December 17, 2014
This Friday, something very special will happen in Napa, California.
Years of work to build support for an ecological jewel in Northern California will bring it one significant step closer to reasonable, logical and responsible management.
Hundreds of people—farmers, ranchers, hikers, hunters, equestrians and elected officials—will gather to show the nation’s top bosses for federal lands that there is broad support for designating the Berryessa Snow Mountain region the newest national monument.
Unless you live close to the area, it’s very likely you’ve never heard of it. But it’s a place you will want to know about.
I live in Sacramento, only about an hour’s drive away, and learned about the region just two years ago with other Sierra Club staff, thanks to our friends at Tuleyome, a group devoted to protecting this treasure. They took us on a leg-stretching mountain hike that rewarded us with breathtaking views and the kind of high-level silence that’s hard to find so close to cities.
The treasures in this region include rapidly flowing creeks that draw rafters and fly fishers and rugged mountains that create a landscape that biologists have described as some of the most species rich in the state. There are plants and animals that are still thriving here that have disappeared in many other parts of California, including red-legged frogs, western pond turtles, fishers, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and more.
The Berryessa Snow Mountain region spans 100 miles of mountains and valleys located in 5 Northern California Counties—Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Yolo. It includes about 350,000 acres of federal lands, managed by at least three different agencies.
It’s that divided management that makes national monument designation so valuable.
If the region receives that designation, it would improve coordination between federal land management agencies. It would make sure that valuable natural resources, like the headwaters of the Eel River and three major creeks, are protected. It would enhance recreation in the region.
Over the last several years, the White House has granted national monument status to a solid list of important places in the U.S., including three in California. Before designation, the surrounding communities have demonstrated that they are united about the desire for the monument designation.
This Friday, Californians have our chance to express that unity to a cadre of Obama Administration dignitaries, including Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, when they attend a town hall in Napa after they tour part of the Berryessa Snow Mountain lands.
Rep. Mike Thompson has led the charge on federal action to better manage the region and will be there, along with Rep. John Garamendi, who also supports the national monument designation.
The town hall will be held from 2 to 4 p.m., at the Napa Valley College Performing Arts Center, 2277 Napa-Vallejo Hwy, Building 100 in Napa. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Michael Thornton in our Sacramento office.
Most of you don’t live near Napa and won’t be able to make it there for the meeting. But I’m telling you about this because it’s the end of the year and it’s nice at this time of year to share good news. This is really good news that results from years and years of active work by lots of Club volunteers who realized that the Berryessa Snow Mountain area is worth protecting.
Whether or not you can be at Friday’s town hall, add Berryessa Snow Mountain to the places you should hike in California. It’s definitely worthy of the bucket list.
Sincerely,
Kathryn Phillips
Director
Sierra Club California is the Sacramento-based legislative and regulatory advocacy arm of the 13 California chapters of the Sierra Club.
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