Wally Herger: Keep Washington out of our backyard

An internal document recently obtained by Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee revealed that the Obama Administration is considering unilaterally designating over 13 million acres of federal land in 11 states as new "National Monuments," including several hundred thousand acres right here in Northern California.

With the mere stroke of a pen, this proposal would effectively lock up these lands by severely restricting the variety of legitimate multiple uses people currently enjoy on their federal lands — and it would be done without public or Congressional involvement. This document has thus far been considered behind closed doors and beyond public view.

It seems the Obama Administration and its supporters in the radical environmental community just won't take no for an answer. It was only a decade ago that our local communities successfully fought efforts by President Clinton to designate lands in Siskiyou County as part of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument.

And yet now, not only is the administration looking to expand that monument back into California, they are also eyeing nearly 500,000 acres in Glenn, Colusa, and Yolo counties for potential designation. We here in Northern California would like to reiterate a simple message for President Obama — NO THANKS!

Originally intended for the protection of small areas of special significance deemed to be at risk, the Antiquities Act has been repeatedly abused over the years to lock up over 100 monuments covering 70 million acres.

What, one might ask, does the president believe these lands need to be protected from? The only real threat is from the increasingly dangerous catastrophic wildfires that are growing in size and intensity across our federal forest lands each year. And yet putting these lands in a rigid regulatory prison will serve only to further restrict our management options and inhibit local efforts to address this public health and safety threat.

Moreover, further restricting access and use of our public lands will only further slow our efforts to create local jobs and recover from the severe economic downturn.

I will do everything I can to oppose these new National Monuments. These are the people's lands and management decisions should be locally driven — not based on a one-size-fits-all regulatory fiat from Washington.

Recently, I introduced legislation to require Congressional approval before any monument is designated in the State of California. Any such proposal needs to be brought out from behind closed doors and into Congress for a full and open debate. I have also joined several of my colleagues in requesting that all information and documentation relating to the leaked document be made public so that Northern Californians know exactly what the Obama Administration is proposing to do in our backyard.

I also strongly encourage anyone who enjoys full access and multiple-use of our public lands to contact President Obama and the Department of the Interior to voice your opinion on this issue.

As Thomas Jefferson once said, "The people of every country are the only safe guardians of their own rights." It is up to us to keep these lands from under the thumb of a Presidential Proclamation and open for the use and enjoyment of all.

Rep. Wally Herger, R-Chico, is a 12-term congressman from the 2nd District.