Parks Group Responds to New Order Threatening National Monuments

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued the Secretarial Order “Unleashing American Energy,” which calls for a 15-day internal review of oil, gas and mining on public lands, including national monuments designated under the Antiquities Act. The Antiquities Act is a conservation law has been used by both Republican and Democratic presidents to safeguard public lands since it was established in 1906.

This Secretarial Order is a dangerous step towards dismantling protections for national monuments in favor of unrestrained and speculative fossil fuel and mining development, even though many of these areas have been protected for over a century. Places like Devils Tower, the very first national monument designated by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, could face renewed risk of industrial fossil fuel development.

Millions of acres of public land are already leased to oil and gas companies for fossil fuel extraction, with over 12 million acres currently under active oil and gas drilling out of 24 million acres under lease.

NPCA has reviewed this order and, using data from the Department of Energy, has identified key monuments at risk of losing federal protections with devastating and lasting impacts. Monuments include Devils Tower National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument, Hovenweep National Monument, Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni, and more.

Read our list of at-risk monuments here.

Statement from Theresa Pierno, President and CEO for the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA):

“Time and again, millions of people have spoken out in defense of America’s national monuments. Americans do not agree with stripping away their federal protections. President Teddy Roosevelt had a vision for America that included national parks and monuments that would preserve our natural and cultural heritage for future generations. In 1906, he established Devils Tower as our country’s first national monument under the Antiquities Act, ensuring future generations could experience its beauty. This Secretarial Order threatens that vision.

“This Secretarial Order aims to dismantle over a century of protections, threatening to open up monuments from Devils Tower to Bears Ears with a dangerous blanket order designed to prioritize industrial energy development at all costs. If we lose these places to oil and gas development, we forfeit a century-old legacy that we will not pass on to our grandchildren. We can’t let that happen on our watch.

“The Antiquities Act has united presidents from both parties in protecting our iconic landscapes. To dismantle that legacy is to risk losing the history that defines us. We are calling on the Interior Secretary to take all national monuments off the table. They are too special. Protecting our national monuments isn’t just about protecting a landscape; it’s about honoring the generations before us and ensuring our conservation vision endures.”

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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.6 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.