President Biden expands Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Nearly nine years after its creation by presidential action, the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument has been expanded.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation expanding the 330,780-acre monument — most of which is within Lake County’s borders — by another 13,696 acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and located on the eastern ridge of the original monument area in Lake and Colusa counties.
The new 11-mile-long, north-south ridgeline area added to the monument encompasses the area known for many years as “Walker Ridge,” a tract which at Biden’s direction is now being renamed “Molok Luyuk,” which means “Condor Ridge” in the Patwin language of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, which requested the expansion.
“We thank President Biden for expanding the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument and protecting Molok Luyuk, an area steeped in thousands of years of rich history and profound meaning to the Patwin people, whose traditional territory stretches south from these hills to the shores of San Pablo Bay and east to the Sacramento River,” said Yocha Dehe Tribal Chairman Anthony Roberts.
Biden’s proclamation directs Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to explore agreements for co-stewardship of the area with tribal nations, including the Cachil Dehe Band of Wintun Indians, Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and other tribal nations and Indigenous leaders “who worked tirelessly to ensure the protection of the sacred lands.”
“Molok Luyuk is a special and sacred place for area tribes and for many residents who enjoy recreation activities like hiking and mountain biking,” said Lake County Supervisor E.J. Crandell, a member of the Robinson Rancheria Tribe. “The natural beauty of our home also drives tourism, which is key to the economic vitality of the region. I am grateful that the president protected these beautiful lands. It is a gift to future generations.”
The monument encompasses public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service and runs through seven counties, from Napa in the south through Yolo, Solano, Lake, Colusa, Glenn and up to Mendocino in the north.
The region is known for its fascinating biodiversity, with the White House citing its “mosaic of unique geologic and hydrologic features,” the iconic California chaparral-covered canyons, oak and cypress woodlands, and spring-fed meadows that flank the ridge, unusual and rare serpentine wetlands and the 500 native California plant species that have been identified within the expansion area, including at least 38 different special-status plants.
Molok Luyuk also serves as a wildlife corridor for species such as tule elk, mountain lions, and bears, and is home to iconic species such as bald and golden eagles, officials reported.
In the president’s proclamation, it notes, “On a clear day, the highest points of Molok Luyuk offer a commanding view of the surrounding rugged and undeveloped landscape, encompassing Mount Shasta to the north, Mount Tamalpais to the southwest, and Sutter Buttes to the east. The view of the sun rising over Sutter Buttes to the east is central to the Patwin origin story. The expansion area contains evidence of occupation by Indigenous people for more than 10,000 years.”
Two-thirds of the monument is located within Lake County. In September 2019, the Lucerne Area Town Hall declared Lucerne as the gateway to the national monument, and two months later the Lake County Board of Supervisors adopted a proclamation also recognizing the town as the monument gateway.
A long-running effort
This expansion follows yearslong advocacy from Reps. Mike Thompson and John Garamendi; U.S. Senator Alex Padilla; federal, tribal, and local officials representing Northern California; and nongovernmental organizations, including environmental conservation, public access, outdoor recreation, and off-highway vehicle groups.
“As an avid OHV recreationist, I am thrilled at the expansion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument to include Molok Luyuk,” said Don Amador, former chair of the CA State Park Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Commission and an OHV user who spoke at the meeting in favor of the expansion. “The permanent protection of Molok Luyuk will improve the management of these lands and increase public access to recreation opportunities. This is a win-win for our community. I am grateful for President Biden using the Antiquities Act to expand the monument and protect these lands for future generations to enjoy.”
In 2022, Reps. Garamendi and Thompson first introduced legislation to expand the National Monument and reintroduced the legislation this March. Both lauded the action by Biden, with Thompson noting that the expansion “will ensure the region’s biodiversity, geological formations, and cultural connections are preserved for generations to come.”
President Biden took the action through his authority under the Antiquities Act, first used by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 to designate Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. It has been used by 18 presidents of both parties since then to protect natural and historic features.
Biden was vice president when President Barack Obama used the Antiquities Act to create the monument on July 10, 2015.
The action to expand the monument was Biden’s ninth use of the Antiquities Act. Also on Thursday, he took his 10th action under the act to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument in Southern California.
The two expansions protect another 120,000 acres. With those actions Biden has now created or expanded seven national monuments and restored protections for three others and conserved more than 41 million acres of lands and waters, putting him on track to conserve more lands and waters than any president in history.
The two monument expansions are part of Biden’s America the Beautiful Initiative, which is supporting locally led conservation efforts across the country with a goal to protect, conserve, and restore at least 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.
At the same time, the Governor’s Office reported that with the action Biden took Thursday, the state now stands at 24.5% of lands conserved.
New protections for the region
One individual who has spent the last 25 years working for the creation and expansion of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument is conservationist and author Bob Schneider.
Schneider is a member of the advisory council for Tuleyome, a Woodland-based nonprofit that has been a key advocate for the monument’s creation and for protections around the larger Berryessa region.
He’s the co-author of a book released in 2020, “Exploring the Berryessa Region: A Geology, Nature and History Tour,” and is now working on a second book that will take a more expansive look at the entire monument. It’s been underway for two years, “And now there’s a lot of pressure to get it done quickly.”
Schneider said the campaign to create the monument, and then to expand it, was one that involved many individuals and groups.
“The big thing about this campaign was the engagement of the tribe, the leadership they provided, the coalition that built around this, that certainly came out of what we did in the monument designation, which was a very inclusive movement,” he said.
Everyone who wanted to protect public lands could be part of it, and as a result, they built a very strong group of people, collaboratively working on that process, Schneider explained. “That actually is a good model and critical for the long term success of enjoying this place.”
He said he hopes in the next 10 years the work from monument supporters will focus more on economic development and neighboring towns and communities.
In his efforts to protect the region, Schneider also had fought against plans that had first arisen in 2010 to put dozens of wind turbines along Walker Ridge. It was estimated that the turbines would have been visible across Lake County.
However, the BLM denied the last permitting effort for the Walker Ridge wind energy project in February of 2022.
Schneider said the addition of the area formerly known as Walker Ridge to the monument will end those concerns about a wind project by protecting the ridge from it. He added that such projects are best sited on already disturbed land.
He said he believes the Molok Luyuk area is the best place to see the national monument, thanks to what can be seen here about plate tectonics, volcanic impacts, biological diversity such as plants that grow in serpentine soil, and habitat zones, as well as ranching, settlements and even old mercury mines. On top of all of that is the spiritual value for the tribes.
“On that ridge, those values really come together,” he said.
There also is a huge visual range of places to see and incredible views of surrounding areas, with Schneider noting that Condor Ridge is his favorite place for seeing all of it.
“There’s just so much in such a small space,” Schneider said.
He said he envisions an interpretive area at the ridge’s entrance with handicap accessible parking area, boardwalk, kiosk and other amenities. Schneider said Condor Ridge is a place that people can easily get to with regular vehicles.
“This provides an opportunity for everybody to build an emotional attachment to this place,” he said.
The White House proclamation noted that the name Molok Luyuk “recalls a time when California condors were a common sight soaring above the ridge, and the Patwin people would celebrate them with dances and ceremonies.”
Yocha Dehe Tribal Chairman Anthony Roberts noted, “Elements of the natural landscape on the ridge have traditional cultural significance to us. We look forward to the day when condors fly over Molok Luyuk once again.”
Schneider said the Yocha Dehe tribe is putting together a plan to reintroduce condors to the region like the Yurok Tribe has done successfully in its territory to the north.
“This could be happening in the next five years,” Schneider said of the condor reintroduction.
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