CA Congressional Reps Send Letter to President in Opposition to Proposed Range of Light National Monument

Rep. Tom McClintock and members of the California congressional delegation sent a letter to President Biden Wednesday calling on him not to establish a proposed Range of Light National Monument.  According to Representatives Doug LaMalfa, Kevin Kiley, Vince Fong, David Valadao, Jay Obernolte and Darrell Issa, the proposed monument would re-designate over 1.4 million acres of federal land, including the entirety of the Sierra National Forest and the San Joaquin River Gorge.

At issue is the attempt to “Shift control of the 1.3-million-acre Sierra National Forest to the National Park Service, which would manage it as a national monument benefiting species, helping combat climate change, and inching the Biden administration’s ‘30 by 30 initiative‘ a bit closer to fruition,” National Geographic reports. They explain that “Deanna Lynn Wulff’s Unite the Parks campaign, treats the national forest as the missing puzzle piece needed to link Yosemite National Park to the north with Kings Canyon to the south.”

“The sprawling national forest in California has thousands of mining claims, timber sales, grazing leases, and private inholdings, activities not typically found in national parks. A private Facebook group formed in 2015 to push back against Wulff’s campaign now has 5,500 members. The forest also lies in the congressional district of U.S. Representative Tom McClintock, a Republican who ardently supports multiple use of public lands and argues that logging is integral to forest health.”

Where National Geographic goes off the rails is the claim that “the changing climate requires greater land connectivity to allow species—plants and animals—to retreat to more suitable habitats.”

Here is the Congressional representatives’ letter:

Dear President Biden,

We write to express our strong opposition to the proposed Range of Light National Monument, which would redesignate over 1.4 million acres of federal land, including the entirety of the Sierra National Forest and the San Joaquin River Gorge.

In 1906, the Antiquities Act provided the Executive Branch with the authority to designate national monuments on federal land containing a historic or scientific interest.  These designations were to “be confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.”  Those objects are confined to “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, or other objects of historic or scientific interest.”  The Supreme Court has long held that the power over public land is entrusted to Congress, but Presidents have broadly interpreted the Antiquities Act and abused its original intent to expand both the size and justifications for national monument designations. Although the Antiquities Act gives the President the authority to establish national monuments on federal lands, it would be prudent to recognize the importance of congressional and local input before implementing a change that would greatly affect the local areas.

Since the Range of Light National Monument’s inception, there has been strong opposition from various stakeholders around the area of the proposed monument.  These stakeholders recognize that the decreased access from the designation would be devastating for the local economy, and the increased environmental regulation from the designation would be counterproductive to prevent forest fires.  This designation would be a gross government overreach, and due to the potentially devastating effects of the proposal, along with the strong opposition of local stakeholders, we call on you to not establish the proposed Range of Light National Monument.

Thank you for your consideration.  Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact our offices.

Inside the political battle to preserve a sprawling national forest in .

The text of the letter here.