I was encouraged when U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton and U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner sent a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke in support of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.
They wrote, “The designation of Canyons is an example of what the Antiquities Act was intended to do – protect cultural treasures while incorporating the historic use of the land in to the management of the monument so that communities support and promote the designation.”
I was infuriated at Scott Tipton’s recent vote supporting H.R. 3990, misleadingly named National Monument Creation and Protection Act.
This bill would reform the Antiquities Act of 1906 and radically undermine a conservation legacy sustained by 16 Republican and Democratic presidents. This bill will neither create nor protect national monuments but only weaken them. If this bill had been law in 1906, the only national monument in Colorado that could have been established would have been Yucca House, which is tiny.
Our public lands and future generations deserve more. Call Tipton now and tell him to change his stance before the final vote. He needs to stand with Canyon of the Ancients and the rest of our state’s and nation’s great monuments.
Michael J. Lavey
Cortez