President Barack Obama has unilaterally
designated two new "national monument" nature
preserves in the western US states of Nevada
and Utah.
The Bears Ears National Monument and the Gold
Butte National Monument will protect areas rich
in Native American artefacts from energy drilling.
Some Republicans in those states are opposed to
the move and say it amounts to a federal land-
grab.
It comes as Mr Obama attempts to secure his
environmental legacy.
Since the election of Republican Donald Trump as
next US president, Mr Obama has moved to block
new mining claims by Yellowstone National Park
and new oil drilling in the vulnerable Arctic Ocean.
The Hawaiian-born president has protected more
land and water acreage than any other US
president.
But experts say it will be hard for Mr Trump to
reverse it when he takes power.
Christy Goldfuss, managing director of the White
House Council on Environmental Quality, said a
sitting president cannot undo a previous
president's national monument designations.
However, western lawmakers reacted with
outrage to the announcement, which came as
Congress was in recess for the holiday season.
They see it as government overreach and a block
to potential energy development.
"This arrogant act by a lame duck president will
not stand," said Utah Senator Mike Lee about
Bears Ears, which is named for a set of rock
formations.
In what Native American tribes view as a victory,
the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah will
cover 1.35 million acres in the Four Corners
region.
It will protect the estimated 100,000
archaeological sites in the area including ancient
cliff dwellings.
In Nevada, the 300,000-acre Gold Butte National
Monument outside Las Vegas will protect rock
art, fossils and recently discovered dinosaur
tracks.
Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye praised
the announcement.
"We have always looked to Bears Ears as a place
of refuge," Mr Begaye said.
"The rocks, the winds, the land - they are living,
breathing things that deserve timely and lasting
protection."
