President Biden announces expansion of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument

The Biden administration announced Tuesday that 13,969 acres of land will be added to the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. 

This monument stretches from Napa to Mendocino counties and was first designated in 2015. But a ridge on the eastern side of the monument called Molok Luyuk was left out. Environmental groups and tribes have advocated for this area’s inclusion in the monument in the years since, describing it as both culturally and environmentally significant.

Protecting Molok Luyuk, a haven of biological diversity in Northern California

Sandra Schubert, executive director of the environmental nonprofit Tuleyome, said her organization has rallied for Molok Luyuk’s inclusion since the original monument’s designation. 

“In some ways, it's hard to believe that it's happening, but in other ways, it's hard to believe it's taken this long,” she said. “It's wonderful to have this area protected.”

Alongside added protections to the area, Schubert said the designation opens up the possibility of new funding for trails and educational programs. She said she’s also excited to see the Biden administration’s support for tribal co-management of the area. As part of the announcement, the administration directed the Secretary of the Interior to “explore co-stewardship of the area with Tribal Nations.”

“That's a really exciting area and I think in our area, that's something that we should be watching,” she said. “So if we do it right, we can provide, I think, models that other folks can look at.”

A view from the blossoming foothills beside the ridge known as Molok Luyuk on April 14, 2023.Manola Secaira / CapRadio

The administration also announced an expansion of 105,919 acres to the San Gabriel Mountain National Monument in Southern California. Guillermo Rodriguez, the California director for the conservation nonprofit Trust for Public Land, said the two expansions reflect a significant difference between the Biden and Trump administration’s approaches to protecting natural lands. 

“Just a few years ago, under a different administration, activists and conservationists across the country were defending these special places from shrinking,” he said. “So it's exciting hearing the president announce the expansion and added protection of some amazing landscapes.”

The president has the authority to designate monuments and expansions through the Antiquities Act of 1906. Rodriguez said he sees the act as an “amazing tool” that gives communities a vehicle to advocate for an area’s protection — which was, in this case, successful. 

“It really represents what a local community can do,” he said. 

The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation expressed gratitude for the Biden administration’s support for co-management of Molok Luyuk between Patwin tribes in the area and the Bureau of Land Management. Tribal officials have previously expressed interest in reintroducing condors to the area as part of that management; condors are a species of native vulture that once thrived in the area and are culturally important to the Tribe. 

“We look forward to the day when condors fly over Molok Luyuk once again,” said the tribe’s chairman, Anthony Roberts, in the statement.