The outgoing president has been up to some last minute attacks on the environment. That is no surprise to some. However, President Bush’s use of the Antiquities Act to protect a large area of the western Pacific Ocean as a National Monument may also be a surprise to some, and it should be commended. He continues a presidential tradition of using the Act to protect some of the nation’s most spectacular natural and cultural resources. In fact, only three presidents since the passage of the Act in 1906 — Presidents Nixon, Reagan, and George H.W. more