Tag Archives: Antiquities Act of 1906
Is the ocean ‘land owned or controlled’ by feds? Antiquities Act lawsuit aims to find out
Despite a lifetime of fishing off the New England coast, Eric Reid was like a fish out of water when President Barack Obama grabbed a piece of his livelihood. “I’m just a fish guy but I learned a lot about politics in a big hurry,” said Reid, general manager of Seafreeze Shoreside Inc., a seafood processing facility in Rhode Island. He is referring to Obama’s September 2016 designation of nearly 5,000 square miles of ocean as the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument, using his unilateral authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906.,,, We’re losing opportunity as we speak,” Reid told Watchdog.org. “It could easily be millions of dollars just this winter.” Reid is part of a coalition of New England fishing organizations suing the federal government over the designation. The Pacific Legal Foundation is representing the coalition in Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association v. Ross. PLF attorney Jonathan Wood says the economic impact is magnified when considering the shoreside businesses that have grown up around the commercial fishing industry. “It’s not just the fishermen. It’s all the bait dealers, the mechanics and the marinas and all the businesses that only exist because there’s a commercial fishing industry,” he told Watchdog.org. read the article here 09:37
What Hunters and Anglers Should Know Before They Vote
Americans who enjoy fishing, hunting, and other wilderness sports should be aware of a number of important issues before stepping into the voting booth in November. Despite objections from many prominent Hawaiians and a federal regional fishing council, President Barack Obama recently quadrupled the size of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (PMNM), first created by President George W. Bush in 2006. Obama used his executive authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to extend the marine reserve’s boundaries, banning fishing and mining in the 200-mile exclusive economic zone surrounding the reserve, which covers much of the northwestern islands of Hawaii and their surrounding waters. Obama’s actions were motivated by a desire to attain as much authority as possible for the federal government and to enhance the power and influence of his radical environmental constituency before leaving office. One of the candidates in the 2016 race, Hillary Clinton, has promised to double down on Obama’s environmental policies. Americans concerned about property rights, hunting, fishing, and states’ rights should make their voices heard about these failed policies. Read the opinion piece here 07:59
Aquarium scientist helps lead effort to designate Marine National Monument
An effort being led in part by Mystic Aquarium Senior Research Scientist Peter Auster is working to get President Barack Obama to designate a 4,000-square-nautical-mile area of ocean off Cape Cod as a Marine National Monument, which would be the first in the Atlantic Ocean. Located 150 miles southeast of Cape Cod, it is also a place that Auster said companies are beginning to show interest in mining the seamounts for precious metals. Designation of the area as a national monument would prevent “commercial extraction activities” such as mining, oil and gas drilling, as well as commercial fishing. Activities such as recreational angling, whale watching and boating would be permitted. Working with environmental groups, they are working to get the designation request to Obama to sign before he leaves office. Read the rest here 10:28
Zeldin amendment helps the Nation’s Fishermen, prevents abuse of the Antiquities Act of 1906
The amendment bars funding for the designation of any national marine monuments by the president in the Exclusive Economic Zone. Marine monuments are areas of ocean where fishing would be banned without consulting the local community, fishermen, or regional fisheries managers. Mr. Zeldin in a release said the Obama administration’s “overzealous interpretation of this law is causing great concern” among the fishing community because the president has sought to apply his power to vast portions of the ocean. In 2014, he said the president declared a 407,000-square-mile National Marine Monument in the Pacific Ocean where commercial fishing was banned and recreational fishing was severely limited. Now, important fishing areas in the Northwest Atlantic, where fishermen from Greenport and Montauk have long worked, are under consideration with little public input and no transparency. Bonnie Brady, the executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, “These are the critical waters that Mr. Zeldin’s amendment will protect.” Read the rest here 08:07
Peter Apo: Obama Should Say No To Expanded Marine Monument
President Obama is considering a request to more than quadruple the size of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to 580,000 square miles – an area as large as the states of Texas, California and Montana. If Obama takes this step, the federal government essentially would assert control over hundreds of thousands of miles of ocean around Hawaii with no public discussion. According to the Antiquities Act of 1906, the trigger to designate an area as a national monument is simply the president’s signature. No discussion required — not by Congress, not by state government and not by citizens who rely on the targeted geo-cultural area. Read the story here 16:11
