Devils Tower, known to Native Americans as Bear Lodge, is an 870-foot butte composed of igneous rock. Long before it featured on Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Wyoming landmark was the first national monument declared by President Teddy Roosevelt on Sept. 24, 1906.
This was not the only “first” for Wyoming under the Antiquities Act, the law which authorizes presidents to designate national monuments. In 1950, Congress responded to perceived presidential overreach by making it the first state to be exempt from the Antiquities Act…
Read the full op-ed as it was published by The Center Square.
CGO scholars and fellows frequently comment on a variety of topics for the popular press. The views expressed therein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center for Growth and Opportunity or the views of Utah State University.