Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett wants to keep the president from declaring any more national monuments in Utah.
The Utah Republican introduced legislation Monday that would prevent President Barack Obama or any future president from designating any part of Utah as a national monument without Congress' consent.
The bill is in response to a leaked Department of the Interior document that suggests Cedar Mesa in San Juan County and the San Rafael Swell in Emery County might be worthy of being designated national monuments.
Presidents have the sole authority to designate national monuments that are off-limits to development.
The Interior Department has said that the list of 17 possible monuments is the product of brain storming and nothing more.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
