Rep. Paul Cook Announces Public Meeting On Presidential Monuments to Occur October 13

WASHINGTON- Today, Rep. Paul Cook (R- Apple Valley) announced that a public meeting will be taking place on the three proposed National Monuments: Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow, and Castle Mountain. This meeting will consider whether the President should create these monuments through the Antiquities Act. It will take place on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 at 2PM at the Wildlands Conservancy’s Whitewater Preserve at 9160 Canyon Road in Whitewater, CA. This could be the only public meeting before the Obama administration makes a final decision on any potential designations. Members of the public are encouraged to attend this meeting to express their views.

WHAT: Public meeting on proposed Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow, and Castle Mountains National Monuments.

WHEN: Tuesday, October 13, at 2 PM.

WHERE: The Wildlands Conservancy’s Whitewater Preserve, 9160 Whitewater Canyon Road, Whitewater, CA. 92282

Cook said, “When a president creates a monument through the Antiquities Act, it sets in motion a Washington-based management plan that can sharply curtail recreational and economic activities. I’m deeply concerned that outreach efforts to the public have been hasty and inadequate.”

Last month, Senator Diane Feinstein wrote to the President asking him to use the Antiquities Act to create three national monuments in the California Desert. Senator Feinstein has also introduced a bill, S. 414, the California Desert Conservation and Recreation Act of 2015, addressing much of this same land area. Rep. Cook has introduced an alternative measure, HR 3668, the California Minerals, Off-Road Recreation, and Conservation Act.

Cook continued, “This meeting is our chance to let them know that they need to let things move through the legislative process, rather than unilateral executive action. Only the legislative process will provide adequate time for the public input necessary to reach a consensus on the future of our desert and mountains. The President needs to give the legislative process an opportunity to work, and I ask that community come out and voice their opposition to the Antiquities Act process.”