Trump's bid to scuttle national monuments met heavy resistance.
Seven California national monuments were placed in the cross hairs of the Trump administration as it sought to remove protections from public lands and eventually hand them over to local control and industry.
These monuments are: Berryessa / Snow Mountain (pictured at bottom), Cascade Siskiyou, Giant Sequoia, San Gabriel Mountains, Carrizo Plain, Mojave Trails, and Sand to Snow. The first four are heavily forested, enhancing their allure to the timber industry as well as their value for biodiversity and watershed protection.
These California monuments were among 27 under review nationwide. The product of years of public input and broad-based support, monuments such as these are beloved places that often become national parks. They drive local economic growth in their areas, providing clean recreation and tourism industries, as well as protecting wildlife habitat and ensuring clean air and water supplies.
Forests Forever had earlier campaigned for the Berryessa / Snow Mountain National Monument, designated by President Barack Obama in 2015, and we spent years helping to win designation of the Giant Sequoia National Monument, set aside by President Bill Clinton in 2000.
We were not about to sit idly by and allow these immensely popular and valuable natural areas to once again be subjected to despoliation by timber, mining, motorized recreation, and ranching/grazing industries!
Here are links describing each of the seven California national monuments threatened by the Trump administration review:
- Berryessa / Snow Mountain (pictured at bottom)
- Carrizo Plain
- Cascade Siskiyou
- Giant Sequoia (pictured at top)
- Mojave Trails
- San Gabriel Mountains (pictured second from top)
- Sand to Snow
- Here is a list of all U.S. national monuments.
- And more information about the Antiquities Act of 1906, now under assault by Republicans in Congress.
