President Barack Obama takes a baseball swing as he arrives for a rally at the G. Richard Pfitzner baseball stadium in Woodbridge, Va., Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
The proclamation signed Friday preserves nearly 5,000 acres of high desert at Chimney Rock, which holds spiritual significance for some tribes. It bars the sale or lease of land by current property owners while protecting existing property rights, giving the government time to acquire private property inside the boundaries.
The president called the monument a national treasure with deep cultural and educational value.
The move has bipartisan support and comes as Obama is locked in a tight race with GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney in the swing state.
Follow us on Twitter!
Why, I wonder, didn't he enlist the help of Elizabeth Warren? hahahahaha