Sponsored Post – from the National Parks Conservation Association
This op-ed was written by Russ Whitlock, a 37-year veteran of the National Park Service, recently retired as superintendent of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. He also oversaw the partnership that drives the Waco Mammoth National Monument, including the city of Waco, Baylor University, and the Waco Mammoth Foundation. He is now touring the nation via motorhome. This piece first ran in the Waco Tribune-Herald.
As President Trump and the 115th Congress lay out their legislative agenda, there have been troubling discussions of gutting a critical tool for protecting some of our nation’s most special places.
Since 1906, the Antiquities Act has allowed presidents to establish national monuments, including one right here in our backyard: the Waco Mammoth National Monument. For more than a century, citizens like those of Waco and other parts of Texas have come together and appealed to the president to protect special places that share important stories and scientific relevance for the good of our country.
The incredible prehistoric site at Waco Mammoth enhances our community and educates tens of thousands of people who visit the area annually. Nowhere else in the nation can citizens and guests from around the world see evidence of a nursery herd of Columbian Mammoths who roamed the Waco plains some 65,000 years ago. The staff frequently experience a look of amazement and wonder in the eyes of young and old alike as they try to relate to these now-extinct animals.
Wacoans who diligently pursued national monument designation would surely resist any effort to rescind Waco Mammoth National Monument’s status as a nationally significant site. We worked too hard to share the story, build community support and search for ways to conserve and share this unique place for all. Our rewards are revealed in the expressions, questions and favor of thousands who seek out the stories and finds of long ago.
Regardless of party affiliation, nearly every president has used the Antiquities Act to protect, conserve, and add places to our National Park System for all Americans to experience and enjoy. Parks protect our most beautiful landscapes and our most nationally historic and culturally significant places. They also serve as economic engines for surrounding communities. In fact, for every dollar invested in the National Park Service, about $5 is generated for local economies. The mammoth site is already proving this point; since its establishment in July 2015, it has seen increasing visitation and use, giving a boost to the local economy.
National parks such as Waco Mammoth National Monument are good for our community and good for understanding the significant scientific and historical stories of our nation. Undoing the national monument designation of a place like Waco Mammoth — if it comes to that — would dismantle 100 years of conservation legacy starting with President Theodore Roosevelt.
I urge President Trump and our representatives in Congress — particularly Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and Rep. Bill Flores — to oppose any effort to undo the designation of this treasured Texas site. Like the other 15 national park sites in the Lone Star State, Waco Mammoth National Monument shares stories that simply cannot be told anywhere else.
