Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument
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The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument is an American national monument in the California Coast Mountains in northern California . Portions are in Glenn County , Lake County , Mendocino County , Napa County , Solano County , Colusa County, and Yolo County counties . It was designated by President Barack Obama by a Presidential Proclamation on July 10, 2015 with an area of 330,780 acres (133,860 hectares ). To the north of the National Monument is Snow Mountain and to the south of Berryessa Mountain. The area encompasses pristine wilderness with an important wildlife migration corridor. The area is a biodiversity hotspot, habitat for rare plant and animal species. In the reserve there is a mosaic of forests, grasslands, wetlands and chaparral . The reserve borders directly on the Mendocino National Forest in the northwest .
Administration and land ownership of the National Monument
Even before it was designated as a National Monument , part of the area was designated as the Wilderness Area Cache Creek Wilderness . The Cache Creek Wilderness reserve remained unchanged even after the National Monument was designated .
The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument is under the management of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and United States Forest Service (USFS). The entire area is federally owned and was looked after by the BLM and USFS even before it was designated. Private properties within the boundaries of the National Monument are not part of the protected area. These private properties can only become part of the National Monument if they can be freely acquired by the United States. If the federal government acquires private properties within the National Monument, these properties become part of the protected area. The designation of the National Monument has no influence on the rights of owners of properties that are not owned by the USA in or on the borders of the protected area.
The protection designation does not affect existing permits for grazing with livestock within the area and this may continue to be continued. The area may continue to be used by military aircraft, including low-level flights. Military exercises are permitted provided they are compatible with maintenance and area protection.
Animal and plant species
The area, particularly the higher elevation Snow Mountain area, is one of California's most biodiverse areas. Numerous species of birds, mammals, lizards, bats, insects and snakes can be found in the area.
There are a number of plant species endemic to the area such as Bent-Flowered Fiddleneck, Brittlescale, Brewer's Jewelflower, Purdy's Fringed Onion, Musk Brush, Serpentine Sunflower, Bare Monkeyflower, Indian Valley Brodiaea, Red Mountain Catchfly, Snow Mountain Buckwheat, Lake County Stonecrop, Coastal Bluff Morning Glory, Cobb Mountain Lupine, Contra Costa Goldfields, Sargent's Cypress Tree, and Napa Western Flax. The Bear Creek area has over 450 species of flora, including a variety of wildflowers, cypress, manzanita, and willow.
Almost half of California's 108 dragonfly and dragonfly species as well as 16 reptile and amphibian species, 6 rare insect and 80 butterfly species can be found here.
Bear Creek Watershed is a particularly fine example of serpentinite-based endemism and biodiversity with over 450 species of plants including a magnificent variety of wildflowers, cypress, manzanita, and willow. Almost half of California's 108 dragonfly and dragonfly species, as well as 16 reptiles and amphibians, 6 rare insects, and 80 species of butterflies can be found here.
The mammal species in the area include puma , bobcat , fishing marten , black bear , beaver , tule elk, and mule deer . The Townsend Long-eared Cave lives in two caves protected under the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act .
Bird species such as sandpiper and three-colored blackbird live in the reserve. The birds of prey are peregrine falcon , prairie falcon , hawk , golden eagle and bald eagle . The area is one of the most important wintering spots in the state for the bald eagle.
The fish species found in the waters are Pacific Lamprey, Western Brook Lamprey, Rainbow Trout , California Roach, Sacramento Pikeminnow, Speckled Dace, Hardhead Minnow, Clear Lake Hitch, Sacramento Sucker, Prickly Sculpins and Riffle Sculpins. The fish species Coastal Chinook Salmon, Northern California Steelhead, and California Central Valley Steelhead are extinct.
People in the area
The American Indians have inhabited this area for at least 11,000 years. Tribes like the Yuki , Nomlaki , Patwin , Pomo , Huchnom , Wappo , Lake Miwok and Wintum lived there. There are numerous archaeological sites such as the remains of settlements, mineral collection sites, chert quarries where stones were collected to make tools and seasonal hunting and collecting camps. Cache Creek archaeological district, listed on the National Register of Historic Places , illustrates the archaeological importance of the area.
In the early 19th century, both Spanish and Mexican expeditions explored the region, as did fur hunters for the Hudson Bay Company . The actual settlement began in the gold rush of the 1840s. Agriculture was mostly pursued as cattle and sheep breeding. There were many small sawmills in operation from the middle to the end of the 19th century. The restored Nye Hut from the 1860s and the historic Prather Mill bear witness to this time.
Web links
- Bureau of Land Management : Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument (official site )
- United States Forest Service : Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument (official site )
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Presidential Proclamation - Establishment of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument
Coordinates: 39 ° 7 ′ 48 ″ N , 122 ° 27 ′ 36 ″ W.