Assignment:
The Antiquities Act: From Four Perspectives
Oftentimes in public policy debates, interested stakeholders will lobby policymakers in order to influence potential policy shifts (preserve, abolish, or alter the status quo). The Antiquities Act is a century-old piece of legislation that rarely makes national news. While the preservation of significant lands is generally favored by the public, the implementation of the act has sometimes been the subject of criticism.
In 2017, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Secretary of the Interior to review most national monuments designated after 1996. While the order is broad in scope, some contemporary news outlets identified President Obama's controversial designation of Bear's Ears National Monument as a catalyst for the review.
Your task is threefold:
1. Review the documents in the Scenario Files to familiarize yourself with the Antiquities Act and differing points of view surrounding contemporary debates.
2. Adopt the position of 1 of the following 4 stakeholders:
a. Director of the National Park Service
b. Member of the Congressional Western Caucus
c. Head of either the National Cattlemen's Beef Association or the Public Lands Council
d. Head of the Outdoor Industry Association
3. Write a Policy Memo to the Secretary of the Interior. The goal of this memo is to influence the recommendation the Secretary makes to the President with respect to the Antiquities Act.
Your memo should include the following:
a. Summary of the original intent/purpose of the Antiquities Act, including examples of major applications of its use.
b. Recognition of at least 1 argument an opponent of your position is likely to make and a counterpoint to that argument.
c. Clear statement of what you would like the Secretary to include in the recommendation to the President.
This may take the form of any of the following:
i. Discussion of specific national monuments under review and the extent to which they should be abolished, altered, or preserved.
ii. ii. Broader discussion of the scope of power the President, Congress, and/or individual states should have with respect to designating government land as a national monument. Your memo should be no longer than 2 pages (excluding headers and references which should be on Page 3), double-spaced, 12-point font. Follow the structure of the example memo in the Scenario Files with respect to date, author, recipient, subject, and paragraph headings. The skills that you will demonstrate by completing this activity correspond to four essential areas that will be imperative in your professional development:
• Written Communication
• Critical and Creative Thinking
• Real World Readiness and Adaptability
• Research and Analysis
A Sample Citation is available in the Scenario Files.