A New National Monument: Berryessa Snow Mountain

When we work together, we can make mountains into monuments! This week we learned that California’s Berryessa Snow Mountain will be permanently protected for future generations, thanks to the local counties, businesses and more than 65,000 of our members and supporters who have advocated tirelessly to ensure its designation as a national monument!

During his tenure President Obama has designated or enlarged 19 national monuments (including the expansion of the National Marine Monument), and we are ecstatic to count Berryessa Snow Mountain among them. The tradition of national monument designation is a way for our leaders to leave a true and lasting legacy for the American people and our wildlife, and President Obama has continued that tradition by using the authority granted by the Antiquities Act to protect “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures and other objects of historic or scientific interest.”

As I wrote earlier this year, “stretching nearly 100 miles from north to south, the Berryessa Snow Mountain region is a hidden gem of northern California’s wild Inner Coast Ranges, home to a wide variety of California wildlife, including mountain lions, bears, deer, osprey, native trout, bald eagles and elusive Pacific fishers. The region is also teeming with blue oak woodlands, red fir forests, and unique plants found nowhere else on Earth. At least four linguistically distinct Native American tribes lived within the region, with ancient archaeological sites included on the National Register of Historic Places.”

It has been a long road to recognition for this unique cultural and ecological wonder, but well worth every step. After years of dedicated campaigning by advocates for permanent protection of Berryessa Snow Mountain, in 2012 California lawmakers first introduced a bill in Congress that would designate the region as a National Conservation Area. Despite the ecological, recreational and economic benefits of the region, however, its future was uncertain due to increased threats from climate change and development and inaction by Congress. But now we can breathe a sigh of relief and gratitude knowing that President Obama has recognized and permanently protected this distinctive area as a national monument for Americans to enjoy for generations to come.