California Senator introduces legislation to safeguard the state’s northern headwaters

Today, Senator Alex Padilla introduced the Sáttítla National Monument Establishment Act, which calls for a national monument designation that would protect over 200,000 acres of culturally significant and ecologically rich lands, in addition to vital headwaters and freshwater aquifers in northeast California. Initiated by the Pit River Tribe and applauded by the Pit River Tribal Council, the legislation would create a co-stewardship agreement to incorporate the Tribe's Traditional Knowledge into land management. The region is the homelands of the Pit River Tribe and the Modoc, Shasta, Karuk, and Wintu peoples.

"The Sáttítla region is home to one of the nation's largest aquifers, a vast underground volcanic network that provides cool, clean waters for California cities, farms, and wildlife. We must take action to protect it," said Daniel Rossman, California Deputy Director of The Wilderness Society. "We stand with the Pit River Tribe in their proposal to protect this landscape as a national monument and thank Senator Padilla and the California delegation for uniting support for this vision."

Alongside the legislation, Senator Padilla sent a letter to the Biden-Harris administration, co-signed by Laphonza Butler (D-CA) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), asking for swift designation of the proposed Sáttítla National Monument using the Antiquities Act, a powerful conservation tool for protecting areas of cultural, ecological, and historical significance. The administration is close to setting a record for protecting the most public land using the Antiquities Act of any recent president in their first term.

Located just miles from the revered Mt. Shasta, the proposed monument spans parts of the Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, and Modoc National Forests. These forests and mountains provide habitat for numerous plant and wildlife species, including rare bats, goshawks, spotted owls, Sierra martens, Pacific fishers, and medicinal plant species. It also provides space for solitude and recreation opportunities for local communities. The integrity of this ecosystem is essential to maintaining species protection and habitat connectivity throughout Northern California.

As a national monument, the area would be protected from industrial mining, which has the potential to devastate cultural sites and water purity.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Gaby Diaz
Communications, The Wilderness Society
[email protected] / 720.464.1941