82 FR 6145 - Boundary Enlargement of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument
Executive Office of the President
Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 11 (January 18, 2017)
Page Range
6145-6150
FR Document
2017-01332
Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 11 (Wednesday, January 18, 2017)
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 11 (Wednesday, January 18, 2017)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 6145-6150]
From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01332]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 18, 2017 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 6145]]
Proclamation 9564 of January 12, 2017
Boundary Enlargement of the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Through Proclamation 7318 of June 9, 2000, President
Bill Clinton established the Cascade-Siskiyou National
Monument (monument) to protect the ecological wonders
and biological diversity at the interface of the
Cascade, Klamath, and Siskiyou ecoregions. The area,
home to an incredible variety of species and habitats,
represents a rich mosaic of forests, grasslands,
shrublands, and wet meadows. The many rare and endemic
plant and animal species found here are a testament to
Cascade-Siskiyou's unique ecosystems and biotic
communities.
As President Clinton noted in Proclamation 7318, the
ecological integrity of the ecosystems that harbor this
diverse array of species is vital to their continued
existence. Since 2000, scientific studies of the area
have reinforced that the environmental processes
supporting the biodiversity of the monument require
habitat connectivity corridors for species migration
and dispersal. Additionally, they require a range of
habitats that can be resistant and resilient to large-
scale disturbance such as fire, insects and disease,
invasive species, drought, or floods, events likely to
be exacerbated by climate change. Expanding the
monument to include Horseshoe Ranch, the Jenny Creek
watershed, the Grizzly Peak area, Lost Lake, the Rogue
Valley foothills, the Southern Cascades area, and the
area surrounding Surveyor Mountain will create a
Cascade-Siskiyou landscape that provides vital habitat
connectivity, watershed protection, and landscape-scale
resilience for the area's critically important natural
resources. Such an expansion will bolster protection of
the resources within the original boundaries of the
monument and will also protect the important biological
and historic resources within the expansion area.
The ancient Siskiyou and Klamath Mountains meet the
volcanic Cascade Mountains near the border of
California and Oregon, creating an intersection of
three ecoregions in Jackson and Klamath Counties in
Oregon and Siskiyou County in California. Towering rock
peaks covered in alpine forests rise above mixed
woodlands, open glades, dense chaparral, meadows filled
with stunning wildflowers, and swiftly-flowing streams.
Native American occupancy of this remarkably diverse
landscape dates back thousands of years, and Euro-
American settlers also passed through the expansion
area. The Applegate Trail, a branch of the California
National Historic Trail, passes through both the
existing monument and the expansion area following old
routes used by trappers and miners, who themselves made
use of trails developed by Native Americans. Today,
visitors to the Applegate Trail can walk paths worn by
wagon trains of settlers seeking a new life in the
west. The trail, a less hazardous alternative to the
Oregon Trail, began to see regular wagon traffic in
1846 and helped thousands of settlers traverse the area
more safely on their way north to the Willamette Valley
or south to California in search of gold--one of the
largest mass migrations in American history. Soon
thereafter, early ranchers, loggers, and homesteaders
began to occupy the area, leaving traces of their
presence,
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which provide potential for future research into the
era of westward expansion in southwestern Oregon. A
historic ranch can be seen in the Horseshoe Ranch
Wildlife Area, in the northernmost reaches of
California.
The Cascade-Siskiyou landscape is formed by the
convergence of the Klamath, the Siskiyou, and the
Cascade mountain ranges. The Siskiyou Mountains, which
contain Oregon's oldest rocks dating to 425 million
years, have an east-west orientation that connects the
newer Cascade Mountains with the ancient Klamath
Mountains. The tectonic action that formed the Klamath
and Siskiyou Mountains occurred over 130 million years
ago, while the Cascades were formed by more recent
volcanism. The Rogue Valley foothills contain Eocene
and Miocene formations of black andesite lava along
with younger High Cascade olivine basalt. In the
Grizzly Peak area, the 25 million-year geologic history
includes basaltic lava flows known as the Roxy
Formation, along with the formation of a large strato-
volcano, Mount Grizzly. Old Baldy, another extinct
volcanic cone, rises above the surrounding forest in
the far northeast of the expansion area.
Cascade-Siskiyou's biodiversity, which provides habitat
for a dazzling array of species, is internationally
recognized and has been studied extensively by
ecologists, evolutionary biologists, botanists,
entomologists, and wildlife biologists. Ranging from
high slopes of Shasta red fir to lower elevations with
Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, incense cedar, and oak
savannas, the topography and elevation gradient of the
area has helped create stunningly diverse ecosystems.
From ancient and mixed-aged conifer and hardwood
forests to chaparral, oak woodlands, wet meadows,
shrublands, fens, and open native perennial grasslands,
the landscape harbors extraordinarily varied and
diverse plant communities. Among these are threatened
and endangered plant species and habitat for numerous
other rare and endemic species.
Grizzly Peak and the surrounding Rogue Valley foothills
in the northwest part of the expansion area are home to
rare populations of plant species such as rock
buckwheat, Baker's globemallow, and tall bugbane. More
than 275 species of flowering plants, including
Siberian spring beauty, bluehead gilia, Detling's
silverpuffs, bushy blazingstar, southern Oregon
buttercup, Oregon geranium, mountain lady slipper, Egg
Lake monkeyflower, green-flowered ginger, and Coronis
fritillary can be found here. Ferns such as the fragile
fern, lace fern, and western sword fern contribute to
the lush green landscape.
Ancient sugar pine and ponderosa pine thrive in the
Lost Lake Research Natural Area in the north, along
with white fir and Douglas fir, with patches of Oregon
white oak and California black oak. Occasional giant
chinquapin, Pacific yew, and bigleaf maple contribute
to the diversity of tree species here. Shrubs such as
western serviceberry, oceanspray, Cascade barberry, and
birchleaf mountain mahogany grow throughout the area,
along with herbaceous species including pale
bellflower, broadleaf starflower, pipsissewa, and
Alaska oniongrass. Creamy stonecrop, a flowering
succulent, thrives on rocky hillsides. Patches of
abundant ferns include coffee cliffbrake and arrowleaf
sword fern. Moon Prairie contains a late successional
stand of Douglas fir and white fir with Pacific yew,
ponderosa pine, and sugar pine.
Old Baldy's high-elevation forests in the northeast
include Shasta red fir, mountain hemlock, Pacific
silver fir, and western white pine along with Southern
Oregon Cascades chaparral. Nearby, Tunnel Creek is a
high-altitude lodgepole pine swamp with bog blueberry
and numerous sensitive sedge species such as capitate
sedge, lesser bladderwort, slender sedge, tomentypnum
moss, and Newberry's gentian.
The eastern portion of the expansion, in the area
surrounding Surveyor Mountain, is home to high desert
species such as bitterbrush and sagebrush, along with
late successional dry coniferous forests containing
lodgepole pine, dry currant, and western white pine.
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The Horseshoe Ranch Wildlife Area in Siskiyou County,
California, offers particularly significant ecological
connectivity and integrity. The area contains a broad
meadow ecosystem punctuated by Oregon white oak and
western juniper woodlands alongside high desert species
such as gray rabbitbrush and antelope bitterbrush. The
area is also home to the scarlet fritillary, Greene's
mariposa lily, Bellinger's meadowfoam, and California's
only population of the endangered Gentner's fritillary.
The incredible biodiversity of plant communities in the
expansion is mirrored by equally stunning animal
diversity, supported by the wide variety of intact
habitats and undisturbed corridors allowing animal
migration and movement. Perhaps most notably, the
Cascade-Siskiyou landscape, including the Upper Jenny
Creek Watershed and the Southern Cascades, provides
vitally important habitat connectivity for the
threatened northern spotted owl. Other raptors,
including the bald eagle, golden eagle, white-tailed
kite, peregrine falcon, merlin, great gray owl, sharp-
shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk, osprey, American kestrel,
northern goshawk, flammulated owl, and prairie falcon,
soar above the meadows, mountains, and forests as they
seek their prey.
Ornithologists and birdwatchers alike come to the
Cascade-Siskiyou landscape for the variety of birds
found here. Tricolored blackbird, grasshopper sparrow,
bufflehead, black swift, Lewis's woodpecker, purple
martin, blue grouse, common nighthawk, dusky
flycatcher, lazuli bunting, mountain quail, olive-sided
flycatcher, Pacific-slope flycatcher, pileated
woodpecker, ruffed grouse, rufous hummingbird, varied
thrush, Vaux's swift, western meadowlark, western
tanager, white-headed woodpecker, and Wilson's warbler
are among the many species of terrestrial birds that
make their homes in the expansion area. The Oregon
vesper sparrow, among the most imperiled bird species
in the region, has been documented in the meadows of
the upper Jenny Creek Watershed.
Shore and marsh birds, including the Tule goose, yellow
rail, snowy egret, harlequin duck, Franklin's gull,
red-necked grebe, sandhill crane, pintail, common
goldeneye, bufflehead, greater yellowlegs, and least
sandpiper, also inhabit the expansion area's lakes,
ponds, and streams.
Diverse species of mammals, including the black-tailed
deer, elk, pygmy rabbit, American pika, and northern
flying squirrel, depend upon the extraordinary
ecosystems found in the area. Beavers and river otters
inhabit the landscape's streams and rivers, while
Horseshoe Ranch Wildlife Area has been identified as a
critical big game winter range. Bat species including
the pallid bat, Townsend's big-eared bat, and fringed
myotis hunt insects beginning at dusk. The expansion
area encompasses known habitat for endangered gray
wolves, including a portion of the area of known
activity for the Keno wolves. Other carnivores such as
the Pacific fisher, cougar, American badger, black
bear, coyote, and American marten can be seen and
studied in the expansion area.
The landscape also contains many hydrologic features
that capture the interest of visitors. Rivers and
streams cascade through the mountains, and waterfalls
such as Jenny Creek Falls provide aquatic habitat along
with scenic beauty. The upper headwaters of the Jenny
Creek watershed are vital to the ecological integrity
of the watershed as a whole, creating clear cold water
that provides essential habitat for fish living at the
margin of their environmental tolerances. Fens and
wetlands, along with riparian wetlands and wet montane
meadows, can be found in the eastern portion of the
expansion area. Lost Lake, in the northernmost portion
of the expansion area, contains a large lake that
serves as Western pond turtle habitat, along with
another upstream waterfall.
The expansion area includes habitat for populations of
the endemic Jenny Creek sucker and Jenny Creek redband
trout, as well as habitat for the Klamath largescale
sucker, the endangered shortnose sucker, and the
endangered Lost River sucker. The watershed also
contains potential habitat for
[[Page 6148]]
the threatened coho salmon. Numerous species of aquatic
plants grow in the area's streams, lakes, and ponds.
Amphibians such as black salamander, Pacific giant
salamander, foothill yellow-legged frog, Cascade frog,
the threatened Oregon spotted frog, and the endemic
Siskiyou Mountains salamander thrive here thanks to the
connectivity between terrestrial and aquatic habitats.
Reptiles found in the expansion area include the
western pond turtle, northern alligator lizard, desert
striped whipsnake, and northern Pacific rattlesnake.
The Cascade-Siskiyou landscape's remarkable
biodiversity includes the astounding diversity of
invertebrates found in the expansion, including
freshwater mollusks like the Oregon shoulderband,
travelling sideband, modoc rim sideband, Klamath
taildropper, chase sideband, Fall Creek pebblesnail,
Keene Creek pebblesnail, and Siskiyou hesperian. The
area has been identified by evolutionary biologists as
a center of endemism and diversity for springsnails,
and researchers have discovered four new species of
mygalomorph spiders in the expansion. Pollinators such
as Franklin's bumblebee, western bumblebee, and
butterflies including Johnson's hairstreak, gray blue
butterfly, mardon skipper, and Oregon branded skipper
are critical to the ecosystems' success. Other insects
found here include the Siskiyou short-horned
grasshopper and numerous species of caddisfly.
The Cascade-Siskiyou landscape has long been a focus
for scientific studies of ecology, evolutionary
biology, wildlife biology, entomology, and botany. The
expansion area provides an invaluable resource to
scientists and conservationists wishing to research and
sustain the functioning of the landscape's ecosystems
into the future.
The expansion area includes numerous objects of
scientific or historic interest. This enlargement of
the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument will maintain
its diverse array of natural and scientific resources
and preserve its cultural and historic legacy, ensuring
that the scientific and historic values of this area
remain for the benefit of all Americans.
WHEREAS, section 320301 of title 54, United States Code
(known as the ``Antiquities Act''), authorizes the
President, in his discretion, to declare by public
proclamation historic landmarks, historic and
prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic
or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands
owned or controlled by the Federal Government to be
national monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof
parcels of land, the limits of which in all cases shall
be confined to the smallest area compatible with the
proper care and management of the objects to be
protected;
WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to preserve the
objects of scientific and historic interest on these
public lands as an enlargement of the boundary of the
Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by the authority vested in me
by section 320301 of title 54, United States Code,
hereby proclaim the objects identified above that are
situated upon lands and interests in lands owned or
controlled by the Federal Government to be part of the
Cascade Siskiyou National Monument and, for the purpose
of protecting those objects, reserve as part thereof
all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by
the Federal Government within the boundaries described
on the accompanying map, which is attached hereto and
forms a part of this proclamation. These reserved
Federal lands and interests in lands encompass
approximately 48,000 acres. The boundaries described on
the accompanying map are confined to the smallest area
compatible with the proper care and management of the
objects to be protected.
Nothing in this proclamation shall change the
management of the areas protected under Proclamation
7318. Terms used in this proclamation shall have the
same meaning as those defined in Proclamation 7318.
All Federal lands and interests in lands within the
boundaries described on the accompanying map are hereby
appropriated and withdrawn from
[[Page 6149]]
all forms of entry, location, selection, sale, or other
disposition under the public land laws, from location,
entry, and patent under the mining laws, and from
disposition under all laws relating to mineral and
geothermal leasing, other than by exchange that
furthers the protective purposes of the monument.
The enlargement of the boundary is subject to valid
existing rights. If the Federal Government subsequently
acquires any lands or interests in lands not owned or
controlled by the Federal Government within the
boundaries described on the accompanying map, such
lands and interests in lands shall be reserved as a
part of the monument, and objects identified above that
are situated upon those lands and interests in lands
shall be part of the monument, upon acquisition of
ownership or control by the Federal Government.
The Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) shall manage
the area being added to the monument through the Bureau
of Land Management as a unit of the National Landscape
Conservation System, under the same laws and
regulations that apply to the rest of the monument,
except that the Secretary may issue a travel management
plan that authorizes snowmobile and non-motorized
mechanized use off of roads in the area being added by
this proclamation, so long as such use is consistent
with the care and management of the objects identified
above.
Nothing in this proclamation shall preclude low-level
overflights of military aircraft, the designation of
new units of special use airspace, or the use or
establishment of military flight training routes over
the lands reserved by this proclamation consistent with
the care and management of the objects identified
above.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge
or diminish the jurisdiction of the State of Oregon or
the State of California with respect to fish and
wildlife management.
Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to revoke
any existing withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation;
however, the monument shall be the dominant
reservation.
Warning is hereby given to all unauthorized persons not
to appropriate, injure, destroy, or remove any feature
of this monument and not to locate or settle upon any
of the lands thereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twelfth day of January, in the year of our Lord two
thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
first.
(Presidential Sig.)
Billing code 3295-F7-P
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TD18JA17.051
[FR Doc. 2017-01332
Filed 1-17-17; 11:15 a.m.]
Billing code 4310-10-C