Frequently Asked Questions

National monuments are designated to safeguard public lands and waters that have cultural, historic, ecological, and scientific importance to ensure that future generations can enjoy these places. California is home to 17 national monuments that preserve special deserts, oceans, forests, mountain ranges, geologic features, cultural resources, and historic places.

The Antiquities Act grants U.S. Presidents the ability to designate federal public lands, waters, and cultural and historical sites as national monuments with a Presidential Proclamation. Since President Teddy Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act into law in 1906, 18 US Presidents from both parties have used the Act to protect national monuments. Congress can also establish or modify national monuments through legislation.

While the public lands and natural areas we like to explore and enjoy may seem protected, not all of these places are necessarily safeguarded into the future. National monuments are special because they provide permanent protections for public lands now and for future generations. Designating national monuments prevents harmful development projects and may help increase agency staff and funding resources to improve management of recreation and other activities on these lands. National monuments also honor communities’ cultural, spiritual, historical, and ecological values and can be centered around justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in some of our nation's most underserved areas. Looking ahead, it is imperative to tell the full range of our country’s stories in existing and newly-protected landscapes.

The proposed Wigi National Monument would have a collaborative management framework that would provide opportunities for co-management for the Wiyot Tribe, the Blue Lake Rancheria, and the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria-- all federally recognized tribes with ancestral ties to this land and traditional ecological knowledge to share. No conservation landowner within the proposed national monument would lose any of their land, their autonomy, or their ability to manage. These landowners include the Wiyot Tribe, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Friends of the Dunes. The Wigi National Monument would be a unifying land management structure for working cooperatively across boundaries, pooling and attracting new resources to address common challenges, honoring traditional ecological knowledge, and managing for the shared goals of cultural resource protection and native plant, wildlife, and ecosystem health.

Yes. National monuments ensure public lands are managed with local input to facilitate careful, responsible enjoyment of these special areas. Local input is collected through an extensive public National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, which includes public meetings, field trips, and other opportunities to provide input on how the national monument should be managed. ​ The management of these areas takes into consideration local priorities that may include assessing opportunities to improve recreational access, preserving Tribal culture and religious activities, and promoting cooperative conservation and management opportunities to enhance and restore wildlife habitat and corridors.

The establishment of Wigi National Monument would help permanently protect an area that is culturally significant to local Native American Tribes, conserve the region’s diverse habitats, continue a decades-long effort to collaboratively manage the lands, and preserve places for locals and visitors to enjoy and explore.