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USDA celebrates new monument as NCBA denounces it

A view of Medicine Lake and Little Medicine Lake, from Little Mount Hoffman Lookout, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California. Photo courtesy USDA Forest Service
Monument-RFP-011325

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small issued a news release praising President Biden’s designation of a new national monument, Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in Northern California, which the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association denounced.

“This landscape, which has been occupied by Indigenous peoples for more than 5,000 years, continues to be integral to Tribal religious and cultural practices despite a history of forced dispossession. Establishing this monument takes a step toward recognizing the history of exclusion of Tribal Nations on these lands,” Vilsack said. “The designation also recognizes the unusual geology of one of the largest volcanos in the Cascade Range, and the rare plants and animals that call this dynamic landscape home. The monument also protects the region’s recreational opportunities, dramatic scenic views, and world-class dark night skies.”

“Last month, I had heard from hundreds of people about the significance of the Sáttítla Highlands in their personal lives and for their communities, the regional watershed and our planet,” Torres Small said. “Today’s designation of the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument recognizes the importance of the area’s cultural resources for Indigenous peoples, who have been there since time immemorial, and provides opportunities for collaborative conservation to manage and protect this special place.”



The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council condemned the Biden administration’s action as an “irresponsible use of the Antiquities Act to create the Chuckwalla and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monuments.

“There are 13 days left in the Biden administration and, once again, the Antiquities Act is being recklessly applied to nearly 1 million acres to create tremendous uncertainty for rural communities that rely on responsible resource management. President Biden’s unilateral action to create new monuments this late in his term shows that these monuments are politically motivated and devoid of resource planning for the future,” said NCBA Executive Director of Natural Resources and PLC Executive Director Kaitlynn Glover. “The record is clear: Monument designations at the eleventh hour jeopardize rangeland health, threaten local economic stability, and unnecessarily make these areas political pawns during a transition period. NCBA and PLC strongly oppose this declaration and will work with the Trump administration to limit abuse and bring common sense back to this process.”



A view of Medicine Lake and Little Medicine Lake, from Little Mount Hoffman Lookout, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California. Photo courtesy USDA Forest Service
Monument-RFP-011325
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