Judge Upholds Clinton Bid to Protect Federal Land in 4 States

News Service December 5, 2001

Judge Upholds Clinton Bid to Protect Federal Lands in 4 States

By Robert Gehrke, Associated Press, 11/16/2001

WASHINGTON - A federal judge yesterday upheld President Clinton's decision to protect federal land in four Western states, saying Clinton acted properly under a 1906 law when he created six new national monuments.

Clinton's use of the Antiquities Act, which allows presidents to act without congressional approval to safeguard objects of historic and scientific interest, had led to a legal fight by the Mountain States Legal Defense Fund of Denver.

The conservative organization challenged the constitutionality of the law and contended that Clinton overstepped his authority when he created monuments in Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.

US District Judge Paul Friedman dismissed the lawsuit yesterday, finding that Clinton had acted appropriately under power legally granted by Congress.

That let stand Clinton's action regarding the Cascades-Siskiyou National Monument in Oregon, the Handford Reach in Washington, the Canyons of the Ancients in Colorado, and the Grand Canyon-Parashant, Ironwood Forest, and Sonoran Desert national monuments in Arizona.

William Perry Pendley, president and chief legal officer for the Mountain States Legal Foundation, said Friedman gave too much deference to the president's judgment. Pendley said he planned to appeal.

''We're talking about millions of acres of land that, with a stroke of a pen, the president set aside,'' Pendley said. ''We believe the court needs to go further and say, `Wait a second. Are these areas truly scientific? Are they historic? Is this the smallest area necessary to protect the resource?'''

Clinton used the law to create 19 monuments and expand three others, protecting 5.9 million acres. State and local officials, ranchers, off-road vehicle users, oil and gas companies, and others complained that Clinton abused his authority and locked up too much land.

''The courts have always upheld the Antiquities Act and will continue to do so in the future,'' said Jim Angell, an attorney for Earthjustice, a legal organization based in Denver that frequently represents environmental groups.

Congress passed the law to give the president the power to protect land threatened by development.