Local Community and Conservation Advocates’ Message to President Biden: Add Molok Luyuk to California’s Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument

Conservation Lands Foundation
|December 13, 2023
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Woodland, Calif. - Today, U.S. Interior Department and U.S. Department of Agriculture held a public listening session on the proposal to add Molok Luyuk (pronounced “Ma.lok/ Lue.yoke”), to Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument near Sacramento, California. Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, Koi Nation, Pomo of Upper Lake Habematolel, local elected officials, and conservation and outdoor recreation groups are among the supporters to permanently protect the Molok Luyuk landscape.

Below is a statement from Elyane Stefanick, California Program Director for Conservation Lands Foundation:

“As a first-generation Chinese-Filipina, my family didn’t always feel welcome on public lands and Molok Luyuk and the Berryessa Snow Mountain are important to me because they’re accessible to the millions of people in the region and offer so many opportunities to experience nature.

“Conservation Lands Foundation thanks the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service for hosting today’s public meeting where they heard overwhelming support from Tribal leaders, elected officials, and Northern California residents to protect the Molok Luyuk landscape.

“We urge the Biden Administration to advance this locally driven and widely supported effort by using the Antiquities Act to expand Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument and safeguard sites of sacred, cultural and historic significance, outdoor recreation, and a critical wildlife corridor between the existing monument and other protected areas for tule elk, mountain lions, and black bears.

“The landscape is the ancestral home of the Hill Patwin people, and their descendants live here today as the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, the Kletzel Dehe Wintun Nation and the Cachil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians. Historic trails across Molok Luyuk linked these tribes to each other and Indigenous people from all directions continue to come to its springs for ceremonies and healing since time immemorial. Protecting Molok Luyuk will honor and build up this history into future generations”

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About Conservation Lands Foundation

Conservation Lands Foundation leads the only national movement of grassroots advocates to protect, restore and expand National Conservation Lands. CLF is headquartered in Durango, Colorado with field offices throughout the West and in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit conservationlands.org.

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About Conservation Lands Foundation
We’re the only nonprofit leading a national movement of community-based advocates who care for America’s NATIONAL CONSERVATION LANDS of natural, historical, cultural and recreational significance.
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    Conservation Lands Foundation published this page in Latest News 2023-12-14 09:11:40 -0700
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