National Landscape Conservation System
National Monuments are special areas of public land designated by public proclamation by the President or by Congress, to protect historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, or other objects of historic or scientific interest. While only Congress can designate a National Park or wilderness area, Congress gave the President authority (through the Antiquities Act of 1906) to designate National Monuments. President Theodore Roosevelt used this authority to protect the Grand Canyon. Nearly every President since then has created National Monuments.
Generally, the President´s Proclamation halts new mining claims or oil and gas leases inside the monument. A Monument Proclamation also may require that publicly owned lands and resources always remain in public ownership.
| Carrizo Plain National Monument Designated by Presidential Proclamation in January, 2001. Located 100 airline miles from Los Angeles, it is a place by-passed by time. Soda Lake, its centerpiece, is a glistening bed of white salt, set within a vast open grassland, rimmed by steep mountains. The plain is home to diverse communities of wildlife and plant species. It is an area culturally important to Native Americans.
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| Santa Rosa San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Created by congressional legislation signed by the President on October 24, 2000. Located within the California Desert Conservation Area in Riverside County, the new National Monument encompasses more than 272,000 acres in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains. The lands will be cooperatively administered by BLM and other groups and private owners..
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| California Coastal National Monument Designated by Presidential Proclamation on January 11, 2000, it includes all islands, rocks, exposed reefs and pinnacles off the California coast above the high water mark that are owned by all Americans and have not already been appropriated for other uses, extending out 12 miles along the entire 840-mile California coast. |
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National Conservation Areas (NCAs) are designated by Congress to conserve, protect, enhance, and manage public land areas for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. NCAs feature exceptional natural, recreational, cultural, wildlife, aquatic, archaeological, paleontological, historical, educational, and/or scientific resources.
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