The Antiquities Act allows a President to permanently set aside public lands from exploitation, without the consent of Congress. The President who used it the most was Theodore Roosevelt, but George Bush used it to create an 87,000 square mile Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
Earlier this month President Obama enlarged the area to 490,939 square miles. This probably won’t benefit most of us directly, although it will benefit bottle nose dolphins, humpback whales, sharks, rays, and green and hawksbill turtles, among many other species.
I’m not sure what Obama’s legacy will be, but I have a feeling that this will be seen as one of his more important actions. Thank you, Mr. President.
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