President Barack Obama created three new US national monuments in Texas, Nevada and California that span more than 400,000 hectares. He established the National Monument in California, the Waco Mammoth National Monument in Texas and the Basin and Range National Monument in Nevada.
During a White House ceremony for the monuments, Obama said that the national parks and monuments are “something that we pass on from generation to generation, preserving the incredible beauty of this nation, but also reminding us of the richness of its history.”
Former first lady Laura Bush said that the creation of these monuments, including the Waco Mammoth monument was “a special day for Texas.”
The creation of these monuments created hostility between the Democrats and the Republicans. As Rob Bishop of Utah said,
“This surreptitious land grab reveals that the Obama administration will stop at nothing to lock up more and more land, with the stroke of a pen. I condemn this shameful power move which makes states and citizens fearful that the federal government can invade at any time to seize more lands like bandits in the night.”