A new legal opinion from the U.S. Justice Department is reigniting debate over who gets to decide the fate of America’s national monuments — and the implications could be felt here in New Mexico.
The opinion, released Tuesday, says presidents can eliminate or reduce national monuments created by their predecessors .
The opinion is a sharp reversal of a decades-old legal interpretation that said they couldn’t.
The finding could have national consequences, especially for monuments created by Democratic presidents.
The legal document specifically targets two sites in California that were designated during the final days of President Biden’s term — one in the state’s southern desert and another near the Oregon border.
Both sites ban new mining and energy exploration, a point of contention for critics who say monument designations go too far and block access to resources, including critical minerals.
The Justice Department’s opinion argues those bans don’t align with the original purpose of the 1906 Antiquities Act.
That measure was intended to protect specific historic or scientific features.
One Justice official said using monuments to create recreation areas may fall outside that intent.
New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich, a Democrat and ranking member on the Senate Natural Resources Committee, criticized the move.
He says it’s an attempt by the Trump administration to open the door to eliminating long-standing protections for public lands.
New Mexico is home to several national monuments created under the Antiquities Act, including Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and Río Grande del Norte.
Both have faced scrutiny from energy interests and were at risk during Trump’s previous term, when he reduced two monuments in neighboring Utah — a decision that was later reversed by Biden.
Environmental advocates say the new opinion has no legal standing and warn that most Americans support keeping public lands protected.
They also point to the Antiquities Act’s long history — signed by President Theodore Roosevelt and used by nearly every president since.
This story was adapted from an Associated Press report.