January 12, 2017

On Dec. 28, 2016, President Barack Obama created two new large protected areas in the southwestern United States: the Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah and Gold Butte National Monument in southern Nevada. To do so, the president used the executive power provided by the 1906 Antiquities Act. The act, meant to stop looting and destruction at prehistoric American Indian sites, gives the president the power to establish national monuments on federal land. Obama’s December actions protected some 2,500 square miles (6,475 square kilometers) of fragile and important desert landscapes, adding to his legacy of environmental protection.

Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah protects one of the most significant cultural landscapes in the United States, an area with thousands of archaeological sites and other areas of beauty and importance. Credit: Bureau of Land Management

Bears Ears National Monument contains numerous sites considered sacred by Native American groups. The monument protects ancient petroglyphs (rock carvings), cliffside dwellings, and lands traditionally used by Navajo and other native groups to forage for wild plants used for food and herbal remedies. The protected lands will remain open for livestock grazing. The monument is to be administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service, in conjunction with an association representing native groups.

Gold Butte National Monument protects a beautiful and culturally significant desert landscape northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. Credit: Bureau of Land Management

Gold Butte National Monument in southern Nevada contains striking rock formations, forests of Joshua trees, ancient Native American sites, rare fossils, and a number of ecologically sensitive areas. The monument, known to many as “Nevada’s Piece of the Grand Canyon,” will continue to allow such recreational activities as hunting and fishing.

Conservationists, Native American groups, and many others applauded the president’s actions. Opponents of the monument designations included state legislators and county leaders who preferred the lands be used for mineral and fossil fuel exploration.

Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to use the Antiquities Act when he protected Wyoming’s Devils Tower in 1906. In 1908, Roosevelt also set aside 1,250 square miles (3,200 square kilometers) in Arizona’s Grand Canyon, creating a forerunner of the popular national park. Since taking office in 2009, Obama has used the Antiquities Act more than any other president, establishing or expanding more than two dozen new national monuments.

Throughout Obama’s presidency, his administration has taken numerous steps to combat global climate change, promote energy efficiency, and create or extend protections in areas of scenic, historic, and ecological importance.

November 1, 2013

A monument to dogs that have served–and sometimes died–in United States military operations and their human handlers was dedicated this week at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland (JBSA-Lackland) in San Antonio, Texas. “These dogs were patriots just as much as anybody else who served,” a former military dog handler who attended the dedication of the new U.S. Military Working Dogs Teams National Monument told the Thomson Reuters news service.  Inscribed on the base of the memorial, the first national monument to military dog teams, are the words “Guardians of America’s Freedom.” The Department of Defense’s Military Working Dog Program has been based at JBSA-Lackland since 1958. The program, which includes a veterinary service and dog hospital, is the world’s largest training center for military dogs and handlers.

The main pedestal of the monument features bronze statues of the four main working dog breeds used by the U.S. military since World War II–Doberman pinscher, German shepherd, Labrador retriever, and Belgian Malinois.  In the midst of the dogs is a 9-foot- (2.7-meter-) tall statue of a soldier representing all handlers who served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War of 1991, and the war on terrorism, which includes the Afghanistan War and the Iraq War. “As a nation we owe our war dogs a tremendous debt of gratitude. Their selfless service, loyalty and sacrifices to our country must never be forgotten,” said John Burnam, a Vietman War scout dog handler. Burnam developed the idea for the memorial and led the effort to enlist private donations for its construction.

A new monument honors military dogs and their handlers who have served with U.S. military forces. (Benjamin Faske, U.S. Air Force)

About 2,500 working dogs serve with the U.S. military. They are used in patrols, for tracking and scouting, for drug and explosive detection, and for specialized missions. A Belgian Malinois named Cairo served with the U.S. Navy SEAL team that tracked down and killed Osama bin Laden in 2011. United States and other Western intelligence officials believe that bin Laden, the founder and leader of the global terrorist organization al-Qa`ida, was the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon Building near Washington, D.C.