The Antiquities Act of 1906 is a tried-and-true tool that presidents have used to sidestep Congress and force national monuments on various parts of the U.S.

The act allows a president to designate as a national monument federal land that has historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, or other objects of historic or scientific interest. In addition, the law requires the president to reserve “the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.”

That requirement is often ignored, as national monuments can sprawl across millions of acres. The purpose of the law is clear. If Congress doesn’t approve such designations, the president can use the act to designate the land as a national monument to “protect” it. From what, it doesn’t specify.

The reason presidents do these end runs around Congress is the designations are usually unwanted by the people who live in the area.

Presidents ranging from Franklin Roosevelt to Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama have used the Antiquities Act to designate national monuments. All told, 163 national monuments have been created, and others have been enlarged or modified.

Obama used the Antiquities Act the most. He designated 29 national monuments and enlarged five.

President Joe Biden has used it five times so far, and President Donald Trump used it one time.

Only Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush refused to use the act to proclaim any national monuments.

In short, the act is no more than a play thing for presidents to gain favor with environmental groups by taking federal land out of the multiple use category.

A particularly nefarious aspect of the act is that it can be used after Congress rejects a proposed national monument. This is yet another case of presidents creating laws after they fail to convince Congress to pass them.

Presidents may think they’re smart by doing this, but what one president can give, another can take away or modify.

In the twilight of the Biden administration, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has asked the president to declare part of the 2.5 million-acre Owyhee Canyonlands in southeastern Oregon as a national monument. The area is misnamed the “Grand Canyon of Oregon.” Though it’s certainly a canyon, it cannot be compared with the “real” Grand Canyon of Arizona.

That aside, Oregon’s two U.S. senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, have tried to get legislation passed in Congress but failed. One reason is Rep. Cliff Bentz, the member of the U.S. House who represents that region, opposes the proposal.

Kotek apparently is trying to give them a hand with her letter to Biden.

We have for years urged Congress to get rid of the Antiquities Act. Even Congress has acknowledged that it has been misused in the past. It was amended to require Congress to approve any national monument designations larger than 5,000 acres in Alaska or Wyoming. A compromise might include placing a similar limit on designations in all other states.

But if Biden wanted to help Oregon and other Western states, which are so often targets of the Antiquities Act, he would urge Congress to repeal it.