Andy Kerr

Conservationist, Writer, Analyst, Operative, Agitator, Strategist, Tactitian, Schmoozer, Raconteur

Bears Ears National Monument

Retiring Grazing Permits, Part 2: History of the Voluntary Retirement Option

September 12, 2023 in Bureau of Land Management, Congress, Department of Interior, Federal Lands, Fish and Wildlife Service, Legislation, Livestock Grazing, Presidents

The history of congressional and other actions to facilitate retirement of federal grazing permits

Clinton and Obama Giveth, Trump Taketh, and Biden Restoreth: Two National Monuments in the State of Utah

October 22, 2021 in Antiquities Act, Administration, Bureau of Land Management, Congress, Courts, Ecological Reserves, Federal Lands, Forest Service, LItigation, National Monuments, Presidents

Two national monuments in Utah have been restored, but it isn’t over.

What’s in a Name? Preserving National Monuments Versus Antiquities Only

August 25, 2017 in Administration, Antiquities Act, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Interior, National Monuments, Presidents, National Monuments Act

Back in the day, an Act of Congress, signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906, soon after became commonly known as the “National Monument Act.” The more recently used name of the “Antiquities Act of 1906” must now be changed back to “National Monument Act of 1906.”

It's all about the Bears Ears National Monument in southern Utah. Source: Tim Peterson, Grand Canyon Trust.

Trump Administration “Review” of Certain National Monuments

May 19, 2017 in Administration, Department of Interior, Marine National Monuments, National Monuments, Presidents, State Lands

Public comments are being taken on the regulations.gov website until May 26, 2017, for Bears Ears National Monument and until July 10, 2017, for all the other national moments on the Trump hit list. Register your opinion by clicking the “Comment Now!” button. You have my permission to be frank, blunt, terse, profane, and/or eloquent.

Will Trump Dump National Monuments?

April 28, 2017 in Courts, Congress, Antiquities Act, Administration, Marine National Monuments, National Monuments, National Parks, Presidents

President Trump signed an executive order on April 26, 2017, that directs Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to review sixty-two of the last three presidents’ national monument proclamations, dating back to 1996. The review will result in a final report in four months that “shall include recommendations, Presidential actions, legislative proposals, or other actions consistent with law.”

The administration is interested in either totally abolishing, reducing in size, and/or weakening the protections for national monuments. Those prerogatives belong to Congress. If Trump tries, he’ll get a multitude of tweets saying, “See you in court!”

Crabtree Lake in Crabtree Valley, home to some of the largest and oldest trees in Oregon, located on western Oregon public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, in Linn County, is part of the proposed Douglas-Fir National Monument. Ph… — Crabtree Lake in Crabtree Valley, home to some of the largest and oldest trees in Oregon, located on western Oregon public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, in Linn County, is part of the proposed Douglas-Fir National Monument. Photo: David Stone, Wildlands Photography.

A Monumental Battle, Part 2: National Monuments in the Congress

March 31, 2017 in Antiquities Act, Bureau of Land Management, Congress, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, Marine National Monuments, National Monuments, National Park Service, National Park System, National Parks

There is no question that an Act of Congress can eliminate, shrink, or weaken a national monument proclaimed by a president pursuant to authority granted by Congress. What Congress giveth, Congress can taketh away. The property clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article 4, Section 3, Clause 2) ensures that. Yet in fifty-five Congresses over the past 110 years, Congress has rarely acted to eliminate, reduce, or weaken a national monument proclamation by a president.

The Bipolar State of Utah and National Monument Designation

September 30, 2016 in Antiquities Act, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Interior, Ecosystems, Deserts, Forest Service, National Forest System, National Monuments, National Park Service, National Park System, Presidents

Most change comes through funerals. As the rabid opponents of national monuments shuffle off their mortal coils, the next generation will come to see the benefits of national parks. The history of public lands conservation in Utah is still being made.

Public Lands Blog

Blog Posts by Category

A ~1,000-word weekly exposition on some aspect of federal or state public lands in the United States. Some blog posts goes rather deep and serve as a useful (I hope) backgrounders on particular public land areas, matters or issues. Other weeks, you’ll find a topical piece addressing a public lands controversy of the moment. This blog not only defends, but also extols, public lands.

Andy Kerr of The Larch Company (www.andykerr.net) splits his time between Ashland, OR and Washington, DC. He has been significantly involved in the enactment of more than 25 pieces of federal and state legislation and in copious litigation pertaining to public lands. Dedicated to the conservation and restoration of nature, The Larch Company is a non-membership for-profit organization that represents species that cannot talk and humans not yet born. A deciduous conifer, the western larch has a contrary nature.

If you wish to contact me, I will probably be glad you did.