Presidential Documents

24095

Federal Register

Vol. 65, No. 80

Tuesday, April 25, 2000

Title 3—

The President

Proclamation 7295 of April 15, 2000

Establishment of the Giant Sequoia National Monument

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The rich and varied landscape of the Giant Sequoia National Monument

holds a diverse array of scientific and historic resources. Magnificent groves

of towering giant sequoias, the world’s largest trees, are interspersed within

a great belt of coniferous forest, jeweled with mountain meadows. Bold

granitic domes, spires, and plunging gorges texture the landscape. The area’s

elevation climbs from about 2,500 to 9,700 feet over a distance of only

a few miles, capturing an extraordinary number of habitats within a relatively

small area. This spectrum of ecosystems is home to a diverse array of

plants and animals, many of which are rare or endemic to the southern

Sierra Nevada. The monument embraces limestone caverns and holds unique

paleontological resources documenting tens of thousands of years of ecosystem change. The monument also has many archaeological sites recording

Native American occupation and adaptations to this complex landscape,

and historic remnants of early Euroamerican settlement as well as the commercial exploitation of the giant sequoias. The monument provides exemplary

opportunities for biologists, geologists, paleontologists, archaeologists, and

historians to study these objects.

Ancestral forms of giant sequoia were a part of the western North American

landscape for millions of years. Giant sequoias are the largest trees ever

to have lived, and are among the world’s longest-lived trees, reaching ages

of more than 3,200 years or more. Because of this great longevity, giant

sequoias hold within their tree rings multi-millennial records of past environmental changes such as climate, fire regimes, and consequent forest response.

Only one other North American tree species, the high-elevation bristlecone

pine of the desert mountain ranges east of the Sierra Nevada, holds such

lengthy and detailed chronologies of past changes and events.

Sequoias and their surrounding ecosystems provide a context for understanding ongoing environmental changes. For example, a century of fire

suppression has led to an unprecedented failure in sequoia reproduction

in otherwise undisturbed groves. Climatic change also has influenced the

sequoia groves; their present highly disjunct distribution is at least partly

due to generally higher summertime temperatures and prolonged summer

droughts in California from about 10,000 to 4,500 years ago. During that

period, sequoias were rarer than today. Only following a slight cooling

and shortening of summer droughts, about 4,500 years ago, has the sequoia

been able to spread and create today’s groves.

These giant sequoia groves and the surrounding forest provide an excellent

opportunity to understand the consequences of different approaches to forest

restoration. These forests need restoration to counteract the effects of a

century of fire suppression and logging. Fire suppression has caused forests

to become denser in many areas, with increased dominance of shade-tolerant

species. Woody debris has accumulated, causing an unprecedented buildup

of surface fuels. One of the most immediate consequences of these changes

is an increased hazard of wildfires of a severity that was rarely encountered

in pre-Euroamerican times. Outstanding opportunities exist for studying the

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consequences of different approaches to mitigating these conditions and

restoring natural forest resilience.

The great elevational range of the monument embraces a number of climatic

zones, providing habitats for an extraordinary diversity of plant species

and communities. The monument is rich in rare plants and is home to

more than 200 plant species endemic to the southern Sierra Nevada mountain

range, arrayed in plant communities ranging from low-elevation oak woodlands and chaparral to high-elevation subalpine forest. Numerous meadows

and streams provide an interconnected web of habitats for moisture-loving

species.

This spectrum of interconnected vegetation types provides essential habitat

for wildlife, ranging from large, charismatic animals to less visible and

less familiar forms of life, such as fungi and insects. The mid-elevation

forests are dominated by massive conifers arrayed in a complex landscape

mosaic, providing one of the last refugia for the Pacific fisher in California.

The fisher appears to have been extirpated from the northern Sierra Nevada

mountain range. The forests of the monument are also home to great gray

owl, American marten, northern goshawk, peregrine falcon, spotted owl,

and a number of rare amphibians. The giant sequoias themselves are the

only known trees large enough to provide nesting cavities for the California

condor, which otherwise must nest on cliff faces. In fact, the last pair

of condors breeding in the wild was discovered in a giant sequoia that

is part of the new monument. The monument’s giant sequoia ecosystem

remains available for the return and study of condors.

The physiography and geology of the monument have been shaped by millions of years of intensive uplift, erosion, volcanism, and glaciation. The

monument is dominated by granitic rocks, most noticeable as domes and

spires in areas such as the Needles. The magnificent Kern Canyon forms

the eastern boundary of the monument’s southern unit. The canyon follows

an ancient fault, forming the only major north-south river drainage in the

Sierra Nevada. Remnants of volcanism are expressed as hot springs and

soda springs in some drainages.

Particularly in the northern unit of the monument, limestone outcrops, remnants of an ancient seabed, are noted for their caves. Subfossil vegetation

entombed within ancient woodrat middens in these caves has provided

the only direct evidence of where giant sequoias grew during the Pleistocene

Era, and documents substantial vegetation changes over the last 50,000 or

more years. Vertebrate fossils also have been found within the middens.

Other paleontological resources are found in meadow sediments, which

hold detailed records of the last 10 millennia of changing vegetation, fire

regimes, and volcanism in the Sierra Nevada. The multi-millennial, annualand seasonal-resolution records of past fire regimes held in giant sequoia

tree-rings are unique worldwide.

During the past 8,000 years, Native American peoples of the Sierra Nevada

have lived by hunting and fishing, gathering, and trading with other people

throughout the region. Archaeological sites such as lithic scatters, foodprocessing sites, rock shelters, village sites, petroglyphs, and pictographs

are found in the monument. These sites have the potential to shed light

on the roles of prehistoric peoples, including the role they played in shaping

the ecosystems on which they depended.

One of the earliest recorded references to giant sequoias is found in the

notes of the Walker Expedition of 1833, which described ‘‘trees of the

redwood species, incredibly large... .’’ The world became aware of giant

sequoias when sections of the massive trees were transported east and displayed as curiosities for eastern audiences. Logging of giant sequoias throughout the Sierra Nevada mountain range began in 1856. Logging has continued

intermittently to this day on nonfederal lands within the area of the monument. Early entrepreneurs, seeing profit in the gigantic trees, began acquiring

lands within the present monument under the Timber and Stone Act in

the 1880s. Today our understanding of the history of the Hume Lake and

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Converse Basin areas of the monument is supported by a treasure trove

of historical photographs and other documentation. These records provide

a unique and unusually clear picture of more than half a century of logging

that resulted in the virtual removal of most forest in some areas of the

monument. Outstanding opportunities exist for studying forest resilience

to large-scale logging and the consequences of different approaches to forest

restoration.

Section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431) 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 lands owned or controlled by

the Government of the United States 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 appears that it would be in the public interest to reserve

such lands as a national monument to be known as the Giant Sequoia

National Monument:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States

of America, by the authority vested in me by section 2 of the Act of

June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431), do proclaim that there are

hereby set apart and reserved as the Giant Sequoia National Monument,

for the purpose of protecting the objects identified in the above preceding

paragraphs, all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the

United States within the boundaries of the area described on the map

entitled ‘‘Proposed Giant Sequoia National Monument’’ attached to and forming a part of this proclamation. The Federal land and interests in land

reserved consist of approximately 327,769 acres, which is the smallest area

compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected as identified in the above preceding paragraphs.

All Federal lands and interests in lands within the boundaries of this monument are hereby appropriated and withdrawn from entry, location, selection,

sale, leasing, or other disposition under the public land laws including,

but not limited to, withdrawal from locating, 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. Lands and interests in lands within the boundaries

of the monument not owned by the United States shall be reserved as

a part of the monument upon acquisition of title thereto by the United

States.

The establishment of this monument is subject to valid existing rights.

Timber sales under contract as of the date of the proclamation and timber

sales with a decision notice signed after January 1, 1999, but prior to

December 31, 1999, may be completed consistent with the terms of the

decision notice and contract. No portion of the monument shall be considered

to be suited for timber production, and no part of the monument shall

be used in a calculation or provision of a sustained yield of timber from

the Sequoia National Forest. Removal of trees, except for personal use fuel

wood, from within the monument area may take place only if clearly needed

for ecological restoration and maintenance or public safety.

The Secretary of Agriculture shall manage the monument, along with the

underlying Forest, through the Forest Service, pursuant to applicable legal

authorities, to implement the purposes and provisions of this proclamation.

The Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare, within 3 years of this date,

a management plan for this monument, and shall promulgate such regulations

for its management as deemed appropriate. The plan will provide for and

encourage continued public and recreational access and use consistent with

the purposes of the monument.

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Unique scientific and ecological issues are involved in management of giant

sequoia groves, including groves located in nearby and adjacent lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service.

The Secretary, in consultation with the National Academy of Sciences, shall

appoint a Scientific Advisory Board to provide scientific guidance during

the development of the initial management plan. Board membership shall

represent a range of scientific disciplines pertaining to the objects to be

protected, including, but not necessarily limited to, the physical, biological,

and social sciences.

The Secretary, through the Forest Service, shall, in developing any management plans and any management rules and regulations governing the monument, consult with the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of

Land Management and the National Park Service. The final decision to

issue any management plans and any management rules and regulations

rests with the Secretary of Agriculture. Management plans or rules and

regulations developed by the Secretary of the Interior governing uses within

national parks or other national monuments administered by the Secretary

of the Interior shall not apply within the Giant Sequoia National Monument.

The management plan shall contain a transportation plan for the monument

that provides for visitor enjoyment and understanding about the scientific

and historic objects in the monument, consistent with their protection. For

the purposes of protecting the objects included in the monument, motorized

vehicle use will be permitted only on designated roads, and non-motorized

mechanized vehicle use will be permitted only on designated roads and

trails, except for emergency or authorized administrative purposes or to

provide access for persons with disabilities. No new roads or trails will

be authorized within the monument except to further the purposes of the

monument. Prior to the issuance of the management plan, existing roads

and trails may be closed or altered to protect the objects of interest in

the monument, and motorized vehicle use will be permitted on trails until

but not after December 31, 2000.

Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to diminish or enlarge the

jurisdiction of the State of California with respect to fish and wildlife management.

There is hereby reserved, as of the date of this proclamation and subject

to valid existing rights, a quantity of water sufficient to fulfill the purposes

for which this monument is established. Nothing in this reservation shall

be construed as a relinquishment or reduction of any water use or rights

reserved or appropriated by the United States on or before the date of

this proclamation.

Laws, regulations, and policies pertaining to administration by the Department of Agriculture of grazing permits and timber sales under contract

as of the date of this proclamation on National Forest System lands within

the boundaries of the monument shall continue to apply to lands within

the monument.

Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to affect existing special

use authorizations; existing uses shall be governed by applicable laws, regulations, and management plans.

Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to revoke any existing withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation; however, the national 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.

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day

of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the Independence

Billing code 3195–01–P

of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty fourth.

œ–

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[FR Doc. 00–10312

Filed 4–24–00; 8:45 am]

Billing code 3195–01–C