Proclamations Proc. 7317 historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or con- trolled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof parcels of land, the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. WHEREAS it appears that it would be in the public interest to reserve such lands as a national monument to be known as the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument: NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 43\177), do proclaim that there are hereby set apart and reserved as the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, for the purpose of protecting the objects identified above, all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the United States with- in the boundaries of the area described on the map entitled "Canyons of the Ancients National Monument" attached to and forming a part of this proclamation. The Federal land and interests in land reserved consist of ap- proximately \17764,000 acres, which is the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. All Federal lands and interests in lands within the boundaries of this monument are hereby appropriated and withdrawn from all forms of entry, location, selection, sale, or other disposition under the public land laws, including but not limited to withdrawal from location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and from disposition under all laws relating to mineral leasing, other than by exchange that furthers the protective pur- poses of the monument, and except for oil and gas leasing as prescribed herein. For the purpose of protecting the objects identified above, the Secretary of the Interior shall prohibit all motorized and mechanized vehicle use off road, except for emergency or authorized administrative purposes. Lands and interests in lands within the proposed monument not owned by the United States shall be reserved as a part of the monument upon acqui- sition of title thereto by the United States. Because most of the Federal lands have already been leased for oil and gas, which includes carbon dioxide, and development is already occurring, the monument shall remain open to oil and gas leasing and development; pro- vided, the Secretary of the Interior shall manage the development, subject to valid existing rights, so as not to create any new impacts that interfere with the proper care and management of the objects protected by this proc- lamation; and provided further, the Secretary may issue new leases only for the purpose of promoting conservation of oil and gas resources in any com- mon reservoir now being produced under existing leases, or to protect against drainage. The Secretary of the Interior shall prepare a transportation plan that ad- dresses the actions, including road closures or travel restrictions, necessary to protect the objects identified in this proclamation. The Secretary of the Interior shall manage the monument through the Bu- reau of Land Management, pursuant to applicable legal authorities, to im- plement the purposes of this proclamation. 95
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