Basin and Range National Monument deserves bipartisan support

By Martha Marks

Wednesday, July 29, 2015 | 2 a.m.

As a retired Republican county commissioner who now devotes a great deal of time to wildlife and landscape photography, I travel around the West to capture its great natural beauty.

So I am pleased President Barack Obama has established the Basin and Range National Monument to protect the rugged desert and mountain landscape of Nevada’s Garden and Coal valleys. This designation preserves this superb slice of Nevada while elevating its visibility so more visitors will know about it.

That is why it is disappointing that Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Cresent Hardy reacted to the new monument in such a negative, knee-jerk fashion. By condemning the designation, they ignored its robust support from the tourism industry, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, archeologists, outdoor enthusiasts and thousands of ordinary Americans, including Republicans like me.

When Hardy learned of the president’s intent to create the monument, he claimed the designation would adversely affect military training at the Nevada Test and Training Range. This was both inaccurate and surprising, given that the language in the proclamation has more extensive protection for overflights and training activity than previous legislation creating Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, which Hardy supported.

The truth is that protecting this area in its natural state provides certainty that the military’s training area will remain the same. On the other hand, allowing the potential for private development, such as a large-scale mining operation or an energy project, would not afford that kind of certainty.

I live near White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, which provides a fine example of how a monument designation does not interfere with military operations. That monument has a 73-year record of working with White Sands Missile Range to ensure the Range can conduct its training and testing operations. During World War II, tank maneuvers were conducted within the monument’s boundary, and even today areas of White Sands National Monument are periodically closed for missile testing.

The Basin and Range proclamation only applies to existing federally managed public lands. It has ironclad language to protect livestock grazing, preserve existing water rights, and maintain state authority with respect to fish and wildlife.

The Antiquities Act, the law that gives the president authority to designate national monuments, is a Republican invention. It was introduced in Congress by a Republican, passed by a Republican Congress, and signed into law June 11, 1906, by another Republican, President Theodore Roosevelt. It has served our nation well for more than a century.

I am proud that Republicans of the past had the foresight to recognize that Congress — where special interests often trump the public interest and a single senator can block or delay legislation — is often unable to pass timely safeguards for our nation’s natural and historical resources.

The Republican Party could use more of that kind of visionary leadership today.

Too often, what we see are rash, partisan judgments — as seems to be the case with Sen. Heller’s and Rep. Hardy’s reaction to the Basin and Range designation — rather than thoughtful consideration based on facts.

Heller and Hardy have complained that this designation is a legacy-building exercise for the president and Sen. Harry Reid. But that argument only serves as evidence that this new national monument will be popular and appreciated in the future.

The creation of Basin and Range National Monument warrants bipartisan support. The lands within its boundary — rich with natural wonders and historical features — deserve protection, and this is true no matter who lobbied for the proclamation or signed it into law.

Martha Marks served on the Lake County, Ill., county commission from 1992-2002. In 1995, she co-founded the national nonprofit Republicans for Environmental Protection. Now, she is chairwoman of the board of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship. She is retired and lives in New Mexico.