WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is naming five new national monuments, using executive authority to protect historic or ecologically significant sites.

The White House says Obama will make the designations Monday. They are Ro Grande del Norte National Monument in New Mexico; First State National Monument in Delaware; Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument in Maryland; Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Ohio; and San Juan Islands National Monument in Washington state.

The Delaware site, commemorating the state's history and preserving 1,100 acres, is the first step toward creating a national park in Delaware. The project is a longtime priority of Vice President Joe Biden, a former senator from Delaware. His is the only state without a national park.