[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 2817-2820]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-1294]



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Part VII





The President





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Proclamation 7263--Establishment of the Agua Fria National Monument



Proclamation 7264--Establishment of the California Coastal National 
Monument



Proclamation 7265--Establishment of the Grand Canyon-Parashant National 
Monument



Proclamation 7266--Boundary Enlargement of the Pinnacles National 
Monument
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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 18, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

 ___________________________________________________________________

 Title 3--
 The President

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                Proclamation 7263 of January 11, 2000

                
Establishment of the Agua Fria National Monument

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                The windswept, grassy mesas and formidable canyons of 
                Agua Fria National Monument embrace an extraordinary 
                array of scientific and historic resources. The ancient 
                ruins within the monument, with their breathtaking 
                vistas and spectacular petroglyphs, provide a link to 
                the past, offering insights into the lives of the 
                peoples who once inhabited this part of the desert 
                Southwest. The area's architectural features and 
                artifacts are tangible objects that can help 
                researchers reconstruct the human past. Such objects 
                and, more importantly, the spatial relationships among 
                them, provide outstanding opportunities for 
                archeologists to study the way humans interacted with 
                one another, neighboring groups, and with the 
                environment that sustained them in prehistoric times.

                The monument contains one of the most significant 
                systems of late prehistoric sites in the American 
                Southwest. Between A.D. 1250 and 1450, its pueblo 
                communities were populated by up to several thousand 
                people. During this time, many dwelling locations in 
                the Southwest were abandoned and groups became 
                aggregated in a relatively small number of densely 
                populated areas. The monument encompasses one of the 
                best examples of these areas, containing important 
                archeological evidence that is crucial to understanding 
                the cultural, social, and economic processes that 
                accompanied this period of significant change.

                At least 450 prehistoric sites are known to exist 
                within the monument and there are likely many more. 
                There are at least four major settlements within the 
                area, including Pueblo La Plata, Pueblo Pato, the Baby 
                Canyon Ruin group, and the Lousy Canyon group. These 
                consist of clusters of stone-masonry pueblos, some 
                containing at least 100 rooms. These settlements are 
                typically situated at the edges of steep canyons, and 
                offer a panorama of ruins, distinctive rock art panels, 
                and visually spectacular settings.

                Many intact petroglyph sites within the monument 
                contain rock art symbols pecked into the surfaces of 
                boulders and cliff faces. The sites range from single 
                designs on boulders to cliffs covered with hundreds of 
                geometric and abstract symbols. Some of the most 
                impressive sites are associated with major pueblos, 
                such as Pueblo Pato.

                The monument holds an extraordinary record of 
                prehistoric agricultural features, including extensive 
                terraces bounded by lines of rocks and other types of 
                landscape modifications. The agricultural areas, as 
                well as other sites, reflect the skills of ancient 
                residents at producing and obtaining food supplies 
                sufficient to sustain a population of several thousand 
                people.

                The monument also contains historic sites representing 
                early Anglo-American history through the 19th century, 
                including remnants of Basque sheep camps, historic 
                mining features, and military activities.

                In addition to its rich record of human history, the 
                monument contains other objects of scientific interest. 
                This expansive mosaic of semi-desert grassland, cut by 
                ribbons of valuable riparian forest, is an outstanding 
                biological resource. The diversity of vegetative 
                communities, topographical features,

[[Page 2818]]

                and relative availability of water provide habitat for 
                a wide array of sensitive wildlife species, including 
                the lowland leopard frog, the Mexican garter snake, the 
                common black hawk, and the desert tortoise. Other 
                wildlife is abundant and diverse, including pronghorn, 
                mule deer, and white-tail deer. Javelina, mountain 
                lions, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and 
                neotropical migratory birds also inhabit the area. Elk 
                and black bear are present, but less abundant. Four 
                species of native fish, including the longfin dace, the 
                Gila mountain sucker, the Gila chub, and the speckled 
                dace, exist in the Agua Fria River and its tributaries.

                Section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 
                U.S.C. 431) authorizes the President, in his 
                discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic 
                landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and 
                other objects of historic or scientific interest that 
                are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the 
                Government of the United States to be national 
                monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof parcels of 
                land, the limits of which in all cases shall be 
                confined to the smallest area compatible with the 
                proper care and management of the objects to be 
                protected.

                WHEREAS it appears that it would be in the public 
                interest to reserve such lands as a national monument 
                to be known as the Agua Fria National Monument:

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by the authority vested in me 
                by section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 
                16 U.S.C. 431), do proclaim that there are hereby set 
                apart and reserved as the Agua Fria National Monument, 
                for the purpose of protecting the objects identified 
                above, all lands and interests in lands owned or 
                controlled by the United States within the boundaries 
                of the area described on the map entitled ``Agua Fria 
                National Monument'' attached to and forming a part of 
                this proclamation. The Federal land and interests in 
                land reserved consist of approximately 71,100 acres, 
                which is the smallest area compatible with the proper 
                care and management of the objects to be protected.

                For the purpose of protecting the objects identified 
                above, all motorized and mechanized vehicle use off 
                road will be prohibited, except for emergency or 
                authorized administrative purposes.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge 
                or diminish the jurisdiction of the State of Arizona 
                with respect to fish and wildlife management.

                The establishment of this monument is subject to valid 
                existing rights.

                All Federal lands and interests in lands within the 
                boundaries of this monument are hereby appropriated and 
                withdrawn from all forms of entry, location, selection, 
                sale, leasing, or other disposition under the public 
                land laws, including but not limited to withdrawal from 
                location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and 
                from disposition under all laws relating to mineral and 
                geothermal leasing, other than by exchange that 
                furthers the protective purposes of the monument. Lands 
                and interests in lands within the proposed monument not 
                owned by the United States shall be reserved as a part 
                of the monument upon acquisition of title thereto by 
                the United States.

                There is hereby reserved, as of the date of this 
                proclamation and subject to valid existing rights, a 
                quantity of water sufficient to fulfill the purposes 
                for which this monument is established. Nothing in this 
                reservation shall be construed as a relinquishment or 
                reduction of any water use or rights reserved or 
                appropriated by the United States on or before the date 
                of this proclamation.

                The Secretary of the Interior shall manage the monument 
                through the Bureau of Land Management, pursuant to 
                applicable legal authorities, to implement the purposes 
                of this proclamation.

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                Laws, regulations, and policies followed by the Bureau 
                of Land Management in issuing and administering grazing 
                leases on all lands under its jurisdiction shall 
                continue to apply with regard to the lands in the 
                monument.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to revoke 
                any existing withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation; 
                however, the national monument shall be the dominant 
                reservation.

                Warning is hereby given to all unauthorized persons not 
                to appropriate, injure, destroy, or remove any feature 
                of this monument and not to locate or settle upon any 
                of the lands thereof.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eleventh day of January, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand, and of the Independence of the United States 
                of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

Billing code 3195-01-P

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TD18JA00.025


[FR Doc. 00-1294
Filed 1-14-00; 10:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-C