Redwood Chapter rejoices at President Obama’s announcement that the Berryessa Snow Mountain region will be permanently protected as a national monument, with by far the largest portion here in Redwood Chapter.
Containing three federal Wilderness areas and a Wild and Scenic river, these 330,000 acres of federal public lands are a place of extraordinary biological diversity. Iconic creatures such as tule elk, black bears and bald eagles live there, as do impressive populations of other birds, bats, and dragonflies. Unique assemblages of rare plants make it a biodiversity “hotspot” of global importance. Stretching 100 miles north to south and with altitudinal variation ranging from just above sea level to more than 7000 feet, it offers a landscape level refuge to animals imperiled by climate change.
National monument designation gives this “undiscovered landscape” a name, provides collaborative tools and additional funding sources to the Bureau of Land Management and National Forest Service, augments the region’s recreational potential in ways consistent with good stewardship, and offers financial benefits to surrounding communities: it’s good for the land, good for the people.
Permanent protection has been a top Chapter priority for many years, starting at least as early as January 2008, when Lake Group hosted a town hall forum in Lower Lake that unveiled the public phase of the campaign. Since then we have kept the issue front and center among our membership and hosted numerous gatherings, including a Wilderness 50 celebration in Santa Rosa in 2014 when Congressman Mike Thompson put out the first call for a presidential monument designation.
On this day of jubilation we thank the President, Senators Boxer and Feinstein, Congressmen Thompson, Garamendi and Huffman, State Senators Wolk and McGuire, Assemblymembers Dodd, Wood, and Levine, and all the local elected officials, businesses, organizations and individuals who have made this great objective a reality.