[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 129, 114th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9232 of February 19, 2015

Establishment of the Browns Canyon National Monument

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In central Colorado's vibrant upper Arkansas River valley, the rugged
granite cliffs, colorful rock outcroppings, and stunning mountain vistas
of Browns Canyon form an iconic landscape that attracts visitors from
around the world. The landscape's canyons, rivers, and backcountry
forests have provided a home for humans for over 10,000 years, and the
cultural and historical resources found in this landscape are a
testament to the area's Native Peoples as well as the history of more
recent settlers and mining communities. The area's unusual geology and
roughly 3,000-foot range in elevation support a diversity of plants and
wildlife, including a significant herd of bighorn sheep. Browns Canyon
harbors a wealth of scientifically significant geological, ecological,
riparian, cultural, and historic resources, and is an important area for
studies of paleoecology, mineralogy, archaeology, and climate change.
Following its descent between the Sawatch and Mosquito Ranges, the
Arkansas River flows through Browns Canyon in the heart of the upper
Arkansas River valley. The Arkansas River valley is the northernmost

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valley in the Rio Grande Rift system, one of the most significant rift
systems in the world and one of few where the Earth's continental crust
is actively moving apart. The 35 million-year-old Rio Grande Rift begins
in the State of Chihuahua in Mexico and extends northward through New
Mexico and into Colorado to a terminus in the mountains just north of
Browns Canyon.
The Browns Canyon area of the upper Arkansas River valley has long
offered both a permanent source of water and a means of transportation
for its human inhabitants. The area lies within the transition zone
between the cultural traditions of the Great Basin and Plains peoples.
As a transportation corridor where stable sources of subsistence
resources could be found, both migrating people and permanent
inhabitants left traces of their presence in this area. Ancestors of the
Ute, Apache, Eastern Shoshone, and Comanche Indians are known to have
traversed this dramatic landscape while hunting and gathering.
The upper Arkansas River valley was foundational to the establishment of
today's tribal configuration. It was here that the proto-Comanche
(Numuna) split into two groups, the Comanche and the Eastern Shoshone.
The Buffalo-Eater Band (allies of the Utes) broke away from the Eastern
Shoshone in the upper Arkansas River valley vicinity sometime between
the late 1600s and early 1700s, traveling south into what is present-day
New Mexico, Texas, southern Colorado, western Kansas, and the panhandle
of Oklahoma.
While most archaeological resources in the Browns Canyon area have not
yet been surveyed or recorded, the story of people living in the upper
Arkansas River valley is told through artifacts dating back over 10,000
years. Of the resources surveyed, there are 18 known archaeological
sites within the Browns Canyon area, including 5 prehistoric open lithic
sites that have been determined to be eligible for the National Register
of Historic Places. Primarily seasonal camps, these sites include open
campsites, culturally modified trees, wickiups, tipi rings, chipped
stone manufacture and processing sites, a possible ceramic pottery kiln,
and rock shelter sites that date to the Archaic Period. The sites range
from early Archaic Period and possibly Paleo-Indian Period (around 8,000
to 13,000 years before present), which would make this among the
earliest known sites in the region, to the Late Archaic Period to proto-
historic period (around 3,000 years before present to the 19th century
A.D.).
European exploration of the Browns Canyon region began when the Spanish
explorer Juan de Ulibarri visited in 1706. A century later, Zebulon Pike
explored the Browns Canyon area after his failed attempt to summit what
is now known as Pike's Peak. During the late 18th and early 19th
centuries, the Spanish army patrolled the upper Arkansas River valley as
far north as Leadville to secure the boundaries of Spanish influence and
attempt to bar access by competing traders and explorers. Fur trappers
exploited the area in the first few decades of the 1800s. The region
later became a center for mining, including one of the United States
major historic mining districts for fluorite, a colorful mineral with
both ornamental and industrial uses. The remnants of this area's mining
history include small, abandoned mine sites, old cabin foundations, and
nearby mining ghost towns.
Discovery of gold along the Arkansas River in the 1850s and the 1870s
silver boom in Leadville brought an influx of people and a need for

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transportation. In the 1870s, stage roads carried thousands of
passengers through this region every year. In the 1880s, after a multi-
year legal and armed battle between rival rail companies, the Denver and
Rio Grande Railway became the major transportation option for the
region. The section of railroad bed that runs through Browns Canyon east
of the Arkansas River is eligible for listing on the National Register
of Historic Places. Even today, this same upper Arkansas River valley
remains a major transportation corridor for Chaffee County residents and
visitors, as well as an important resource for recreational anglers and
boaters, and area ranchers and farmers. Local communities have proposed
and conducted a feasibility study for establishing the Arkansas Stage
and Rail Trail, which would serve as a testament to this travel
corridor's prehistoric and historic significance.
The 1.6 billion-year-old Precambrian granodiorite batholith that
constitutes the Canyon is incised by steep gulches that cut through the
pink granite and metamorphic rock. Stafford Gulch provides astounding
views of the unique Reef formation, a long and distinctive face of
exposed rock. During the Pleistocene Epoch, glaciers covered the rugged
canyons, gulches, and mountains that awe visitors today. The movement of
these glaciers created unique topographical features in the river
valley--including glacial cirques, flat, mesa-like terraces, and
remnants of large moraines--that are not found along other major streams
in the region. While shaping the topography, the glaciers also filled
the valley below with masses of sediment, including the gold, silver,
and semi-precious gems that fueled the mining booms of the 1800s. These
gems, including the garnets that lend their name to Ruby Mountain in the
northern part of the Browns Canyon area, continue to interest
professional and amateur geologists.
Portions of the Browns Canyon area offer a relative wealth of
Pennsylvanian age geologic exposures of the Minturn formation and Belden
shale that include a diverse assemblage of invertebrate fossils. These
sites represent the accumulation of shell fossils in an ancient reef
environment, and include remains of bivalves, brachiopods, gastropods,
echinoids, nautiloids, conodonts, crinoids, bryozoans, and vertebrates
including sharks and bony fish. Many of the fossil forms remain
undescribed and will form the basis for future paleontological research.
The topographic and geologic diversity of the Browns Canyon area has
given rise to one of the most significant regions for biodiversity in
Colorado. The forest community incorporates a transition zone, with
semi-arid pinyon-juniper and mountain mahogany woodlands on the lower
slopes giving way to ponderosa pine, Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine,
and Douglas fir at higher elevations. Scattered pockets of aspen,
willow, Rocky Mountain juniper, river birch, and narrowleaf cottonwood
can be found in riparian areas. The Aspen Ridge area is also home to a
significant stand of aspen. The understory is home to a variety of plant
species, including blue grama grass, mountain muhly, Indian ricegrass,
Arizona fescue, blue bunchgrass, prickly pear, cholla, yucca, isolated
pockets of alpine bluegrass, and the endemic Brandegee's buckwheat. A
stunning array of wildflowers such as the scarlet gilia and larkspur
bloom here during the spring and summer. Near Ruby Mountain, imperiled
plant species such as Fendler's Townsend-daisy, Fendler's false cloak-
fern, livemore fiddleleaf, and the endemic Front-Range alumroot can be
found. The plant community in this area has repeatedly evolved during
periods of climate change since the Eocene

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Epoch. Geologic and climatic changes since the Precambrian have made the
area an important site for research on geology and paleoecology as well
as the effects of climate change, wildland fire, and other disturbances
on plant and animal communities.
Some of Colorado's most emblematic animal species call Browns Canyon
home. Mountain lions, bighorn sheep, mule deer, bobcat, red and gray
fox, American black bear, coyote, American pine marten, kangaroo rat,
elk, and several species of tree and ground squirrels can all be found
in the Browns Canyon area, which provides essential habitat for mammals
and birds alike and attracts hunters and wildlife viewers. Raptors such
as red-tailed hawks, Swainson's hawks, golden eagles, turkey vultures,
and prairie falcons make their homes in the rocky cliffs and prey upon
the abundance of small animals that live in this area. The area also
provides habitat suitable for peregrine falcons, which have been
identified for possible future reintroduction here, as well as potential
habitat for the threatened Canada lynx. A stunning diversity of other
bird species, including the cliff swallow, Canada jay, mourning dove,
flicker, blue jay, wild turkey, great horned owl, western screech owl,
and saw whet owl, attract ornithologists and bird enthusiasts alike to
these remote hills.
A number of reptile and amphibian species occur in the area, including
the sensitive boreal toad and northern leopard frog. The Browns Canyon
area represents one of the only riparian ecosystems along the Arkansas
River that remains relatively undisturbed and contains an intact biotic
community.
The protection of the Browns Canyon 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. The area also provides
world class river rafting and outdoor recreation opportunities,
including hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, mountain biking, and
horseback riding.
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 in and around Browns
Canyon;
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 Browns Canyon 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

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part of this proclamation. These reserved Federal lands and interests in
lands encompass approximately 21,586 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
in the accompanying map are hereby appropriated and withdrawn from all
forms of entry, location, selection, sale, leasing, or other disposition
under the public land laws or laws applicable to the U.S. Forest
Service, including 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.
The establishment of the monument is subject to valid existing rights.
Lands and interests in lands not owned or controlled by the Federal
Government within the boundaries described on the accompanying map 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 the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture
(Secretaries) shall manage the monument through the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), 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 the BLM
shall manage the remainder of the monument. The lands administered by
the BLM shall be managed as a unit of the National Landscape
Conservation System, pursuant to applicable legal authorities,
including, as applicable, the provisions of section 603 of the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1782) governing the management
of wilderness study areas. The lands administered by the USFS shall be
managed as part of the Pike and San Isabel National Forests and Cimarron
and Comanche National Grasslands.
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. In developing any management plans and any management rules
and regulations governing NFS lands within the monument, the Secretary
of Agriculture, through the USFS, shall consult with the Secretary of
the Interior through the 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.
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. After the date of this
proclamation, new roads or trails may only be designated for motorized
vehicle use in areas west of the Arkansas River and at the Ruby

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Mountain Recreation Site and then only as necessary to provide
reasonable river or campground access, consistent with the applicable
management plan. Forest Road 184 may be realigned or improved only if
for the care and management of the objects identified above or as
necessary for public safety.
Nothing in this proclamation affects or shall be deemed to preclude the
Secretaries from reissuing existing authorizations or agreements for the
cooperative administration of the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area.
New or modified authorizations or agreements for such purpose may be
issued, consistent with the care and management of the objects
identified above. The Secretaries also may authorize and reauthorize
commercial recreational services within the monument, including
outfitting and guiding, consistent with the care and management of the
objects identified above.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to affect the operation or
use of the existing railroad corridor as a railroad right of way
pursuant to valid existing rights or for recreational purposes
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 the BLM or the USFS 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.
This proclamation does not alter or affect the valid existing water
rights of any party, including the United States. This proclamation does
not reserve water as a matter of Federal law, and the inclusion of the
land underlying the Arkansas River in the monument shall not be
construed to reserve such a right. This proclamation does not alter or
affect agreements governing the management and administration of
Arkansas River flows, including the Voluntary Flow Management Program.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge or diminish the
jurisdiction of the State of Colorado, including its jurisdiction and
authority 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 the monument and not to locate
or settle upon any of the lands thereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of
February, in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of

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the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
thirty-ninth.
BARACK OBAMA

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