By
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Seeking to leave his mark on environmental protection, President Clinton created seven new national monuments Wednesday, preventing commercial use of more than 1 million acres of federal land.
The sites are in Montana, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho and the Caribbean.
"We believe that our future and our land, air and water are one, that we must not only protect our historical treasures, but our natural treasures as well," the president said.
The sites include Pompeys Pillar near Billings, Mont., a 150-foot sandstone column where explorer William Clark carved his name in 1806 during his historic westward trek with Meriwether Lewis.
"Most of the landscape Lewis and Clark traversed nearly two centuries ago has changed beyond recognition: forests cut, prairies plowed, river dammed and cities built. That is the march of time," Clinton said. "Still there are a few wild places left, rugged reminders of our rich history and nature's enduring majesty. Because they are more important than ever, after careful review and extensive public input, we protect them today by establishing them as national monuments."
The announcement was made in the East Room of the White House, where President Jefferson and Lewis laid out maps and planned the expedition. Clinton also posthumously promoted Clark from Army lieutenant to captain, and gave the honorary ranks of sergeant to the expedition's Shoshone interpreter Sacagawea and York, Clark's slave.
The other new monuments are: Upper Missouri River Breaks along the Missouri River in central Montana; Carrizo Plain in central California; Sonoran Desert in south-central Arizona; Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks in north-central New Mexico; and Minidoka in south-central Idaho, which includes portions of a World War II-era Japanese-American internment camp.
Designating these areas as national monuments affords them greater protections from commercial uses. The new protections are expected to include bans or restrictions on activities such as vehicle use, mining and oil drilling.
Clinton earlier created 11 national monuments and expanded two others. Those actions set new protections on 4.6 million acres of federal land. The new monuments established Wednesday raise that total to at least 5.6 million acres.
President-elect Bush and Western Republicans have objected to Clinton's earlier monument designations. They have said monument status was not needed to protect the remote areas and could harm local economies.
"We are reviewing all eleventh-hour executive orders, rules and regulations by the Clinton administration and we will make decisions after President-elect Bush is sworn into office," Scott McClellan, a spokesman for Bush-Cheney transition team, said Tuesday night after learning about Clinton's expected action. "The president-elect believes in a balanced approach to our environment that is based on working closely with states and local communities."
