LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Friday President Barack Obama signed a proclamation giving the Berryessa Snow Mountain region national monument status, a designation that proponents say will aid the region's economy through tourism and recreation opportunities.
The new national monument region covers approximately 330,780 acres managed by federal agencies across seven counties – Lake, Colusa, Glenn, Mendocino, Napa, Yolo and Solano – and extends from Berryessa Peak to the eastern boundary of the Yuki Wilderness in Mendocino County. It does not include Lake Berryessa itself.
The map of the new national monument also shows that it encompasses both the Snow Mountain Wilderness and Cache Creek Wilderness areas.
A coalition of groups, individuals and local governments have worked for years to conserve the area, pursuing a congressional designation since 2012.
Congressman Mike Thompson is among those who had worked for the region’s protection.
Earlier this year, Thompson introduced HR 761, which would have designated the region as a national monument. Thompson's office said the benefits of the designation including placing all of the federal lands in the boundary under one management plan, allowing the region to be managed more efficiently and according to the site-specific needs.
However, Obama used his executive power under the Antiquities Act to give the designation instead.
“After years of tireless work by countless numbers of people, the Berryessa Snow Mountain region is finally getting the permanent protection it deserves,” said Thompson, who attended the Friday signing ceremony at the White House. “This national monument designation will provide a boost to our local economy, enhance recreational opportunities for tens of thousands of people, and protect important wildlife.”
He thanked Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and US Sen. Barbara Boxer for their efforts, along with President Obama “for taking action to protect one of America's national treasures."
Lake County's other member of Congress, John Garamendi, also lauded Obama's action, calling it “a victory for local communities, local economies, and the environment.”
Garamendi added, “It will improve management of native wildlife, protect water quality in vital watersheds, and enhance the experience for the area’s numerous visitors.”
In January, Assemblyman Bill Dodd, who represents Lake County in the state Assembly, introduced a resolution petitioning Obama to give the Berryessa Snow Mountain region the national monument designation. It passed the state Legislature in April with bipartisan support and was forwarded to the president.
Dodd’s office said his resolution marked the first time the state of California has formally petitioned the White House for such a designation.
“The designation of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument marks the culmination of a longstanding effort to promote and protect the Berryessa Snow Mountain Wilderness. This is a great win for California and our environment, our local economies, and future generations. President Obama has answered the call of our region and of our state to preserve these lands,” said Dodd.
The national monument and the region
The new Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument is the second largest national monument in California after the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
It's also the first national monument to cross into the boundaries of Lake County, which of the seven counties included in the region contains the largest portion of the new monument’s acreage. Maps of the new monument show it covers close to a third of Lake County’s total land area.
The new designation places Berryessa Snow Mountain among a total of 117 national monument designations across the United State and occupied territories, including celebrated American landmarks as the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty and Muir Woods.
Officials said American Indians have inhabited the Berryessa Snow Mountain area for at least the last 11,000 years, leaving behind seasonal hunting camps and earth-covered round buildings.
Much of the Lake County land included in the monument is located in the mountains above the Northshore, based on the map.
Officials said the national monument designation only pertains to existing federal public lands, and will not affect any private properties or existing water rights.
Of the overall area, 197,214 acres of the new national monument is in the Mendocino National Forest and 133,566 acres is in Bureau of Land Management lands, according to Tamara Schmidt, a spokesperson for the Mendocino National Forest.
Schmidt said both agencies will retain management and responsibility of their respective lands.
“Both agencies will work on a management plan for the new Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument,” Schmidt said. “This planning process will have maximum public involvement, including with tribes, permit holders, ranchers, interested partners and public, as well as state and local governments.”
Jill Ruzicka, public information officer for the county of Lake, said the county has not done a specific study about the potential benefits from the new designation for the local economy.
However, local, state and federal officials point to a study commissioned by the Winters Chamber of Commerce that projects $50 million in additional economic activity in the region due to the designation over the next five years.
Local leaders put their support behind the designation, with the Lake County Board of Supervisors and the Lakeport City Council joining government bodies across the region that voted to support making the region a national monument.
The coalition supporting the national monument designation for the Berryessa Snow Mountain region included the Woodland-based conservation group Tuleyome, which took a leadership role, as well as the California Wilderness Coalition, Conservation Lands Foundation, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club and a host of others.
Trout Unlimited also praised the designation, pointing out that the Berryessa Snow Mountain public lands offer a variety of streams and lakes that support outstanding fishing for trout, bass and other species, and provide hunters a wilderness hunting experience for blacktail deer in the A and popular B-3 deer hunting zones.
The group said trout streams include the trophy trout fishery of Putah Creek – the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's newest designated Wild Trout water – and the headwaters of the Eel River, one of the state’s finest steelhead fisheries. The Middle Fork of Stony Creek in the Snow Mountain Wilderness is also designated Wild Trout water.
“Simply put, hunting and angling depend on healthy habitat. It is our responsibility as sportsmen to protect our wild country on public lands so we can pass this gift on to the next generation,” said David Lass, Trout Unlimited's California field director and campaign manager for the Berryessa Snow Mountain initiative. “Today, President Obama ensured the Berryessa Snow Mountain public lands will remain a great place to hunt and fish.”
Along with Berryessa Snow Mountain, President Obama also gave the national monument designation to the Basin and Range National Monument and Waco Mammoth Site National Monument.
Berryessa Snow Mountain now joins other California national monuments including:
– Muir Woods (T. Roosevelt, 1908; enlarged by Harding, F. Roosevelt and Truman);
– Devils Postpile (Taft, 1911);
– Cabrillo (Wilson, 1913; enlarged by Eisenhower and Ford);
– Lava Beds (Coolidge, 1925; enlarged by Truman);
– California Coastal (Clinton, 2000);
– Giant Sequoia (Clinton, 2000);
– Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains (Clinton, 2000);
– Carrizo Plain (Clinton, 2001);
– Tule Lake Unit of WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument (G.W. Bush, 2008);
– Cesar E. Chavez (Obama, 2012);
– Fort Ord (Obama, 2012);
– Point Arena-Stornetta (Obama, 2014; a unit of the California Coastal National Monument);
– San Gabriel Mountains (Obama, 2014).
With his action on Friday, President Obama has used the 1906 Antiquities Act to create or expand 19 national monuments that include more than 260 acres of public lands and waters.
The White House said Obama is responsible for protecting more lands for future generations than any other US president.
To see the president’s full proclamation, visit https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/07/10/presidential-proclamation-establishment-berryessa-snow-mountain-national .
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