Boxer Urges President Obama to Designate Berryessa Snow Mountain As National Monument

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) on Friday urged the Obama Administration to use its executive authority to designate the Berryessa-Snow Mountain region as a National Monument.

A public meeting about the future of the area took take place in Napa with federal, state and local officials including Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, USDA Under Secretary Robert Bonnie, Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA5) and John Garamendi (D-CA3), and Lake County Supervisor Denise Rushing.

[Previous: Your Thoughts On ‘Permanent Protection’ for Berryessa Snow Mountain.]

“This region is one of the most biologically diverse, yet least known regions of California,” Senator Boxer said in a statement. “By raising its profile, a Monument designation will boost tourism and increase business opportunities in the region’s gateway communities.”

Senator Boxer first introduced legislation with Congressman Thompson to provide the Berryessa-Snow Mountain region with additional protections in 2012.

“The Berryessa Snow Mountain Region is a natural treasure at the heart of the 3rd District. This region’s rugged beauty helps sustain outdoor recreation businesses, serves as a valuable source of water, and provides critical habitats for our wildlife,” Congressman Garamendi said. “It was vitally important to hear from our friends and neighbors in the community on how we can best preserve Berryessa Snow Mountain now and into the future. I look forward to translating these ideas into sound public policy.”

“Protecting the Berryessa Snow Mountain region will help boost tourism, grow the local economy, improve recreation opportunities and protect important species found nowhere else on earth,” said Congressman Thompson.

“That is why I’ve proposed legislation that would permanently safeguard this important region. However, Congress has refused to consider this bill. If Congress won’t act, then I look forward to continuing to work with Secretary Jewell, Undersecretary Bonnie and the Obama Administration on plans to permanently protect the Berryessa Snow Mountain region as a national monument,” he said.

Congressmen Garamendi is the leading cosponsor of Congressman Thompson’s H.R. 1025, the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area Act, legislation that would establish the Berryessa-Snow Mountain National Conservation Area.

They were also joined by USDA Undersecretary for Environment and Natural Resources Robert Bonnie and Chief of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Tom Tidewell.

H.R. 1025 would conserve and enhance scenic, recreational and culturally significant lands and waters that are managed by Interior’s Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation, as well as lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service, under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The legislation includes protections for 350,000 acres of land including three federally-recognized wilderness areas, Lake Berryessa, Berryessa Peak and other key areas.

As part of their visit, Congressmen Thompson took Jewell, USDA officials, and other state and local community members to portions of the proposed national conservation area within BLM’s Cache Creek Wilderness.

The 27,245-acre wilderness contains spectacular scenery, including steep canyons, scenic rivers, rolling oak woodlands and elaborate springtime wildflower displays.

The Berryessa Snow Mountain region provides significant recreation opportunities for people in the 3rd District and nearby San Francisco and Sacramento metropolitan areas, as well as visitors from around the world. The area contains opportunities for hiking, camping, boating, fishing, mountain biking, off-highway vehicle use and other types of recreation.

The area is known as a botanical ‘hotspot’ for its rich diversity of plant species like the Sargent’s cypress and serpentine willow and provides habitat for dozens of iconic California birds and animals including bald and golden eagles, black bears, mountain lions and herds of wild tule elk.

The landscape rises from near sea level in the south to over 7,000 feet in the north, supporting such diverse ecosystems as the blue oak woodlands near Putah Creek in the south and the sub-alpine habitat within the Snow Mountain Wilderness.

Boxer’s full statement, which was read at the Napa meeting, is below:

Madame Secretary, Under Secretary Bonnie, Congressmen Thompson and Garamendi, special guests, and members of the panel. First, I want to thank you for coming here today to hear from those who care the most about this wonderful part of the Golden State. I was pleased to introduce the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area Act, a companion to Congressman Mike Thompson’s legislation to bring heightened protections to this region. I thank him for his tireless work he has done in advancing this initiative.

Our legislation protects over 300,000 acres of public lands in Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Yolo Counties as National Conservation Area - as this area is a haven for hiking, camping, rafting, and horseback riding, and is home to a diverse array of unique plant life and wildlife including black bears and bald eagles. A National Monument designation by President Obama would recognize the national importance of these lands while at the same time fulfill the goals of our legislation. I strongly support and urge the President to proclaim this area a National Monument.

All of the areas under consideration are federally-owned and managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Forest Service. A National Monument designation will require multi-agency coordination on wildlife preservation, habitat restoration, and recreational opportunities. Creation of the National Monument will also help the agencies take a more coordinated approach to preventing and fighting wildfires, combating invasive species, and water pollution.

By unifying these individual places under one banner, a National Monument helps put the Berryessa Snow Mountain region on the map as a destination for new visitors. This region is one of the most biologically diverse, yet least known regions of California. By raising its profile, a Monument designation will boost tourism and increase business opportunities in the region’s gateway communities. Additionally, the region will become recognized by more people as uniform signage and publications are created to reach a wider audience.

Creation of this proposed National Monument has strong support from a large coalition of local governments, elected officials, business owners, landowners, farmers, private individuals, and many conservation and outdoor industry groups. This impressive grassroots effort of concerned citizens taking the initiative to care for the beautiful areas in their communities shows the best in public involvement in the future of their public lands’ future, and I am proud to support their work and commitment. I particularly applaud Tuleyome, a local nonprofit active in protecting wilderness and agriculture in the western Sacramento Valley and Inner Coast Range, for their leadership on this effort. They have worked with an incredibly diverse collection of people who deeply care about this very important part of our natural heritage. I also want to commend the people who work for the BLM, Forest Service and the Bureau of Reclamation, whose job it is every day to watch over, manage, and protect these lands.

Again, I want to convey my strong support for this effort, and I urge the President to establish the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, as it so richly deserves heightened national status.

--Information courtesy of Rep. John Garamendi and Boxer Press Office

--Photo courtesy of Berryessa Snow Mountain on Facebook.