[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 135 (Wednesday, July 15, 2015)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 41975-41981]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17560]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 135 / Wednesday, July 15, 2015 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 41975]]


                Proclamation 9298 of July 10, 2015

                
Establishment of the Berryessa Snow Mountain 
                National Monument

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                The Berryessa Snow Mountain area is the heart of 
                northern California's wild Inner Coast Range. Once 
                covered by ocean waters, it is a landscape shaped by 
                geologic forces of staggering power overlain with 
                bountiful but fragile biodiversity. Anchored in the 
                north by Snow Mountain's remote forests and in the 
                south by scenic Berryessa Mountain, this area stretches 
                through unbroken wildlands and important wildlife 
                corridors, a mosaic of native grasslands, picturesque 
                oak woodlands, rare wetlands, and wild chaparral.

                Home to the headwaters of the Eel River, and the Stony, 
                Cache, and Putah creeks, Berryessa's waters are a 
                crucial element of this landscape and a vital link to 
                the water supply for millions of people. This dramatic 
                and diverse landscape is a biological hotspot providing 
                refuge for rare plant and animal species and showcasing 
                the human history of north-central California.

                Native Americans have inhabited these lands for at 
                least the last 11,000 years. Many tribes, including the 
                Yuki, Nomlaki, Patwin, Pomo, Huchnom, Wappo, and Lake 
                Miwok, and Wintum all played a role in the history of 
                this region, one of the most linguistically diverse in 
                California.

                The region's abundant natural resources helped to shape 
                these distinct cultures. Early inhabitants subsisted 
                upon protein-rich acorns in addition to seed and nut 
                crops cultivated through traditional burning practices. 
                Obsidian, chert, and basalt provided important source 
                material for tool production, such as flaked tools and 
                projectile points. The inhabitants also processed and 
                produced both shell and magnesite beads, which they 
                traded with other tribes.

                Dense with cultural resources, the Berryessa Snow 
                Mountain area contains a range of ancient settlements 
                from mineral collection sites, and seasonal hunting and 
                gathering camps in the high country, to major villages 
                with subterranean, earth-covered round buildings in the 
                lowlands. In addition to trade routes winding through 
                the hills and mountains, the area is rich with sites 
                that tell the story of early Native peoples: chert 
                quarries where stone was gathered to make tools, task 
                sites where tools were re-sharpened during hunting 
                excursions, food sites where acorn and seeds were 
                ground on large grindstones, and areas with pitted 
                boulder petroglyphs where individuals illustrated their 
                life experiences. The Cache Creek Archeological 
                District, designated on the National Register of 
                Historic Places, illustrates the area's archeological 
                importance.

                In the early 19th century, both Spanish and Mexican 
                expeditions explored the region, as did fur trappers 
                for the Hudson Bay Company. These explorers and 
                trappers were often just brief visitors to this 
                landscape, but their explorations and documentation 
                opened the region to further European-American 
                settlement by providing information about conditions, 
                resources, and geography. This later settlement began 
                during the 1840s gold rush. Farming

[[Page 41976]]

                in the region was limited due to the difficult terrain 
                and soils, while cattle and sheep ranching were much 
                more profitable.

                From the mid to late 1800s, many small sawmills 
                operated within the forests of the area. The restored 
                1860s-era Nye homestead cabin, the historic Prather 
                Mill, and remnants of associated railroad logging 
                operations are tangible reminders of these historic 
                uses. Around the turn of the 20th century, the mineral-
                laden waters and hot springs of the area attracted 
                visitors to resorts and spas advertising their 
                therapeutic benefits. Remains of the foundations of the 
                mineral spring resorts at Bartlett Springs can be 
                spotted by observant visitors today.

                Native populations were displaced by the European-
                American settlement and development of the region in 
                the early to mid-1800s. Many traditional hunting and 
                gathering grounds were converted to grazing and logging 
                and new diseases brought into the area spread to the 
                Native people, greatly impacting the local Native 
                populations and pushing them off of their homelands. 
                Nevertheless, the region's landscape and resources 
                retain deep cultural significance for modern Native 
                communities, including roughly two dozen federally 
                recognized tribes.

                The Berryessa Snow Mountain area tells a dynamic 
                geologic story. A relic of ancient times, scientists 
                theorize that Snow Mountain formed as an underwater 
                mountain during the Jurassic Period, 145-199 million 
                years ago. Much of the region is prone to landslides 
                due to weak and pervasively fractured rock, resulting 
                in a diverse topography, including sag ponds and 
                springs, with important values for wildlife and plants. 
                The seismically active Bartlett Springs fault zone has 
                remarkable features including hot springs and geologic 
                outliers with marine invertebrate fossils dating to the 
                Cretaceous Period and Cenozoic Era. The area has two 
                important tension-crack caves, likely also created by 
                landslides. These are classified as significant under 
                the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988 and 
                provide habitat for the Townsend's big-eared bat.

                Rising from near sea-level in the south to over 7,000 
                feet in the mountainous north, and stretching across 
                100 miles and dozens of ecosystems, the area's species 
                richness is among the highest in California. This 
                internationally recognized biodiversity hotspot is 
                located at the juncture between California's Klamath, 
                North Coast, and Sacramento Vallejo ecoregions and 
                provides vital habitat and migration corridors for 
                diverse wildlife, including several endemic plant and 
                animal species.

                The Berryessa Snow Mountain area is notable for its 
                significant concentration of serpentine soils arising 
                from frequent seismic activity and influence from 
                ancient oceans. Serpentine, California's State rock, is 
                formed from the clashing, subduction, and rising of 
                massive geologic forces, and can be found in 
                significant quantity in the area. These soils lack the 
                nutrients most plants need and often contain heavy 
                metals toxic to many plants, resulting in plants that 
                are unique and endemic to this region. Serpentine 
                outcrops in the area have been the subject of a great 
                deal of botanical, ecological, and evolutionary 
                research, and hold promise for future scientific 
                explorations. Many serpentine plants are listed as 
                rare, sensitive, or threatened under Federal or State 
                law. Examples are: the endemic bent-flowered fiddleneck 
                and brittlescale, the Brewer's jewelflower, Purdy's 
                fringed onion, musk brush, serpentine sunflower, bare 
                monkeyflower, Indian Valley brodiaea, Red Mountain 
                catchfly, and Snow Mountain buckwheat, along with 
                numerous other herbs such as the Lake County stonecrop, 
                coastal bluff morning glory, Cobb Mountain lupine, 
                Contra Costa goldfields, and Napa western flax. There 
                are also plant species that are near-endemics and 
                almost entirely restricted to serpentine soils, such as 
                MacNab cypress, leather oak, swamp larkspur, and 
                Purdy's fritillary.

                The Berryessa Snow Mountain area is replete with wild 
                and unique landscapes and climatic micro-regions. These 
                include Cedar Roughs, an important refuge for black 
                bear and a 3,000-acre stand of endemic Sargent's 
                cypress

[[Page 41977]]

                trees. Cache Creek, a California Wild and Scenic River, 
                provides an exceptional, intact riparian habitat and 
                one of the largest wintering populations of bald eagles 
                in the State. Remnants of the grassland prairies that 
                once covered much of interior California still exist at 
                Upper Cache Creek, where there are stands of native 
                grasses with creeping wild rye and meadow barley, and 
                some smaller relict patches of upland bunchgrass.

                The 6,000-foot Goat Mountain is home to highly unusual 
                plant assemblages that have created one of the most 
                diverse butterfly regions in California. The Hale Ridge 
                Research Natural Area hosts an important stand of 
                knobcone pine. The ecological sky island of the 7,000-
                foot Snow Mountain serves as important habitat to a 
                number of key plant and animal species.

                The headwaters of the Bear Creek Watershed are a 
                particularly excellent example of the area's 
                serpentinite-based endemism and biodiversity with over 
                450 plant species, including a magnificent array of 
                wildflowers, along with cypress, manzanita, and willow. 
                Nearly half of California's 108 species of dragonfly 
                and damselfly are found here, as well as 16 reptiles 
                and amphibians, 6 rare insects, and 80 species of 
                butterflies. This area has been an important focus of 
                scientific studies on climate change, including studies 
                of range shifts and isolated populations of species 
                during Pleistocene changes in climate, and on post-fire 
                succession.

                The Berryessa Snow Mountain area's wide variety of 
                elevations, many streams, ponds, and rivers as well as 
                diverse plant communities provide excellent habitat for 
                fish, wildlife, and amphibians. The streams and creeks 
                in the Berryessa Snow Mountain area have served as 
                centers for scientific research on hydrology and 
                riparian ecosystems for decades. The riparian habitat 
                linking the Sacramento River, Putah Creek, and Cache 
                Creek provides a home for native birds such as the 
                spotted sandpiper and the rare tricolored blackbird.

                Waterways in the area harbor several native fish, 
                including Pacific lamprey, western brook lamprey, 
                rainbow trout, California roach, Sacramento pikeminnow, 
                speckled dace, hardhead minnow, Clear Lake hitch, 
                Sacramento sucker, and prickly and riffle sculpins. The 
                area also provides historic habitat for coastal chinook 
                salmon, Northern California steelhead, and California 
                Central Valley steelhead.

                Ponds and seeps throughout the area provide rare 
                aquatic habitat for important plants like eelgrass 
                pondweed, few-flowered navarretia, marsh checkerbloom, 
                and Boggs Lake hedge-hyssop. This aquatic habitat is 
                also home to amphibious species like the foothill 
                yellow-legged frog, California red-legged frog, 
                California newt, Pacific tree frog, western toad, and 
                the northwestern pond turtle.

                Numerous reptiles live in the Berryessa Snow Mountain 
                area, including the St. Helena mountain king snake, 
                western fence lizard, western skink, western whiptail, 
                alligator lizard, gopher snake, common king snake, 
                rubber boa, common garter snake, western terrestrial 
                garter snake, western aquatic garter snake, and the 
                northern Pacific rattlesnake.

                Many large and small mammals co-exist in this diverse 
                landscape, such as Tule elk, bobcats, mountain lions, 
                black bears, mule deer, beaver, river otter, Pacific 
                fishers, American badgers, Humboldt martens, and the 
                San Joaquin pocket mouse. Most of the animal species in 
                the area have special State or Federal status as 
                sensitive, at-risk or threatened.

                Raptors such as burrowing owls, prairie falcon, 
                peregrine falcon, northern goshawk, and bald and golden 
                eagles live and hunt throughout the upland areas. The 
                Berryessa Snow Mountain area also serves as an 
                important migratory corridor for neotropical birds and 
                is home to a plethora of bat and insect species, 
                including the threatened valley elderberry longhorn 
                beetle and the vulnerable pallid bat, western sulphur 
                butterfly, gray marble butterfly, Muir's hairstreak, 
                and Lindsay's skipper.

[[Page 41978]]

                The protection of the Berryessa Snow Mountain area will 
                preserve its prehistoric and historic legacy and 
                maintain its diverse array of scientific resources, 
                ensuring that the prehistoric, historic, and scientific 
                values remain for the benefit of all Americans. Today, 
                the area is important for ranching and also provides 
                outdoor recreation opportunities, including hunting, 
                fishing, hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding 
                to a burgeoning population center.

                WHEREAS, section 320301 of title 54, United States Code 
                (known as the ``Antiquities Act''), 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 Federal Government to be 
                national monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof 
                parcels of land, the limits of which shall be confined 
                to the smallest area compatible with the proper care 
                and management of the objects to be protected;

                WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to preserve the 
                objects of scientific and historic interest on the 
                lands of the Berryessa Snow Mountain area;

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by the authority vested in me 
                by section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, 
                hereby proclaim the objects identified above that are 
                situated upon lands and interests in lands owned or 
                controlled by the Federal Government to be the 
                Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument (monument) 
                and, for the purpose of protecting those objects, 
                reserve as part thereof all lands and interests in 
                lands owned or controlled by the Federal Government 
                within the boundaries described on the accompanying 
                map, which is attached to and forms a part of this 
                proclamation. These reserved Federal lands and 
                interests in lands encompass approximately 330,780 
                acres. The boundaries described on the accompanying map 
                are confined to the smallest area compatible with the 
                proper care and management of the objects to be 
                protected.

                All Federal lands and interests in lands within the 
                boundaries described on the accompanying map are hereby 
                appropriated and withdrawn from all forms of entry, 
                location, selection, sale, or other disposition under 
                the public land laws or laws applicable to the U.S. 
                Forest Service, 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 facilitates the remediation, 
                monitoring, or reclamation of historic mining 
                operations under applicable law or otherwise furthers 
                the protective purposes of the monument.

                The establishment of the monument is subject to valid 
                existing rights. If the Federal Government acquires any 
                lands or interests in lands not owned or controlled by 
                the Federal Government within the boundaries of the 
                monument, such lands and interests in lands shall be 
                reserved as a part of the monument, and objects 
                identified above that are situated upon those lands and 
                interests in lands shall be part of the monument, upon 
                acquisition of ownership or control by the Federal 
                Government.

                The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the 
                Interior (Secretaries) shall manage the monument 
                through the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau 
                of Land Management (BLM), pursuant to their respective 
                applicable legal authorities, to implement the purposes 
                of this proclamation. The USFS shall manage that 
                portion of the monument within the boundaries of the 
                National Forest System (NFS), and BLM shall manage the 
                remainder of the monument. The lands administered by 
                USFS shall be managed as part of the Mendocino National 
                Forest. The lands administered by BLM shall be managed 
                as a unit of the National Landscape Conservation 
                System, pursuant to applicable legal authorities.

                For purposes of protecting and restoring the objects 
                identified above, the Secretaries shall jointly prepare 
                a management plan for the monument and shall promulgate 
                such regulations for its management as deemed 
                appropriate.

[[Page 41979]]

                In developing any management plans and any management 
                rules and regulations governing NFS lands within the 
                monument, the Secretary of Agriculture, through USFS, 
                shall consult with the Secretary of the Interior 
                through BLM. The Secretaries shall provide for public 
                involvement in the development of the management plan 
                including, but not limited to, consultation with 
                tribal, State, and local governments. In the 
                development and implementation of the management plan, 
                the Secretaries shall maximize opportunities, pursuant 
                to applicable legal authorities, for shared resources, 
                operational efficiency, and cooperation.

                In managing the monument, the Secretaries may authorize 
                activities or uses related to remediation, monitoring, 
                and reclamation of mining sites and to provide for the 
                beneficial public use of water associated with 
                reclamation of such sites, consistent with the care and 
                management of the objects identified above.

                Except for emergency or authorized administrative 
                purposes, motorized and mechanized vehicle use in the 
                monument shall be allowed only on roads and trails 
                designated for such use, consistent with the care and 
                management of the objects identified above.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge 
                or diminish the rights of any Indian tribe. The 
                Secretaries shall, to the maximum extent permitted by 
                law and in consultation with Indian tribes, ensure the 
                protection of Indian sacred sites and traditional 
                cultural properties in the monument and provide access 
                by members of Indian tribes for traditional cultural 
                and customary uses, consistent with the American Indian 
                Religious Freedom Act (42 U.S.C. 1996) and Executive 
                Order 13007 of May 24, 1996 (Indian Sacred Sites).

                Laws, regulations, and policies followed by USFS or BLM 
                in issuing and administering grazing permits or leases 
                on lands under their jurisdiction shall continue to 
                apply with regard to the lands in the monument, 
                consistent with the care and management of the objects 
                identified above.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to 
                alter the valid existing water rights of any party, 
                including the United States. This proclamation does not 
                reserve water as a matter of Federal law.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall preclude low level 
                overflights of military aircraft, the designation of 
                new units of special use airspace, the use or 
                establishment of military flight training routes over 
                the lands reserved by this proclamation, or related 
                military uses, consistent with the care and management 
                of the objects to be protected.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge 
                or diminish the jurisdiction of the State of 
                California, including its jurisdiction and authority 
                with respect to fish and wildlife management.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to 
                alter the authority or responsibility of any party with 
                respect to emergency response activities within the 
                monument, including wildland fire response.

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

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

[[Page 41980]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                tenth day of July, in the year of our Lord two thousand 
                fifteen, and of the Independence of the United States 
                of America the two hundred and fortieth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

Billing code 3295-F5-P



[[Page 41981]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TD15JY15.002


[FR Doc. 2015-17560
Filed 7-14-15; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4310-10-C