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

 
Proclamation 9299 of July 10, 2015

Establishment of the Waco Mammoth National Monument

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In 1978, two young fossil hunters found a large bone protruding from an
eroded ravine near the Bosque River about 4.5 miles north of the center
of Waco, Texas. They took the bone to nearby Baylor University,

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where it was identified as part of the femur (upper leg bone) of a
Columbian Mammoth (Mammuthus columbi), a dominant species in North
America during the Pleistocene Epoch. The Columbian Mammoth, the largest
of all mammoth species, stood with a shoulder height reaching 12 to 14
feet and weighed an estimated 7 to 8 tons. Over the next 20 years,
Baylor University oversaw the excavation of the site, where the remains
of 24 Columbian Mammoths were found, along with the remains of
associated animals of the late Pleistocene, including Western Camel
(Camelops hesternus), saber-toothed cat (Homotherium), dwarf antelope
(cf. Capromeryx), American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), and
giant tortoise (Hesperotestudo).
These remains contain the Nation's only recorded discovery of a nursery
herd (females and offspring) of Pleistocene mammoths, comprising at
least 18 of the unearthed mammoths. The nursery herd appears to have
drowned in a single natural event near the confluence of the ancient
Bosque and Brazos Rivers between 65,000 and 72,000 years ago. Because
the nursery herd was buried rapidly in the mud associated with the
rising waters, the remains of the herd include nearly intact skeletons
apparently positioned as at the moment of death. The herd's preservation
in this manner provides unparalleled evidence of the group's age
structure and behavior during a natural catastrophe. For example, the
herd apparently formed a circular defensive position with the adults
attempting to rescue the offspring. In two cases, the bones of a
juvenile lay across the tusks of an adult, suggesting that these adults
were trying to lift the juveniles to safety.
Including the nursery herd, the remains of 22 Columbian Mammoths have
been documented in the excavation area, and evidence of 2 more was
discovered during construction of the Dig Shelter that protects the
excavation area. One of the skeletons discovered in sediments above the
nursery herd is a large bull mammoth with a broken but healed rib,
suggesting a fight with another bull during the mammoth equivalent of
modern elephants' musth, or rutting season. The presence of mammoths in
the excavation area at sediment levels representing a span of several
thousands of years suggests that the species had an affinity for this
area at the interface of two ecosystems, the Great Plains and the Gulf
Coastal Plains.
The excavation area, as well as the land extending beyond it toward the
Brazos and Bosque Rivers, offer excellent opportunities for further
exploration and research. More than half of the area protected by the
Dig Shelter remains unexcavated, and virtually all the acreage outside
the Dig Shelter remains unsurveyed for paleontological resources. Future
discoveries are anticipated both within and outside the Dig Shelter.
While Baylor University oversaw the excavation, study, and preservation
of the fossils, the City of Waco acquired the parcels of land containing
and surrounding the excavation area and assembled a city park known as
the Waco Mammoth Site, which opened to the public in 2009. Although most
of the excavated bones of the mammoths and associated fauna are now at
Baylor University's Mayborn Museum awaiting preparation and curation,
some exposed bones remain at the Site, protected by the climate-
controlled Dig Shelter, which facilitates public viewing,
interpretation, and study.

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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, the City of Waco has been operating the approximately 108.5
acre Waco Mammoth Site (including the excavation area and surrounding
lands) as a park since 2009, in partnership with Baylor University and
with support from the nonprofit Waco Mammoth Foundation, Inc.;
WHEREAS, the City of Waco, Baylor University, the Waco Mammoth
Foundation, Inc., and other members of the Waco community have
demonstrated support for the establishment of a national monument to be
administered by the National Park Service;
WHEREAS, the National Park Service conducted a special resource study of
the Waco Mammoth Site, pursuant to Public Law 107-341, and determined
that the Site met the criteria for inclusion in the National Park
System;
WHEREAS, in support of the establishment of a national monument to be
administered by the National Park Service, the City has donated certain
lands and appurtenant easements to the Federal Government;
WHEREAS, the City of Waco and Baylor University have also indicated
their intent to transfer ownership of the excavated specimens and
archival records to the Federal Government for monument purposes;
WHEREAS, the City of Waco intends that the partnership between the City
of Waco, Baylor University, and the Waco Mammoth Foundation, Inc.,
continue to cooperatively manage, oversee, and maintain the Waco Mammoth
Site and expand the partnership to include the National Park Service;
WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to preserve and protect the
scientific objects at the Waco Mammoth Site;
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 Waco Mammoth National Monument
(monument) and, for the purpose of protecting those objects, reserve as
a part thereof all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by
the Federal Government within the boundaries described on the
accompanying map entitled, ``Waco Mammoth National Monument,'' which is
attached to and forms a part of this proclamation. The reserved Federal
lands and interests in lands encompass approximately 7.11 acres,
including appurtenant easements for all necessary purposes. 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.

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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, from location, entry, and patent under the mining
laws, and from disposition under all laws relating to mineral and
geothermal leasing.
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 (Secretary) shall manage the monument
through the National Park Service, pursuant to applicable legal
authorities, consistent with the purposes and provisions of this
proclamation. The Secretary shall prepare a management plan for the
monument, with full public involvement, within 3 years of the date of
this proclamation. The management plan shall ensure that the monument
fulfills the following purposes for the benefit of present and future
generations: (1) to preserve and protect the objects of scientific
interest associated with the monument; (2) to foster and facilitate
appropriate research; (3) to promote understanding and stewardship of
the monument's resources and values through interpretive and educational
opportunities; and (4) to provide for the enjoyment of the monument's
resources and values in a manner that is compatible with their
preservation. The management plan shall address the desired relationship
of the monument to other sites with paleontological resources both
within and outside the National Park System.
The National Park Service shall use available authorities, as
appropriate, to enter into agreements with governmental and
nongovernmental organizations, including the City of Waco, Baylor
University, the Waco Mammoth Foundation, Inc., to further the purposes
of the monument, address common interests, and promote management
efficiencies.
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 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.
BARACK OBAMA


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