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In 1872, Congress ordered that the Yellowstone country of Wyoming and Montana be set aside "as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." In the next several decades, Congress created other national parks, such as Yosemite and Mount Rainier. Congress was motivated by two goals, which were not seen at the time as necessarily conflicting: preserving nature and promoting tourism.

In addition to Congress, presidents also participated in the effort to preserve nature. Between 1891 and 1901, presidents [|Benjamin Harrison], [|Grover Cleveland] and [|William McKinley] had transferred 50 million acres into forest reserves, the precursor to national forests. President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) appointed Gifford Pinchot as chief of the Bureau of Forestry and followed Pinchot’s advice to place another 150 million acres into reserves. As a young man, Roosevelt had operated a cattle ranch in the Dakota Territory. His love of the outdoors combined with his political belief that the federal government should be the major force behind conservation. More so, he came to wield the executive authority of the presidential office with great energy. In 1903, he asked, "Is there any law that will prevent me from declaring Pelican Island [Florida] a Federal Bird Reservation? . . . Very well, then I so declare it!" By executive order, he created the first of 51 national bird sanctuaries. Not everyone was pleased with what were viewed as the president’s near-dictatorial powers. Roosevelt claimed: "I did not usurp power, but I did greatly expand the use of executive power. . . . I acted for the common well-being of all our people."

American Indian sites came to be just as endangered as nature. During the late 1800s, numerous World’s Fairs and museums featured exhibits on Indian life, displaying artifacts dug up by archaeologists. As the demand for Indian artifacts grew, Indian sites began to suffer from looting and vandalism. Teams of scientists began to document the destruction and called for federal protection.

In 1906, Congress enacted the American Antiquities Act with virtually no debate and no opposition. The Antiquities Act strove to protect "any historic or prehistoric ruin or monument, or any object of antiquity" on federal lands, providing the president with the authority to declare national monuments those historic landmarks which he deemed worthy. It reflected the broader shift in power from the Congress to the president - a shift that more or less dominated 20th-century American politics.


 * //American Antiquities Act of 1906//**

//16 United States Code 431-433//

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any person who shall appropriate, excavate, injure, or destroy any historic or prehistoric ruin or monument, or any object of antiquity, situated on lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States, without the permission of the Secretary of the Department of the Government having jurisdiction over the lands on which said antiquities are situated, shall, upon conviction, be fined in a sum of not more than five hundred dollars or be imprisoned for a period of not more than ninety days, or shall suffer both fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.

Sec. 2. That the President of the United States is hereby authorized, in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments, and may reserve as a part thereof parcels of land, the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected: Provided, That when such objects are situated upon a tract covered by a bona fide unperfected claim or held in private ownership, the tract, or so much thereof as may be necessary for the proper care and management of the object, may be relinquished to the Government, and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to accept the relinquishment of such tracts in behalf of the Government of the United States.

Sec. 3. That permits for the examination of ruins, the excavation of archaeological sites, and the gathering of objects of antiquity upon the lands under their respective jurisdictions may be granted by the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, and War to institutions which they may deem properly qualified to conduct such examination, excavation, or gathering, subject to such rules as they may prescribe: Provided, That the examinations, excavations, and gatherings are undertaken for the benefit of reputable museums, universities, colleges, or other recognized scientific or educational institutions, with a view to increasing the knowledge of such objects, and that the gatherings shall be made for permanent preservation in public museums.

Sec. 4. That the Secretaries of the Departments aforesaid shall make and publish from time to time uniform rules and regulations for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act.

//Approved, June 8, 1906// 