U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today released the following statement after President Obama created new National Monuments in Nevada and Utah despite significant local opposition.

“I am extremely disappointed that President Obama has chosen to lock up nearly two million acres of land in Nevada and Utah through these controversial designations,” Murkowski said. “This summer, our committee held a field hearing in Utah to examine this issue, and well over 1,000 local farmers, ranchers, and tribal members showed up to voice their opposition to the creation of the Bears Ears National Monument. As has been the case with his repeatedly harmful actions in Alaska, however, President Obama has again ignored local concerns and opposition—and given Congress even more reason to put an end to the abuses occurring under the Antiquities Act.”

One of many anti-monument signs brought by the overwhelmingly anti-monument crowd at the
Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s field hearing in Blanding, Utah, on July 27, 2016.

Murkowski is chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. In the 114th Congress, she sponsored S. 437, the Improving National Monuments Designation Process Act, which would require approval from Congress and relevant state legislatures before a National Monument or Marine National Monument is designated. Audio and background from the committee’s hearing in Blanding, Utah, is available here.