[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 23 (Monday, June 12, 2000)]
[Pages 1319-1322]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7318--Establishment of the Cascade-Siskiyou National 
Monument

 June 9, 2000

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    With towering fir forests, sunlit oak groves, wildflower-strewn 
meadows, and steep canyons, the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is an 
ecological wonder, with biological diversity unmatched in the Cascade 
Range. This rich enclave of natural resources is a biological 
crossroads--the interface of the Cascade, Klamath, and Siskiyou 
ecoregions, in an area of unique geology, biology, climate, and 
topography.
    The monument is home to a spectacular variety of rare and beautiful 
species of plants and animals, whose survival in this region depends 
upon its continued ecological integrity. Plant communities present a 
rich mosaic of grass and shrublands, Garry and California black oak 
woodlands, juniper scablands, mixed conifer and white fir forests, and 
wet meadows. Stream bottoms support broad-leaf deciduous riparian trees 
and shrubs. Special plant communities include rosaceous

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chaparral and oak-juniper woodlands. The monument also contains many 
rare and endemic plants, such as Greene's Mariposa lily, Gentner's 
fritillary, and Bellinger's meadowfoam.
    The monument supports an exceptional range of fauna, including one 
of the highest diversities of butterfly species in the United States. 
The Jenny Creek portion of the monument is a significant center of fresh 
water snail diversity, and is home to three endemic fish species, 
including a long-isolated stock of redband trout. The monument contains 
important populations of small mammals, reptile and amphibian species, 
and ungulates, including important winter habitat for deer. It also 
contains old growth habitat crucial to the threatened Northern spotted 
owl and numerous other bird species such as the western bluebird, the 
western meadowlark, the pileated woodpecker, the flammulated owl, and 
the pygmy nuthatch.
    The monument's geology contributes substantially to its spectacular 
biological diversity. The majority of the monument is within the Cascade 
Mountain Range. The western edge of the monument lies within the older 
Klamath Mountain geologic province. The dynamic plate tectonics of the 
area, and the mixing of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary geological 
formations, have resulted in diverse lithologies and soils. Along with 
periods of geological isolation and a range of environmental conditions, 
the complex geologic history of the area has been instrumental in 
producing the diverse vegetative and biological richness seen today.
    One of the most striking features of the Western Cascades in this 
area is Pilot Rock, located near the southern boundary of the monument. 
The rock is a volcanic plug, a remnant of a feeder vent left after a 
volcano eroded away, leaving an outstanding example of the inside of a 
volcano. Pilot Rock has sheer, vertical basalt faces up to 400 feet 
above the talus slope at its base, with classic columnar jointing 
created by the cooling of its andesite composition.
    The Siskiyou Pass in the southwest corner of the monument contains 
portions of the Oregon/California Trail, the region's main north/south 
travel route first established by Native Americans in prehistoric times, 
and used by Peter Skene Ogden in his 1827 exploration for the Hudson's 
Bay Company.
    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 Cascade-
Siskiyou 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 Cascade-Siskiyou 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 
``Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument'' attached to and forming a part of 
this proclamation. The Federal land and interests in land reserved 
consist of approximately 52,000 acres, which is 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 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.
    There is hereby reserved, as of the date of this proclamation and 
subject to valid existing rights, a quantity of water sufficient to 
fulfill the purposes for which this monument

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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.
    The commercial harvest of timber or other vegetative material is 
prohibited, except when part of an authorized science-based ecological 
restoration project aimed at meeting protection and old growth 
enhancement objectives. Any such project must be consistent with the 
purposes of this proclamation. No portion of the monument shall be 
considered to be suited for timber production, and no part of the 
monument shall be used in a calculation or provision of a sustained 
yield of timber. Removal of trees from within the monument area may take 
place only if clearly needed for ecological restoration and maintenance 
or public safety.
    For the purpose of protecting the objects identified above, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall prohibit all motorized and mechanized 
vehicle use off road and shall close the Schoheim Road, except for 
emergency or authorized administrative purposes.
    Lands and interests in lands within the proposed monument not owned 
by the United States shall be reserved as a part of the monument upon 
acquisition of title thereto by the United States.
    The Secretary of the Interior shall manage the monument through the 
Bureau of Land Management, pursuant to applicable legal authorities 
(including, where applicable, the Act of August 28, 1937, as amended (43 
U.S.C. 1181a-1181j)), to implement the purposes of this proclamation.
    The Secretary of the Interior shall prepare, within 3 years of this 
date, a management plan for this monument, and shall promulgate such 
regulations for its management as he deems appropriate. The management 
plan shall include appropriate transportation planning that addresses 
the actions, including road closures or travel restrictions, necessary 
to protect the objects identified in this proclamation.
    The Secretary of the Interior shall study the impacts of livestock 
grazing on the objects of biological interest in the monument with 
specific attention to sustaining the natural ecosystem dynamics. 
Existing authorized permits or leases may continue with appropriate 
terms and conditions under existing laws and regulations. Should grazing 
be found incompatible with protecting the objects of biological 
interest, the Secretary shall retire the grazing allotments pursuant to 
the processes of applicable law. Should grazing permits or leases be 
relinquished by existing holders, the Secretary shall not reallocate the 
forage available under such permits or for livestock grazing purposes 
unless the Secretary specifically finds, pending the outcome of the 
study, that such reallocation will advance the purposes of the 
proclamation.
    The establishment of this monument is subject to valid existing 
rights.
    Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge or diminish 
the jurisdiction of the State of Oregon with respect to fish and 
wildlife management.
    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.
                                            William J. Clinton

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:47 a.m., June 12, 
2000]

 Note:  This proclamation will be published in the  Federal Register  on 
June 13.

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