PARK HEADLINES
January 26, 2001
CLINTON ADDS SEVEN NEW NATIONAL
MONUMENTS
Continuing to make use of the now familiar 1906 Antiquities
Act, President Clinton declared
seven new national monuments and expanded an eighth on January 17th. It was the
final chapter of Clinton's campaign to protect historical and natural areas
throughout the country. The 1.1 million acres preserved include lands that were
already owned and managed by the federal government. The new designations are intended to
keep some of the most dramatic country untouched by development.
The complete list of 21 national monuments established or expanded during the Clinton Administration through use of the 1906 Antiquities Act includes land in 10 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
DID YOU KNOW?
With
the addition of seven new national monuments and the expansion of an eighth,
President Clinton put more than 5.6 million acres under federal protection
during his administration. President Jimmy Carter holds the record for
the most land set aside in monuments, having protected 56 million acres in
Alaska — much of which went on to become parks and preserves by order of
Congress. During his administration, Teddy Roosevelt declared 18 national
monuments in 9 states.
THE ALASKAPASS
If you are planning a trip to Alaska this year, the 2001 Alaskapass
Travelpass offers unlimited travel on the Alaska Ferry, Alaska Railroad, White
Pass & Yukon Railroad and Alaskan Express Motorcoaches. The pass is
good for travel between May 15, 2001 and September 15, 2001. Prices range from
$549 for 8 days of travel within a 12 day period, to $749 for 22 consecutive
days of travel. Discounted passes are also available for children. For further
information, see:
http://www.alaskapass.com
CONTROVERSY AT THE FDR MEMORIAL
The Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Memorial was established as a monument for the 32nd US president. It
features a landscape of four outdoor rooms with granite walls, statuary,
inscriptions, waterfalls and thousands of plants, shrubs and trees along the
famous cherry tree walk on the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park in Washington,
DC. On January 10th, a bronze statue depicting Roosevelt in a self-designed
wheelchair was unveiled at a dedication ceremony. The wheelchair statue was
controversial because of the former president's efforts to conceal his
affliction with polio. Advocacy groups for the disabled said that depicting
Roosevelt in a wheelchair would actually serve to help people with disabilities
face their own challenges. More than $1.6 million were raised by disability
groups for the addition of the statue to the memorial.
THE HOMESTEAD AIRPORT WON'T FLY
In a decision announced on January 16th by the US Air Force, the proposal to
build a commercial airport in South Florida on the land that was formerly the
Homestead Air Force Base was rejected. With an estimated 210,000 flights a year,
it was deemed that the commercial airport would pose a serious risk to nearby
Everglades and Biscayne national parks. While it is possible that the decision
could be reversed by the Bush Administration, Clinton administration officials
remained hopeful that the new administration would support the ruling. The Air
Force decision gives Miami-Dade County an opportunity to develop the land as
mixed-use commercial and residential projects.
MANATEES GET ADDED PROTECTION
As part of a settlement reached between a coalition of 17 environmental groups and the US
Government, manatees will receive increased federal protection. This will
include the establishment of additional refuges and sanctuaries, and a tougher
stance on proposals to build marinas and boat ramps in manatee habitats. It is
estimated that 15 areas in Florida and southern Georgia will be selected to
restrict or ban motorized boating. Manatee deaths have been on the rise in
Florida in recent years, with 82 killed by boats in 1999 and 78 in 2000.
PROTECTING OR DRILLING AT THE
ALASKA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE?
Even in
his final push to protect historical and natural land as national monuments,
President Clinton decided against giving monument status to the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge. The ANWR has become somewhat of a lighting rod for the
environment/development debate. Environmentalists had pressed Clinton to declare
monument status to the ANWR, while President Bush has made drilling in the
reserve a major part of his proposed energy plan. The reason cited by the White
House for failing to change the ANWR status was that they believe it already had
legislative protection that exceeds the protection afforded to national
monuments. According to a White House spokesman, if ANWR had been granted
national monument status, President Bush alone could have tried to reverse
it. Now it will take an act of congress to overturn this protective status
and open up the area for drilling.
Located in northeastern Alaska, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the most northern and one of the largest Refuges within America's National Wildlife Refuge System. Dominated by the rugged Brooks Range, the Refuge is the domain of the wandering Porcupine Caribou herd, packs of wolves, muskoxen, wolverines, flocks of snow geese, and other wilderness-dependent species. The pageant of wildlife found within the Refuge includes more than 160 bird species, 36 kinds of land mammals, nine marine mammal species, and 36 types of fish.
