November 6, 2015 — President Obama is poised to designate two large areas off the New England coast as national marine “monuments,” to the delight of conservationists who seem much more interested in protecting the ocean than they are in protecting people.
Gov. Charlie Baker has written to President Obama to express concern about the impact on the region’s fishermen if the federal government turns part of the New England coastline into a sort of undersea museum — one that only scientists are likely ever to lay eyes on. Baker in his letter raises reasonable concerns about the process — or lack thereof — that led to this point.
Yes, Obama has the authority to take this step under the Antiquities Act (and has done so for other areas in the Pacific, as did President George W. Bush). But Baker notes there has been little public input into the decision to designate areas known as Cashes Ledge and the New England Canyons and Seamounts as national monuments, making them off limits to commercial fishing and such activities as oil or gas exploration or extraction — permanently.