[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 6 (Monday, January 10, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E17]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        BERRYESSA SNOW MOUNTAIN NATIONAL MONUMENT EXPANSION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 10, 2022

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I introduce the ``Berryessa Snow 
Mountain National Monument Expansion Act,'' with Congressman Mike 
Thompson (D-CA05) as the original cosponsor. Our legislation would 
expand the National Monument to include approximately 3,925 acres of 
federal land in Lake County, California; create new co-management 
opportunities with federally recognized tribes; and rename Walker Ridge 
to ``Molok Luyuk,'' meaning Condor Ridge in the Patwin language of 
Native Americans indigenous to the area. It is endorsed by the Lake 
County Board of Supervisors and the Tribal Council of the Yocha Dehe 
Wintun Nation.
  In the 114th Congress, I championed bicameral legislation (H.R. 761/
S. 393) to establish the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, 
with then-Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Congressman Thompson. Our 
legislation would have included the Walker Ridge tract in Lake and 
Colusa Counties, California, administered by the federal Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) within the National Monument's boundary.
  In December 2014, Congressman Thompson and I hosted then-Secretary of 
the Interior Sally Jewell at the Lake Berryessa reservoir, so she could 
view the landscape and hear from local community and tribal leaders 
about the need to permanently conserve this special place. Said 
Secretary Jewell at the time: ``This is a beautiful area with cultural 
history and great opportunities for outdoor recreation and wildlife 
viewing so it's no surprise that the community wants to make sure that 
it is protected and passed on to the next generation.'' In July 2015, 
President Obama issued Presidential Proclamation 9298, designating the 
federal land surrounding Lake Berryessa administered by the BLM and 
U.S. Forest Service as the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.
  The ``Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument Expansion Act'' would 
expand the existing National Monument boundary to include the Lake 
County portion of Walker Ridge, which the legislation renames to Condor 
Ridge (Molok Luyuk). This ridgeline is an extinct volcanic mountain 
range with an unusual ``serpentine'' soil composition supporting a 
trove of rare and beautiful plant species like the adobe lily 
(Fritillaria pluriflora) found only in this part of northern 
California. Other at-risk and protected animal species such as the bald 
eagle, golden eagle, and tule elk also make their home there.
  Our legislation would not affect privately owned, state, tribal, or 
non-federal land. The federal land parcel proposed for inclusion within 
the National Monument does not include acreage of the BLM's Walker 
Ridge tract in Colusa County. Our legislation would also ensure that 
federally recognized tribes--whose ancestors called the National 
Monument home for millennia--have a meaningful role in the land 
stewardship of the National Monument. Finally, our legislation would 
direct the BLM and the Forest Service to complete the management plan 
for the National Monument, which has remained unfinished since 2015.
  Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members of the California delegation 
to join us in cosponsoring this legislation to permanently conserve 
this special place in Lake County. We must protect this unique 
landscape for future generations to enjoy and honor the Native American 
peoples who walked this land well before our country was even founded.

                          ____________________