andrew Johnson, TN+
3/19/36 Homestead, NE*+
5/26/36 Fort Frederica, GA+
6/2/36 Perry's Victory (now Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial), OH+
6/29/36 Whitman, WA+
8/10/36 Joshua Tree, CA
1/22/37 Zion, UT
4/13/37 Organ Pipe Cactus, AZ*
8/2/37 Capitol Reef, UT
8/25/37 Pipestone, MN+
7/16/38 Fort Laramie, WY
1/24/39 Badlands, SD+
5/17/39 Santa Rosa Island, FL
7/24/39 Tuzigoot, AZ*
8/11/39 Fort McHenry(now Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine), MD+
3/15/43 Jackson Hole, WY
7/14/43 George Washington Carver, MO*+
6/30/44 Harpers Ferry, WV+

Harry S. Truman
3/22/46 Custer Battlefield (now Little Bighorn Battlefield), MT
8/12/46 Castle Clinton, NY*+
6/19/48 Fort Vancouver, WA+
7/12/48 Fort Sumter, SC*+
6/8/49 Saint Croix, ME*+
10/25/49 Effigy Mounds, IA*

Dwight D. Eisenhower
6/28/54 Fort Union, NM*+
4/2/56 Booker T. Washington, VA*+
7/14/56 Edison Laboratory (now Edison NHS), NJ
1/18/61 Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, MD-WV

John F. Kennedy
5/11/61 Russell Cave, AL*
12/28/61 Buck Island Reef, VI*

Lyndon B. Johnson
6/5/65 Agate Fossil Beds, NE*+
6/28/65 Pecos, NM+
8/31/65 Alibates Flint Quarries, ID*+
10/18/68 Biscayne, FL+
1/20/69 Marble Canyon, AZ

Richard M. Nixon
8/20/69 Florissant Fossil Beds, CO*+
10/21/72 Hohokam Pima, AZ*+
10/23/72 Fossil Butte, WY*+

Gerald Ford
10/26/74 John Day Fossil Butte, WY*+
10/18/76 Congaree Swamp, SC*+

Jimmy Carter
12/1/78 Admiralty Island, AK*
12/1/78 Aniakchak, AK*
12/1/78 Becharof, AK
12/1/78 Bering Land Bridge, AK
12/1/78 Cape Krusenstern, AK*
12/1/78 Denali, AK
12/1/78 Gates of the Arctic, AK
12/1/78 Kenai Fjords, AK
12/1/78 Kobuk Valley, AK
12/1/78 Lake Clark, AK
12/1/78 Misty Fjords, AK*
12/1/78 Noatak, AK
12/1/78 Wrangell-St. Elias, AK
12/1/78 Yukon-Charley, AK
12/1/78 Yukon Flats, AK

Ronald Reagan
12/31/87 El Malpais, NM*+
10/31/88 Poverty Point, LA*+
11/18/88 Hagerman Fossil Beds, ID*+

George Bush
6/27/90 Petroglyph, NM*+

William J. Clinton
9/18/96 Grand Staircase-Escalante, UT*
1/11/00 Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, AZ*
1/11/00 Agua Fria National Monument, AZ*
1/11/00 California Coastal National Monument, CA*
4/15/00 Giant Sequoia*
6/09/00 Hanford Reach, WA*
6/09/00 Ironwood Forest, AZ*
6/09/00 Canyons of the Ancients, CO*
6/09/00 Cascade-Siskiyou, OR*
7/07/00 President Lincoln and Soldiers' Home, DC*
10/24/00 Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains, CA+
11/9/00 Vermillion Cliffs, AZ*
1/17/01 Carrizo Plain, CA*
1/17/01 Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks, NM*
1/17/01 Pompeys Piller, MT*
1/17/01 Sonoran Desert National Monument, AZ*
1/17/01 Upper Missouri River Breaks, MT*
1/17/01 Virgin Islands Coral Reef, VI*
1/20/01 Governors Island-Castle Williams and Fort Jay, NY*

Need more information about National Monuments and the Bureau of Land Management? Visit the BLM National Monument Web Page.

For more information about National Monuments and the Antiquities Act of 1906 visit the following web sites:

• American Antiquities Act: Debates and Proceedings (1906)
• Antiquities of 1906
• Antiquities Act and National Monuments (pdf)
• Challenging the Antiquities Act
• Congressional Research Service: National Monuments and the Antiquities Act
• Implementing Antiquities Act: A Survey of archeological permits 1906-1935
• John Muir and the 1906 Antiquities Act
• Preservation of American Antiquities. House Report No. 2 (1906)
• The Antiquities Act of 1906 by Ronald F. Lee
• The Antiquities Act: Regulating Salvage of Historic Shipwrecks (pdf)
• The Antiquities Act—Setting Basic Preservation Policies (pdf)

Another excellent source is Hal Rothman's America's National Monuments: The Politics of Preservation (University of Kansas Press, 1994) and "A Special Issue: The Antiquities of 1906" Journal of the Southwest, Vol. 42, No. 2, Summer 2000.