Vilsack, Jewell praise monument designation of Berryessa Snow Mountain in California
July 13, 2015 |11:35 AM
Berryessa Peak in the new Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in northern California. (Andrew Fulks)
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Friday praised President Barack Obama’s designation of Berryessa Snow Mountain in California as a national monument.
“The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument strikes a unique balance between Northern California’s urban environments of Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area, and the wild, remote landscapes that surround the farms, ranches, orchards and vineyards that nourish our nation,” Vilsack said in a news release.“The president’s proclamation today will ensure that these lands will continue to be a sustainable, working landscape that supports local economies and critical resources like fresh water, grazing lands, and habitat for important plant, fish and wildlife species.”
“Today’s action honors more than a decade of work by the local community to protect this beautiful landscape,” Jewell said in the joint release with Vilsack.
The new 330,780-acre monument comprises federal lands from Berryessa Peak and other land near Lake Berryessa in Napa, Yolo, and Solano counties through Lake, Colusa, and Glenn counties to the eastern boundary of the Yuki Wilderness in Mendocino County.
It is now the second largest national monument in California, after the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, the news release said. The monument does not include Lake Berryessa itself, which will continue to be managed as a recreation area by the Bureau of Reclamation.
In December, Jewell, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell and USDA Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment Robert Bonnie visited the at the request of Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., to hear from the community about their vision for conservation in the region, the news release said.
The region's proximity to Sacramento, San Francisco, and Santa Rosa make the area a recreation spot for millions of Northern California residents. Studies estimate an increase in visitors could bring up to $26 million in new economic activity and $500,000 in tax revenue to local economies during the next five years.
The area contains one of the greatest concentrations of biodiversity in California, and is home to threatened and endangered plant and wildlife species including northern spotted owls, marten and fisher, USDA and Interior said. California Coastal chinook salmon and Northern California steelhead spawn in the area's waterways, they added.
“The proclamation allows for continued historic uses of the area, including hunting, fishing and livestock grazing, which will be managed under existing rules and regulations. The designation does not alter or affect valid water rights, rights of way, or existing special use permits or commercial activities, as long as they are consistent with the care and management of the objects and resources protected by the designation,” the two departments said.
Republicans have criticized the president’s use of the 1906 Antiquities Act to establish or expand 19 monuments, but in his announcement Obama said, “One of the wonderful things about our use of the Antiquities Act is we’ve had the opportunity to engage local communities consistently throughout this process — businesses, residents, people who are profoundly attached to the land.”
“And as a consequence, the local communities have huge buy-in to these things and are absolutely confident that not only is it going to be a real economic spur in these areas but it's also going to be able to preserve everything that they love about the places where they live.”
