This new display in the Carlsbad Caverns Visitor Center presents the Antiquities Act of 1906. It's the most impressive display dedicated to an act of Congress that I've seen, so I took a picture.
The Antiquities Act provides the legal framework for the president to designate national monuments - - without congressional approval. You can imagine that it stirs up some political challenges.
Carlsbad Caverns, like about one-fourth of national parks, began life as a national monument.
Photo taken January 2010.