List of proposed national monuments of the United States

The President of the United States can establish a national monument by presidential proclamation, and the United States Congress can by legislation. The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorized the president to proclaim "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" as national monuments.[1]

Interior Department memorandum

In a 2010 "Not for Release" memorandum by the United States Department of the Interior, 14 areas were listed in the "Prospective Conservation Designation" attachment as "good candidates for National Monument designation under the Antiquities Act".[2] Those areas are included in the lists below, shaded bluish-green.

In subsequent attachments in the same draft, "areas worthy of protection that are ineligible for Monument Designation and unlikely to receive legislative protection in the near term" and "cost estimates" of "high priority land-rationalization efforts" were listed.[2]

Proposed national monuments

Proposed name	Photo	Location	Area [note 1]	Status	External information
Bodie Hills		California
Birthplace of Rivers		West Virginia Map	122,000 acres (49,000 ha)[3]	C Petition by Keen	BirthplaceofRivers.org West Virginia Rivers Coalition Video by Pew & This American Land
Expansion of Cascade-Siskiyou[note 2]		California
Greater Canyonlands[note 2]	Upper Comb Wash in Greater Canyonlands	Utah Map Threats	1,800,000 acres (730,000 ha)[4]	see also Bears Ears[note 3]	Greater Canyonlands Coalition Utah Public Lands Initiative with ArcGIS map
Greater Grand Canyon Heritage [5]		Arizona map	1,700,000 acres (690,000 ha)	C Pending legislation [6]	Greater Grand Canyon Watershed Grand Canyon Waters, at the Abyss (New York Times)
Heart of the Great Basin		Nevada
Lesser Prairie Chicken Preserve		New Mexico	58,000 acres (23,000 ha)	N as of February 2010
Montana's Northern Prairie		Montana	2,500,000 acres (1,000,000 ha)
Northwest Sonoran Desert		Arizona	500,000 acres (200,000 ha)	N as of April 2012
Otero Mesa		New Mexico	1,200,000 acres (490,000 ha)	N as of February 2010
Owyhee Canyonlands[note 2]		Oregon	2,100,000 acres (850,000 ha)[4]		Oregon Natural Desert Association
Owyhee Desert		Oregon/Nevada
Range of Light		California	Approximately 1,427,750 acres		Unite the Parks Range of Light Video featuring Frank Helling as the voice of John Muir
San Rafael Swell		Utah		N as of 2013	Utah Public Lands Initiative with ArcGIS map
The Modoc Plateau		California	3,000,000 acres (1,200,000 ha)[7]		Video by Los Angeles Times
Vermillion Basin		Colorado

Formerly proposed national monuments

Some areas have been proposed as a national monument earlier, but are no longer listed above, because they are now designated as national monuments or are protected via a different designation, e.g. as a national park or wilderness area in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Some reasons for keeping them in the following list might be:

The proposed area is now included in another, larger area which is protected. (Symbol: )
A smaller part of the originally proposed area is now protected. (Symbol: )
The area was officially proposed for monument designation by a federal or state agency or department, e.g. in the memorandum mentioned above, and was subsequently protected. Those entries are shaded with a bluish-green background. (Symbol: Y - marks all monuments protected, including some after proposals from non-governmental organizations)

Proposed name	Location	Area [note 1]	Status	External information
Bears Ears[note 3]	Utah Map	Originally 1,350,000 acres (550,000 ha) Reduced to 201,876 acres (81,696 ha)	Y December 28, 2016	Bears Ears Coalition Bears Ears reduced by 85% on 2017 Dec 04 by Donald J. Trump
Berryessa Snow Mountains	California	330,780 acres (133,860 ha)	Y July 15, 2015	U.S. Forest Service
Boulder-White Clouds	Idaho	570,000 acres (230,000 ha)[4]	August 7, 2015 [note 4]	BoulderWhiteClouds.org The Wilderness Society
Cedar Mesa region	Utah Map	256,000 acres (104,000 ha)	see Bears Ears [note 3]	Utah Public Lands Initiative with ArcGIS map
Gold Butte [8]	Nevada Map ACEC Map	300,000 acres (120,000 ha)	Y December 28, 2016	Friends of Gold Butte Friends of Nevada Wilderness Video by Pew & This American Land
Maine Woods[4]	Maine Map	3,200,000 acres (1,300,000 ha)	August 24, 2016[note 5]	Pro: RESTORE the North Woods Natural Resources Council of Maine Contra: Maine Woods Coalition
Rocky Mountain Front[4]	Montana Map	275,000 acres (111,000 ha)	December 19, 2014 [9][note 6]	Save the Front
San Juan Islands	Washington Map	1,000 acres (400 ha)	Y March 25, 2013	Bureau of Land Management

Notes

Area according to the memorandum if included there, otherwise according to the campaign website or the official area if the national monument has been established meanwhile.
Links to the protected area which will be extended
The Bears Ears National Monument includes most of the proposed Cedar Mesa National Monument and the southern part of the proposed Greater Canyonlands National Monument.
A smaller area than the proposed national monument was designated as wilderness in August 2015
The smaller "Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument" was designated as national monument in August 2016.
Instead of a national monument designation the "Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Management Area" was established and 67,112 acres of land were designated as additions to existing components of the "National Wilderness Preservation System" in the Lewis and Clark National Forest.

References

16 U.S.C. § 431 § 432, and § 433. U.S. Code collection. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved on 11 February 2009.
"Prospective Conservation Designation: National Monument designation under the Antiquities Act" (PDF). Congressman Rob Bishop's House.gov website. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
Graham Averill (9 September 2013). "Will Birthplace of Rivers Be West Virginia's First National Monument?". Blueridgeoutdoors.com. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
Wuerthner, Georg (6 June 2014). "A Tentative List of Potential National Monuments". The Wildlife News. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
Clark, Roger (14 October 2015). "3 Things about the New Grand Canyon National Monument". Grand Canyon Trust. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
Grijalva, Raul (3 November 2015). "Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument Act". congress.gov.
Wuerthner, George (19 February 2010). "Wuerthner re: Obama's New National Monuments - Native Forest Council". Native Forest Council. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
Burr, Thomas (30 July 2014). "12 most likely places Obama may make a national monument". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
"Joint press statement from members of the Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front on passage of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act". Save the Front. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2016.

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[area-3] Area according to the memorandum if included there, otherwise according to the campaign website or the official area if the national monument has been established meanwhile.

[extension-5] Links to the protected area which will be extended

[BearsEars-7] The Bears Ears National Monument includes most of the proposed Cedar Mesa National Monument and the southern part of the proposed Greater Canyonlands National Monument.

[11] A smaller area than the proposed national monument was designated as wilderness in August 2015

[13] The smaller "Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument" was designated as national monument in August 2016.

[15] Instead of a national monument designation the "Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Management Area" was established and 67,112 acres of land were designated as additions to existing components of the "National Wilderness Preservation System" in the Lewis and Clark National Forest.

[1] 16 U.S.C. § 431 § 432, and § 433. U.S. Code collection. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved on 11 February 2009.

[memorandum-2] "Prospective Conservation Designation: National Monument designation under the Antiquities Act" (PDF). Congressman Rob Bishop's House.gov website. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2016.

[4] Graham Averill (9 September 2013). "Will Birthplace of Rivers Be West Virginia's First National Monument?". Blueridgeoutdoors.com. Retrieved March 19, 2016.

[wildlife-6] Wuerthner, Georg (6 June 2014). "A Tentative List of Potential National Monuments". The Wildlife News. Retrieved 22 February 2016.

[8] Clark, Roger (14 October 2015). "3 Things about the New Grand Canyon National Monument". Grand Canyon Trust. Retrieved 22 February 2016.

[9] Grijalva, Raul (3 November 2015). "Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument Act". congress.gov.

[Wuerthner_re-10] Wuerthner, George (19 February 2010). "Wuerthner re: Obama's New National Monuments - Native Forest Council". Native Forest Council. Retrieved 8 March 2016.

[SLTribune-12] Burr, Thomas (30 July 2014). "12 most likely places Obama may make a national monument". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 19 March 2016.

[14] "Joint press statement from members of the Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front on passage of the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act". Save the Front. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2016.