[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 114 (Tuesday, June 13, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 37253-37257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15111]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 114 / Tuesday, June 13, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 37253]]


                Proclamation 7319 of June 9, 2000

                
Establishment of the Hanford Reach National 
                Monument

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                The Hanford Reach National Monument is a unique and 
                biologically diverse landscape, encompassing an array 
                of scientific and historic objects. This magnificent 
                area contains an irreplaceable natural and historic 
                legacy, preserved by unusual circumstances. Maintained 
                as a buffer area in a Federal reservation conducting 
                nuclear weapons development and, more recently, 
                environmental cleanup activities, with limits on 
                development and human use for the past 50 years, the 
                monument is now a haven for important and increasingly 
                scarce objects of scientific and historic interest. 
                Bisected by the stunning Hanford Reach of the Columbia 
                River, the monument contains the largest remnant of the 
                shrub-steppe ecosystem that once blanketed the Columbia 
                River Basin. The monument is also one of the few 
                remaining archaeologically rich areas in the western 
                Columbia Plateau, containing well-preserved remnants of 
                human history spanning more than 10,000 years. The 
                monument is equally rich in geologic history, with 
                dramatic landscapes that reveal the creative forces of 
                tectonic, volcanic, and erosive power.

                The monument is a biological treasure, embracing 
                important riparian, aquatic, and upland shrub-steppe 
                habitats that are rare or in decline in other areas. 
                Within its mosaic of habitats, the monument supports a 
                wealth of increasingly uncommon native plant and animal 
                species, the size and diversity of which is unmatched 
                in the Columbia Basin. Migrating salmon, birds, and 
                hundreds of other native plant and animal species rely 
                on its natural ecosystems.

                The monument includes the 51-mile long ``Hanford 
                Reach,'' the last free-flowing, nontidal stretch of the 
                Columbia River. The Reach contains islands, riffles, 
                gravel bars, oxbow ponds, and backwater sloughs that 
                support some of the most productive spawning areas in 
                the Northwest, where approximately 80 percent of the 
                upper Columbia Basin's fall chinook salmon spawn. It 
                also supports healthy runs of naturally-spawning 
                sturgeon and other highly-valued fish species. The loss 
                of other spawning grounds on the Columbia and its 
                tributaries has increased the importance of the Hanford 
                Reach for fisheries.

                The monument contains one of the last remaining large 
                blocks of shrub-steppe ecosystems in the Columbia River 
                Basin, supporting an unusually high diversity of native 
                plant and animal species. A large number of rare and 
                sensitive plant species are found dispersed throughout 
                the monument. A recent inventory resulted in the 
                discovery of two plant species new to science, the 
                Umtanum desert buckwheat and the White Bluffs 
                bladderpod. Fragile microbiotic crusts, themselves of 
                biological interest, are well developed in the monument 
                and play an important role in stabilizing soils and 
                providing nutrients to plants.

                The monument contains significant breeding populations 
                of nearly all steppe and shrub-steppe dependent birds, 
                including the loggerhead shrike, the sage sparrow, the 
                sage thrasher, and the ferruginous hawk. The Hanford 
                Reach and surrounding wetlands provide important stop-
                over habitat for migratory birds, as well as habitat 
                for many resident species. The area is important 
                wintering habitat for bald eagles, white pelicans, and 
                many species of waterfowl such as mallards, green-
                winged teal, pintails, goldeneye, gadwall, and

[[Page 37254]]

                buffleheads. The monument's bluff habitats provide 
                valuable nesting sites for several bird species, 
                including prairie falcons, and important perch sites 
                for raptors such as peregrine falcons.

                Many species of mammals are also found within the 
                monument, including elk, beaver, badgers, and bobcats. 
                Insect populations, though less conspicuous, include 
                species that have been lost elsewhere due to habitat 
                conversion, fragmentation, and application of 
                pesticides. A recent biological inventory uncovered 41 
                species and 2 subspecies of insects new to science and 
                many species not before identified in the State of 
                Washington. Such rich and diverse insect populations 
                are important to supporting the fauna in the monument.

                In addition to its vital biological resources, the 
                monument contains significant geological and 
                paleontological objects. The late-Miocene to late-
                Pliocene Ringold Formation, known as the White Bluffs, 
                was formed from river and lake sediments deposited by 
                the ancestral Columbia River and its tributaries. These 
                striking cliffs form the eastern bank of the Columbia 
                for nearly half of the length of the Reach, and are 
                significant for the mammalian fossils that they 
                contain. Fossil remains from rhinoceros, camel, and 
                mastodon, among others, have been found within these 
                bluffs.

                The Hanford Dune Field, located on the western shore of 
                the Columbia in the southeastern part of the monument, 
                is also of geologic significance. This active area of 
                migrating barchan dunes and partially stabilized 
                transverse dunes rises 10 to 16 feet above the ground, 
                creating sandy habitats ranging from 2 to several 
                hundred acres in size.

                The monument also contains important archaeological and 
                historic information. More than 10,000 years of human 
                activity in this largely arid environment have left 
                extensive archaeological deposits. Areas upland from 
                the river show evidence of concentrated human activity, 
                and recent surveys indicate extensive use of arid 
                lowlands for hunting. Hundreds of prehistoric 
                archaeological sites have been recorded, including the 
                remains of pithouses, graves, spirit quest monuments, 
                hunting camps, game drive complexes, quarries, and 
                hunting and kill sites. A number of Native American 
                groups still have cultural ties to the monument. The 
                monument also contains some historic structures and 
                other remains from more recent human activities, 
                including homesteads from small towns established along 
                the riverbanks in the early 20th century.

                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 Hanford Reach 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 Hanford Reach 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 
                ``Hanford Reach National Monument'' attached to and 
                forming a part of this proclamation. The Federal land 
                and interests in land reserved consist of approximately 
                195,000 acres, which is the smallest area compatible 
                with the proper care and management of the objects to 
                be protected.

[[Page 37255]]

                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, or 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.

                For the purpose of protecting the objects identified 
                above, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 
                of Energy shall prohibit all motorized and mechanized 
                vehicle use off road, except for emergency or other 
                federally authorized purposes, including remediation 
                purposes. There is hereby reserved, as of the date of 
                this proclamation and subject to valid existing rights, 
                a quantity of water in the Columbia River 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.

                For the purpose of protecting the objects identified 
                above, the Secretary of the Interior shall prohibit 
                livestock grazing.

                The monument shall be managed by the U.S. Fish and 
                Wildlife Service under existing agreements with the 
                Department of Energy, except that the Department of 
                Energy shall manage the lands within the monument that 
                are not subject to management agreements with the 
                Service, and in developing any management plans and 
                rules and regulations governing the portions of the 
                monument for which the Department of Energy has 
                management responsibility, the Secretary of Energy 
                shall consult with the Secretary of the Interior.

                As the Department of Energy and the U.S. Fish and 
                Wildlife Service determine that lands within the 
                monument managed by the Department of Energy become 
                suitable for management by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
                Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will assume 
                management by agreement with the Department of Energy. 
                All agreements between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
                Service and the Department of Energy shall be 
                consistent with the provisions of this proclamation.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall affect the 
                responsibility of the Department of Energy under 
                environmental laws, including the remediation of 
                hazardous substances or the restoration of natural 
                resources at the Hanford facility; nor affect the 
                Department of Energy's statutory authority to control 
                public access or statutory responsibility to take other 
                measures for environmental remediation, monitoring, 
                security, safety, or emergency preparedness purposes; 
                nor affect any Department of Energy activities on lands 
                not included within the monument.

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

                Nothing in this proclamation shall enlarge or diminish 
                the rights of any Indian tribe.

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

                Nothing in this proclamation shall interfere with the 
                operation and maintenance of existing facilities of the 
                Columbia Basin Reclamation Project, the Federal 
                Columbia River Transmission System, or other existing 
                utility services that are located within the monument. 
                Existing Federal Columbia River Transmission System 
                facilities located within the monument may be replaced, 
                modified and expanded, and new facilities constructed 
                within the monument, as authorized by other applicable 
                law. Such replacement, modification, expansion, or 
                construction of new facilities shall be carried out in 
                a manner consistent with proper care and management of 
                the objects of this proclamation, to be determined in 
                accordance with the management arrangements previously 
                set out in this proclamation.

[[Page 37256]]

                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 
                ninth day of June, 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] TD13JN00.003


[FR Doc. 00-15111
Filed 6-12-00; 10:47 am]

Billing code 3195-01-C
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