[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 126, 112th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 8803--APR. 20, 2012

Proclamation 8803 of April 20, 2012

Establishment of the Fort Ord National Monument

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In the heart of California's Central Coast, the former Fort Ord
encompasses a sweeping landscape of vivid beauty and rich natural
diversity. One of the few remaining expanses of large, contiguous open
space in the increasingly developed Monterey Bay area, this area is a
rolling landscape long treasured for recreation, scientific research,
outdoor education, and historical significance. Originating in the
Pleistocene Epoch, ancient dunes provide the foundation for this
landscape's unique array of plant and wildlife communities. The area is
also notable for its historical significance, including its role in the
Spanish settlement of California and in the military training of
generations of American soldiers.
Nearly two and a half centuries ago, as Americans fought for
independence far to the east, these lands were traversed by a group of
settlers led by Spanish Lieutenant Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza. In
1775-1776, Anza established the first overland route from ``New Spain,''
as Mexico was then known, to San Francisco, opening the way for expanded
Spanish settlement of California. The diaries kept on this nearly 2,000-
mile journey were used to identify the Juan Bautista de Anza National
Historic Trail, approximately 6 miles of which pass through the Fort Ord
area. Although much of the historic route currently passes through urban
areas, the undeveloped expanse of the Fort Ord area is likely quite
similar to the open landscape experienced by Anza and by the Costanoan
(now commonly referred to as Ohlone) peoples who lived in what is now
the Central Coast region of California.
The area's open, contiguous landscape owes its undeveloped state in
large part to its role as a U.S. Army facility. From World War I through
the early 1990s, the area's rugged terrain served as a military training
ground and introduced as many as a million and a half American soldiers
to the rigors of military service. From its origins in 1917 as a
training ground for troops stationed at the nearby Presidio of Monterey,
Fort Ord had grown into a major Army installation by the beginning of
World War II. During the Vietnam War, it served as a leading training
center and deployment staging ground. While the former Fort Ord has few
remaining historic structures, today thousands of veterans carry the
memory of its dramatic landscape as their first taste of Army life, as a
final stop before deploying to war, or as a home base during their
military career. These lands are an historical link to the heroism and
dedication of the men and women who served our Nation and fought in the
major conflicts of the 20th century.
Today, this expansive, historic landscape provides opportunities for
solitude and adventure to nearly 100,000 visitors each year. By bicycle,
horse, and foot visitors can explore the Fort Ord area's scenic and
natural resources along trails that wind over lush grasslands, between
gnarled oaks, and through scrub-lined canyons. Within the boundaries of
the Fort Ord area, visitors admire the landscape and scenery and are
exposed to wildlife and a diverse group of rare and endemic plants and
animals. Because visitors travel from areas near and far, these lands


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support a growing travel and tourism sector that is a source of economic
opportunity for the community, especially businesses in the region. They
also help to attract new residents, retirees, and businesses that will
further diversify the local economy.
Scientists are also drawn here, seeking out opportunities to better
understand once-widespread species and vegetative communities, and their
ongoing restoration. The Fort Ord area is significant because of its
rich biodiversity and important Central Coast habitats, supporting a
diverse group of rare and endemic species of plants and animals that are
managed across the base through a multi-agency, community-led management
plan. It is one of the few remaining places in the world where large
expanses of coastal scrub and live oak woodland and savanna habitat,
mixed with rare vernal pools, exist in a contiguous, interconnected
landscape.
The protection of the Fort Ord area will maintain its historical and
cultural significance, attract tourists and recreationalists from near
and far, and enhance its unique natural resources, for the enjoyment of
all Americans.
WHEREAS section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C.
431) (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 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 the 1991 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission
recommended that Fort Ord cease to be used as an Army installation, and
pursuant to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (Public
Law 101-510), Fort Ord closed on September 30, 1994;
WHEREAS it is in the public interest to reserve such lands as a national
monument to be known as the Fort Ord National Monument;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by the authority vested in me by section 2 of the Antiquities
Act, hereby proclaim that all lands and interests in lands owned or
controlled by the Government of the United States within the boundaries
described on the map entitled ``Fort Ord National Monument,'' which is
attached to and forms a part of this proclamation, are hereby set apart
and reserved as the Fort Ord National Monument (monument) for the
purpose of protecting and restoring the objects identified above. The
reserved Federal lands and interests in lands consist of approximately
14,651 acres, which is the smallest area compatible with the proper care
and management of the objects to be protected and restored.
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 lands laws, including 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.


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The establishment of this monument is subject to valid existing rights.
Lands and interests in lands within the monument boundaries not owned or
controlled by the United States shall be reserved as part of the
monument upon acquisition of ownership or control by the United States.
Of the approximately 14,651 acres of Federal lands and interests in
lands reserved by this proclamation, approximately 7,205 acres are
currently managed by the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) and approximately 7,446 acres are currently
managed by the Secretary of the Army. The Secretary of the Army, in
consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, through the BLM, shall
continue to manage the lands and interests in lands under the
Secretary's jurisdiction within the monument boundaries until the Army
transfers those lands and interests in lands to the BLM in accordance
with the 1995 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department
of the Army and the BLM, as amended, that describes the responsibilities
of each agency related to such lands and interests in lands, the
implementing actions required of each agency, the process for
transferring administrative jurisdiction over such lands and interests
in lands to the Secretary of the Interior, and the processes for
resolving interagency disputes. The Secretary of the Interior, through
the BLM, shall manage that portion of the monument under the Secretary's
administrative jurisdiction, pursuant to applicable legal authorities
and the MOU, to implement the purposes of this proclamation.
For purposes of protecting and restoring the objects identified above,
the Secretary of the Interior, through the BLM, shall prepare and
maintain a transportation plan, in coordination with the Secretary of
the Army and consistent with the MOU, that provides for visitor
enjoyment and understanding of the scientific and historic objects on
lands within the monument boundaries that are under the administrative
jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior. The transportation plan
shall include the designation of roads and trails for bicycling and
other purposes. Except for emergency or authorized administrative
purposes, under the transportation plan motorized vehicle use shall be
permitted only on designated roads, and non-motorized mechanized vehicle
use shall be permitted only on designated roads and trails. The plan
shall be revised upon the transfer of lands now under the administrative
jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Army to the Secretary of the
Interior in accordance with the MOU.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge or diminish the
rights of any Indian tribe.
Nothing in this proclamation shall affect the responsibility of the
Department of the Army under applicable environmental laws, including
the remediation of hazardous substances or munitions and explosives of
concern within the monument boundaries; nor affect the Department of the
Army's statutory authority to control public access or statutory
responsibility to make other measures for environmental remediation,
monitoring, security, safety, or emergency preparedness purposes; nor
affect any Department of the Army activities on lands not included
within the monument. Nothing in this proclamation shall affect the
implementation of the Installation-Wide Multispecies Habitat Management
Plan for the former Fort Ord including interagency agreements
implementing that plan.


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Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge or diminish the
jurisdiction of the State of California with respect to fish and
wildlife management.
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 this monument and not to
locate or settle upon any of the lands thereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of
April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
sixth.
BARACK OBAMA


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