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Ever since Bill Clinton signed the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, one California conservationist has been fighting for additional protection in the deserts of California. However after US Senator, Dianne Feinstein’s California Desert Conservation and Recreation Act met resistance this past year, she went to Obama seeking executive action. Turns out, Feinstein’s battle ended victoriously this past Thursday as President Obama created three National Monument designations and thus added 1.8 million acres of federally protected land to his already illustrious conservation docket.
With the addition in tow, Barack Obama has protected more than 265 million acres of water and land. That is the most acreage ever protected by an US President in history!
In a Los Angeles Times article, Feinstein was quoted as saying, “This kind of landscape is so much a part of what the West once was, and these monuments are icons of our cultural heritage. Simply put, the California desert is a national treasure. This designation only reaffirms that fact.”
The three monuments include Castle Mountains, Mojave Trails, and Sand To Snow. With Obama’s signature, these lands will be protected under the 1906 Antiquities Act, which allows US Presidents to title certain lands as “monuments” due to “historic and scientific interest.”
By adding the lands as monuments, Obama and Feinstein hope to ease wildlife migrations between Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave Trails in addition to protecting the extremely delicate desert ecosystems that include mountains, wetlands, deserts, and Joshua Tree forests. Also, the new land will protect historical sites that include petroglyphs and old roadways used by pioneers and Native Americans.
Find more information on the new monuments here: President Obama Designates 3 National Monuments in California
