Obama Adds One Million Acres of Wilderness to Federal Protection

Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument (photo: berryessasnowmountain.org)

Adding to his environmental legacy, President Barack Obama has set aside one million acres of wilderness as part of his creation of three national monuments.

 

The White House announced earlier this month that Basin and Range National Monument in Nevada, Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in California and Waco Mammoth National Monument in Texas would be protected as public lands. They join 16 other national monuments Obama has already created under the Antiquities Act. The president has set aside “more public lands and waters than any administration in history,” according to his administration.

 

The Basin and Range National Monument features pristine valleys of wilderness and wildlife habitat, plus significant cultural and historical sites, including ancient artwork dating as far back as 4,000 years, ClimateProgress reported.

 

The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in Northern California is considered a prime recreational destination and one of the most biologically diverse areas in the state.

 

The Waco Mammoth National Monument is best known for the remains of 24 mammoths. There are also remains of saber-toothed cats, dwarf antelopes and western camels on the site.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

To Learn More:

Obama Permanently Protects More Than One Million Acres Of Public Lands (by Claire Moser and Annie Wang, ClimateProgress)

Obama Designates National Monuments In Texas, Calif., Nevada (by Josh Lederman, Associated Press)

John McCain Says Laws Protecting National Parks and Monuments Threaten National Security (by Noel Brinkerhoff and Steve Straehley, AllGov)

“Tyrant” Obama, in California, Declared National Monument, Like 15 other Presidents (by Ken Broder, AllGov California)

House Republicans Try to Make it Harder to Create New National Monuments by Altering 108-Year-Old Law (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

Comments

Francisco Bogarin 9 years ago
To whom it may concern the author of this article has his information slightly incorrect the President does not have the power to designate wilderness only Congress does. Wilderness designations also have much more restrictive uses of the land and none of these designations restrict any of the current uses of the land. What the president did was simply use his power, authorized by Congress, under the antiquities active 1905 to designate national monuments in the interest of the preservation of the history and heritage of our nation.

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