Do You Truly Know What a Monument is? Think Again!

National monument. What does that mean to you? It sounds like something unique and amazing to me. And in my experience, national monuments are indeed, unique and amazing.

From incredible fish and wildlife habitat and stunning vistas to world class archeological sites and unique geological features, national monuments truly are some of the finest treasures of our public lands system-lands that most folks find special and worthy of protection due to their exceptional value.

So what actually is a national monument?

Elements of a monument

• Monuments are most commonly designated by the President but once in a while Congress may designate a national monument. This power was given to the president via the Antiquities Act that was passed by Congress in 1906.
  • This is how the majority of national monuments have been created throughout history. Since the passage of the Antiquities Act every president except for Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush has used this power to designate at least three national monuments during their term as president. Congress typically uses its authority to expand or bolster protections within national monuments.
  • Examples include designating wilderness or other special designations within monuments or adding additional acreage.
• To qualify for monument status, the area must have objects of historic or scientific interest located on land already owned or controlled by the Federal government.
• Monuments can be managed by a single agency or co-managed by two or more. The most common partnership related to hunting and fishing is BLM and USFS co-management. Increasingly, Tribes are partners in management, particularly where there are significant Indigenous and cultural artifacts.
• Monument status permanently withdraws the area to future development including minerals and oil and gas. It does not negate, cancel, or usurp valid, existing rights, claims, etc.
• Monument designations contain individual proclamations that outline specific values and goals.
• The monument designation usually initiates a management planning process and eventually creates a management plan designed to maintain outstanding values.

Colorado National Monument.

Recreational activities in national monuments

The main goal of all monuments is to protect their outstanding values, mostly from things like industrial development, but also to protect unique cultural and archeological artifacts from degradation and theft.

But some people question whether monuments are too restrictive or will severely limit or shut down their preferred activities. For hunters and anglers, the big question usually on our minds regarding monuments is: will we still be able to hunt and fish?

This is a confusing issue because nine federal agencies manage and co-manage national monuments and each of these agencies has its own mission. The most common co-management model is between two agencies that share jurisdiction over the lands that are designated.

Colorado's Brown's Canyon National Monument is a great example. The area is co-managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The co-management is out of necessity as the lands designated as the national monument are lands managed by each respective agency that abut one another.

In these cases the agencies in question will co-write a management plan and split various duties and management responsibilities. The take home message: what one can or cannot do in a monument really depends on how and what entity manages it.

Hunters and anglers: plan ahead for a national monument trip

For example, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages approximately 10.5 million acres of national monuments with a mission focused on multiple uses and sustained yields while allowing hunting and fishing on all of those acres.

Wildlife management and the regulation of hunting and fishing on BLM monuments remains in the jurisdiction of the respective state fish and wildlife agency. Meanwhile, national monuments managed by the National Park Service (NPS) generally don't allow hunting but most allow fishing since its mission is to "preserve unimpaired".

Hunting is conservation rather than preservation so one can reasonably see why hunting is not allowed. Additionally there are many very small urban monuments and memorials under NPS jurisdiction that are not appropriate for hunting or fishing.

Rio Grande del Norte.

So now you get it? Nope, not quite. To further muddy the waters, there are national marine monuments. These monuments are primarily designated to conserve fish stocks and thus do not allow commercial fishing. These monuments are co-managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, and sometimes additional federal entities and state agencies.

Oh but don't fret, there's more. The Armed Forces and even the Department of Energy get in on the game and manage national monuments. Some of these monuments allow hunting and/or fishing and some do not.

As you can plainly see, a broad statement about whether national monuments do or do not allow hunting and/or fishing is impossible. A statement like that stems from ignorance or a desire to mislead. It entirely depends on which entity manages the monuments and the original monument goals and proclamation.

Bottom line: if you want to hunt or fish on a national monument, you need to do some homework. Luckily, there are millions of acres that are indeed open to both hunting and fishing.

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