Commentary

NRDC: President Obama Bolsters Conservation Legacy with Three National Monuments


WASHINGTON—(ENEWSPF)–July 10, 2015 – The three national monuments created today by President Obama will protect some of America’s most biodiverse mountain ecosystems, wild tracts of desert and nationally significant fossil beds.

The following is a statement by Sharon Buccino, director of the Land and Wildlife Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“This is a gift to all Americans. By following through on his promise to make use of his executive powers to protect more public lands, President Obama also has burnished his conservation legacy. It’s heartening to know that our children and all future generations will have the opportunity to learn and draw inspiration from their visits to these beautiful, uniquely American places.”

The three new national monuments are:

Basin and Range National Monument, a pristine desert landscape in Nevada which holds slices of prehistoric and pioneer life, will be managed in a way that ensures continued access for recreation and hunting, and was championed by Sen. Harry Reid;

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, which is located in a biologically and geologically diverse California region with a growing recreation industry that already generates $55 million in annual economic activity; and

Waco Mammoth National Monument, a Texas site that’s home to the largest-known concentration of Columbian mammoths and already receives 20,000 visitors annually, including busloads of schoolchildren.

The latest announcements build upon President Obama’s commitment to conservation. In February, for instance, the President designated three other national monuments, including the Pullman District in Chicago and Browns Canyon in Colorado. And earlier in his administration, President Obama permanently protected special American places like the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles, the pristine Pacific Remote Islands southwest of Hawaii, and the Organ Mountains in New Mexico.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 2 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.

Source: www.nrdc.org

Related Article:

President Obama Designates New National Monuments

 


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