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Richard Stockton National Monument

Public Lands Lab

Dakota Bell, Matt DeGuzman, Rachel Halford,

Kate LaMotta, and Catherine Tensfeldt
Stockton University
Environmental Issues
Dr. Dan Moscovici
November 4, 2021
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Table of Contents

Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………………..…3
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………..….3
Section 1 - Local benefits………………………………………………………………………………..4
Section 2 - External Pressures…………………………………………………………………………..4
Section 3 - Fees and Funding……………………………………………………………………….…..6
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………….6
Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………………………..7
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Abstract
There are approximately 129 national monuments in the United States which make up 15 million
inland and coastal acres (Britton-.Purdy, 2019). The purpose of a national monument as a preservation not
only adds to the architectural beauty of a landscape within a community but serves to advance the
education and welfare of the citizens (Capitol-Medical Center Improvement And Zoning Commission
Historical Preservation And Landmark Board Of Review, 2017). Areas that boast of national monuments
serve as places which enhance social influence and foster tourism (Dwyer, O. J., & Alderman, D. H.
2008). In this report, a brief synopsis of public land use reflecting a national monument, “Richard
Stockton Memorial Park”, is generated. The report reflects the local benefits a national monument
provides to a town in which it resides, the external pressures exerted on the surrounding protected lands,
and lastly, fees and funding needed for the preservation and maintenance of the monument.

Introduction
The United States is home to hundreds of national monuments. A national monument can be any
nationally significant land that is set aside for permanent protection. Many national monuments contain
historic sites or statues of a significant being but these sites can also be protected lands or waters alone
(National Parks Conservation Association, 2021). To create a national monument, U.S. presidents use the
authority granted to them by Congress in the Antiquities Act of 1906 (National Parks Conservation
Association, 2021). In Section 2 of the act, national monuments are defined as “the smallest area
compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected” (NPS, 2021). The Antiquities
Act protects historic sites and sites of scientific interest by establishing penalties for those that destroy,
injure, or excavate any object on the federally owned property (Williams, 2003). Such penalties protect
and preserve the land from private ownership, tilling, mining, excavating, and timbering (NPS, 2021).
However, the act does allow for excavation of archaeological objects and the gathering of objects of
antiquity for universities and reputable museums (Williams, 2003).
National monuments are preserved by the United States government and can be managed by
multiple organizations such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, National Park Service, Bureau of Land
Management, and other agencies as well. Preserving such sites advances the education and welfare of the
citizens in the surrounding areas as well as provides economic and aesthetic benefits for the community
(Office of Management and Enterprise Services, 2021). The preservation of national monuments aims to
protect humble sites of social and cultural significance (Office of Management and Enterprise Services,
2021). In this paper, we have decided to make the Stockton University campus into a national monument.
The monument will be named “Richard Stockton National Monument”.
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Section 1 - Local Benefits

The Richard Stockton National Monument would bring an immense amount of economic benefits
for the surrounding town, Galloway. The monument would give business opportunities to the hospitality,
real estate, and restaurant industries. Thus, creating more jobs for the surrounding community. National
monuments in the western states of America increased the average number of establishments and jobs in
surrounding communities and increased the average establishment growth rate (Wall, et al., 2020).
National monuments had no effect, positive or negative, on the number of jobs in establishments that
existed before the monuments were established. On net, protecting lands as national monuments has been
more helpful than hindrance to local economies (Wall, et al., 2020).
Public protected lands have also been shown to improve the quality of living for surrounding
communities. The Richard Stockton National Monument would benefit the community by providing
unique opportunities to learn about history and culture as well as getting involved in outdoor recreation
activities. A study comparing the economic growth of national monument counties with that of
comparable benchmark counties found that there was consistent growth in population, employment,
real-personal income, and real per capita income among national monument counties that were similar or
surpassing the benchmark counties (Mehl, 2017). Preserving and highlighting natural amenities helps
sustain property values and attract new residents and businesses. Diversifying the economy and
introducing a tourist attraction can be especially beneficial in rural communities which may not offer
many other economic opportunities (Nooripoor, 2020). As the Richard Stockton National Monument is
located on the Pinelands National Reserve and is surrounded by rural, suburban, and urban areas, the
benefits brought about by a tourist attraction would greatly improve the bordering communities.

Section 2 - External Pressures

Richard Stockton National Monument houses a museum with a visitors center, a campground,
lodging, and recreational activities within 1600 acres of protected land. There is one in-holding located
within the property. The in-holding is a private farm that holds ownership within the property boundaries
of the Richard Stockton National Monument. The location of the parcel to be protected determines the
pressure exerted on it for development or exploitation of resources (Nolte et al., 2019). External pressures
to this property include but are not limited to fire from prescribed burns, property encroachment, and
pollution from neighboring industries. Encouraging recreational use opens the property to risks of
unauthorized fishing, hunting, logging, and destruction from off-road vehicles. The Richard Stockton
National Monument is located on land preservation within an urban area (United States Census Bureau,
2021). A property within an urban district would have higher pressure than within a rural area of the
same quality. Protected lands face increased housing density and impervious surfaces in immediately
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adjacent areas, reducing buffer regions (Vukomanovic, et al., 2020). Because this property is in an urban
location and therefore designated as high pressure, it would have high impact and incur higher costs for
protection. However, protected parcels are found to have less forest loss and development compared to
public land which is unprotected (Nolte et al., 2019).

Figure 1: Map showing building land use on the Richard Stockton Monument land
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Section 3 - Fees and Funding

Richard Stockton National Monument is profit neutral. Grants and tax incentives given to protect
and preserve the monument and museum are provided by the state and federal government (NPS, 2021).
The land is supported mostly by fees brought in from public recreational use such as kayak and bike
rentals as well as shooting range use, donations for guided hiking wildlife and nature tours, campground
fees and lodging use. In addition, the museum will have a visitor center with a small gift shop and
informational presentations that accept donations from visitors. Public and private organizations provide
grant opportunities as well (NPS, 2021). The right for the public to be involved with decisions in “public”
land use was implemented by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (Interest
Representation and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, 1982). Involving the public in decision
making may make them more likely to contribute to the well-being of the park.

Conclusion
National monument preservations protect federal land from exploitation of resources and
over-development while maintaining the land for public use for both current and future generations.
Environmental issues and conflicts as a result of logging, over-fishing and hunting can be balanced with
protecting endangered species and the land they reside on. Preserving culture and heritage can be afforded
through the exercise of laws with the purpose of protecting public lands. As the United States has become
more urbanized, presidents and Congress over the past 115 years have set aside fifteen million acres and
hundreds of millions of marine acres of federal land for public use and protection as allowed under the
Antiquities Act of 1906 (Britton-Purdy, 2019). Our responsibility as stakeholders is to exercise our rights
through the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to discourage overuse and abuse and to
vote to protect the land we inherited from previous generations.
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Works Cited
Britton-Purdy, J. (2019) “Whose Lands? Which Public?: The Shape of Public-Lands Law and Trump’s
National Monument Proclamations.” Ecology Law Quarterly, 45(4).
Capitol-Medical Center Improvement And Zoning Commission Historical Preservation And Landmark
Board Of Review, (2017). “Historic Preservation Standards And Guidelines.”
https://omes.ok.gov/sites/g/files/gmc316/f/HPStandardsGuidelines.pdf
Dwyer, O. J., & Alderman, D. H. (2008). Memorial landscapes: analytic questions and metaphors.
GeoJournal, 73(3), 165–178.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/41148292

“Interest Representation and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.” (1982). Michigan Law
Review, 80(6), 1303–1325.

Mehl, C. (n.d.). Updated Summary: The Economic Importance of National Monuments to Local
Communities. Headwaters Economics. Retrieved October 2021, from
https://headwaterseconomics.org/public-lands/protected-lands/national-monuments/.
National Parks Conservation Association.(2021.).”What is a National Monument?”
https://www.npca.org/resources/3202-what-is-a-national-monument.
Nolte, C, Meyer SR, Sims KRE, Thompson JR. (2019). “Voluntary, permanent land protection reduces
forest loss and development in a rural urban landscape.” Conservation Letters. e12649.
NPS, National Park Service. (2021). “Grants and Tax Incentives for the Preservation of National Historic
Landmarks.”
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalhistoriclandmarks/grants-and-incentives.htm
NPS, National Park Service U.S. Department of Interior, (2021). “How to Research Antiquities Act
National Monuments.”
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/how-to-research-antiquities-act-national-monuments.htm
Nooripoor, M., Khosrowjerdi, M., Rastegari, H., Sharifi, Z., & Bijani, M. (2020). The role of tourism in
rural development: Evidence from Iran. GeoJournal, 86(4), 1705–.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-020-10153-z
Office of Management and Enterprise Services. Office of Management and Enterprise Services
(090).(2021). Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://oklahoma.gov/omes.html.
United States Census Bureau, (2021). “2010 Urban Area FAQs.”
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/about/faq/2010-urban-area-faq.html#par_tex
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Vukomanovic, J., Singh, K. K., Vogler, J. B., & Meentemeyer, R. K. (2020). Protection status and
proximity to public‐private boundaries influence land use intensification near U.S. parks and
protected areas. Conservation Science and Practice, 2(5).
Walls, M., Lee, P., & Ashenfarb, M. (2020). National monuments and economic growth in the American
West. Science Advances, 6(12)
Williams, G. W. (2003). National Monuments and the Forest Service. National Parks Service. Retrieved
October 28, 2021, from https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/fs/monuments.htm.