George W. Bush's first act as president goes directly to the contentious designation of nearly 50 square miles of Virgin Islands waters as a national monument.
On Saturday, the newly inaugurated President Bush issued an order stopping the printing of the Federal Register of new rules and regulations, effectively blocking former President Bill Clinton's final executive orders from taking effect. Among those orders are the national monument designations, part of an initiative begun more than a year ago by former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt affecting 18,000 acres of submerged land around St. Croix's Buck Island and 12,500 acres off St. John.
Bush's action is not unusual: Former presidents Reagan and Clinton both ordered the same ad hoc moratorium to prevent their predecessors' last-minute work from taking effect. But in the 95 years since the practice was established under Teddy Roosevelt, no president's designation of a national monument has ever been reversed by a successor.
The Washington Post reported that the order will give the new administration time to review all the "last-minute regulations" issued by Clinton. Bush aides have said they can write land management plans for the monuments that will allow for some commercial use.
According to the Post, once published, final regulations become law. Bush also issued a 60-day stay on regulations that were published but hadn't taken effect.
Although the St. Croix Reef National Monument and the St. John Coral Reef National Monument were not mentioned in most media reports, CBS News White House correspondent Bill Plante said Sunday the moratorium instituted by Bush would include any actions taken by Clinton in the past week, including the monument designations.
It is unclear precisely how the monument designation will affect local fishermen, though clearly some restrictions would be expected, and Clinton's 11th-hour action spawned outrage in some quarters.
Delegate Donna Christian Christensen vowed to have the designations reversed through an executive order by Bush. Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen, the V.I. Legislature's White House liaison, said that while she was in Washington, D.C., for Bush's inaugural festivities this weekend she would press the issue with Bush's nominee for secretary of Interior, Gale Norton.
Hansen also called for the federal government to make monetary amends if the monuments remain.
