A recently obtained internal document from the U.S. Department of Interior shows the Obama Administration is covertly considering designating up to 17 new National Monuments under the Antiquities Act. In addition, it shows that the Administration is also targeting thousands of acres of private land for potential acquisistion by the federatl government.

The proposed designations and acquisitions would lock-up at least 13 million acres of land in 11 Western states, cost hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and be done without Congressional approval. It would also have huge ramifications on our nation's energy, restricting access to immense oil, gas, and mineral deposits, as well as blocking pipelines and transmission corridors.

The 11 Western states the Department of Interior mentions as proposed National Monuments include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

In 1996, President Clinton, with virtually no warning, used the Antiquities Act to designate the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Southern Utah and the Upper Missouri River National Monument in Central Montana.

Click here http://foxnews.com/projects/pdf/021810_monumentlist.pdf to view a list of the sites and a brief description of each one.

Members of Congress who make up the Western Caucus say the fact that this Administration is already circulating internal memos to bypass Congress adn the public process is troubling and plan a full-fledged assault on the report when Congress returns from its break this week.

Source: House Natural Resource Committee-Posted by Russell Nemetz