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Carrizo Plain National Monument
Courtesy Carrizo Plain
Conservancy
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It was 153
years ago this June 30 that President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant
Act, which granted to the State of California the stewardship of the “Yo-Semite
Valley” and the “Mariposa Big Tree Grove” on “the
express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort, and
recreation; shall be inalienable for all time.”
Thus
began our national dedication to preserving wilderness areas while
simultaneously allowing for their public use. Though it struggled to meet these
two seemingly contradictory objectives, the Yosemite Grant Act is often
regarded as the birth of the national park idea, which was formalized in the
establishment of the National Park Service 101 years ago on August 25, 1916.
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Carleton Watkins, River View, Cathedral Rock, Yosemite,
1861
California
Historical Society
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On
August 25, the summertime anniversaries of the Yosemite Grant Act and the
National Park Service were tainted by the recommendations by Interior Secretary Ryan
Zinke to
downsize at least three national monuments, opening the way for potential development
of the nation’s natural resources. Since Donald Trump’s executive order last
April to “end another egregious abuse of federal power,” environmentalists and
others have anxiously awaited the results of Secretary Zinke’s review of 27
national monuments designated under the 1906 Antiquities Act.
Six
national monuments were included in Zinke’s review with the criteria that they
were not barriers to economic growth and energy development and that local
input had been sought in their designations: Berryessa Snow Mountain, Carrizo
Plain, Giant Sequioa, Mojave Trails, San Gabriel Mountains, Sand to Snow
National Monument.
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Cabrillo National
Monument, San Diego, California
Courtesy
http://www.sandiegocaliforniaguide.com
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Muir Woods National Monument
Courtesy Golden Gate NRA, Park
Archives
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Priceless expressions of America’s heritage, national monuments are places of natural significance with historical cultural, and/or scientific interest: geological sites, marine sites, volcanic sites, historical sites, and sites associated with Native Americans. Although they are set aside for protection, and may only be created from land already owned by the federal government, re-designations, altered boundaries, and even eliminations of national monuments—by acts of Congress or the President—offer a disturbing perspective of uncertainties in the protection of our most cherished lands.
Publications and Strategic Projects Manager
America's 20 most-visited National Monuments; http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-nationalmonuments-most-pg-photogallery.html
Emily Guerin, “California’s national monuments will not be
eliminated but may be modified,” Environment and Science, KPCC, August 24,
2017; http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/08/24/74957/the-fate-of-california-s-national-monuments-will-b/
National
Parks Conservation Association, “Fact Sheet: What Is a
National Monument?” May 3, 2017; https://www.npca.org/resources/3202-what-is-a-national
monument?gclid=CjwKCAjwuITNB
Neeti
Upadhye, Natalie Reneau, and Robin Stein, “The Debate over National Monuments,”
New York Times, May 13, 2017
Yosemite
Valley Grant Act, Senate Bill 203; http://constitution.org/uslaw/sal/013_statutes_at_large.pdf
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Learn more about CHS’s collection of Carleton Watkins mammoth plate photographs
of Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove, 1861–1881: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8057k72/
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·
Yosemite
National Park: http://californiahistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2016/08/august-25-2016-national-park-service.html
·
Death Valley
National Park; http://californiahistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-mirror-of-uschalliss-gore.html
·
Joshua Tree
National Park; http://californiahistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-mirror-of-us-chs-celebrates-national.html
·
Pinnacles
National Park, http://californiahistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2016/04/a-mirror-of-us-chs-celebrates-national.html
·
Lassen Volcanic
National Park, http://californiahistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2016/05/a-mirror-of-us-chs-celebrates-nps-and.html
·
Sequoia &
Kings Canyon National Parks, http://californiahistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2016/06/a-mirror-of-us-chs-celebrates-nps-and.html
· Redwood National and State
Parks, http://californiahistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-mirror-of-us-chs-celebrates-nps-and.html
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