Question: What U.S. president first designated the Grand Canyon a national monument, famously declaring that “Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it”?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt designated the Grand Canyon as a national monument on January 11, 1908, using the Antiquities Act to protect over 800,000 acres, calling it “an object of unusual scientific interest, being the greatest eroded canyon within the United States.” Deeply moved during his visits, he urged preservation, famously declaring, “Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it.” Roosevelt’s bold use of executive power paved the way for the canyon’s elevation to national park status in 1919.
