Press Release
July 10, 2015
Contact:
Jenesse Miller, CLCV, 510-844-0235
OAKLAND, Calif. (July 10, 2015) –Today President Obama announced three new national monuments, including California’s Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, a move that will preserve and protect these unique spaces and natural resources for the benefit of all Californians and all Americans. The California League of Conservation Voters applauded the President’s announcement and the many citizens and local groups who worked for more than a decade to protect these wild and scenic places for future generations.
“The designation of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument will ensure the protection of important natural resources like clean water and habitat for wildlife, the enhanced access to recreational opportunities for local communities and visiting tourists, and will provide an important boost to the local economies,” said CLCV CEO Sarah Rose. “This beautiful, unique area is now the second largest national monument in California, after the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument in Southern California, which President Obama designated last fall.”
The area contains one of the greatest concentrations of biodiversity in California and is home to many endangered and threatened species. The new 330,780-acre monument is comprised of existing federal lands extending from Berryessa Peak and other lands in the vicinity of Lake Berryessa in Napa, Yolo, and Solano counties through lands in Lake, Colusa, and Glenn Counties to the eastern boundary of the Yuki Wilderness in Mendocino County.
CLCV members joined the groundswell of local families, business owners, community members, and elected officials asking President Obama to use his authority under the Antiquities Act to protect the Berryessa Snow Mountain region as a national monument. Congressman Mike Thompson and several fellow California members of Congress had attempted for years to get the U.S. Congress to designate the area as a National Conservation Area. In 2013, Thompson introduced House of Representatives Bill 1025, the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area Act. California Senator Barbara Boxer introduced S.483, a companion bill in the Senate, but Congressional gridlock stopped the proposals from moving forward.
“We applaud the efforts of so many committed local residents, conservation advocates, and elected officials who over these last several years collaborated so effectively to permanently protect this local and national treasure,” said Rose.
Studies estimate an increase in visitors thanks to the designation could bring up to $26 million in new economic activity and $500,000 in tax revenue to local economies during the five-year post-designation period.
“Mr. President, we thank you for your leadership on protecting our public lands so that all Americans will enjoy them for generations to come,” said Rose.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL VOTERS
California Environmental Voters (formerly the California League of Conservation Voters) believes the climate crisis is here and this moment requires transformative change. California has the policy solutions to stop climate change but lacks the political will to do it at the rate and scale that’s necessary. EnviroVoters exists to build the political power to solve the climate crisis, advance justice, and create a roadmap for global action. We organize voters, elect and train candidates, and hold lawmakers accountable for bold policy change. We won’t stop until we have resilient, healthy, thriving communities, and a democracy and economy that is just and sustainable for all. Join us at www.envirovoters.org and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. See more press releases.
