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Range of Light National Monument: Coalition Letter to President Biden

Tuesday, July 23, 2024*

Dear President Biden, Secretary Haaland, & Chair Mallory:

Your administration set the historic goal of conserving 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030, and the Range of Light National Monument will help fulfill that incredible land legacy in a big way.

We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, encourage you to protect the 1.4 million acres of federal land between Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks as the Range of Light National Monument. This extraordinary place, between the parks and in the center of the longest interconnected wilderness in the lower 48 states, presents a rare opportunity to create an integrated ecosystem in one the most biodiverse places in the world.

From the blue oak woodlands to the granite spires of the high alpine, the beauty and biodiversity of the Sierra Nevada is nothing short of remarkable. While the Sierra Nevada takes up only 20 percent of California’s land mass, half of its native plant species live there and more than 400 of its species are found nowhere else on earth, including the infamous giant sequoia. The Range of Light National Monument is home to 24 species listed as endangered or threatened by state and federal agencies, six distinct ecoregions, and three major watersheds: the Kings, the Merced and the San Joaquin Rivers, which support wildlife, fish, farms, and families.

Not only will the monument benefit native species, but it will serve humanity, where it is most needed. The closest urban area to the monument is Fresno, and it is ranked as the second worst metro area in America to raise children based on the Child Opportunity Index (COI), outranked only by Bakersfield just to the south. Fresno’s concentrated poverty rate is the highest in California, and its residents suffer through the worst air pollution in the nation, the highest levels of asthma, (20 percent of adults and 17 percent of children have asthma) and the lowest levels of local parks. Youth and families in this region deserve the opportunity to experience parks and natural places that are free of pollution.

This monument offers that, and more. The new national monument, managed by the National Park Service, will also increase local employment by some 2,900 jobs – providing 40 new jobs for every job displaced. This will catalyze park-based tourism, residential growth, and business opportunities, increasing them to $1.1 billion annually, when combined with Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks.

Finally, adding 1.4 million acres to America’s conserved lands would significantly advance the goal of protecting 30 percent of the nation’s lands by 2030. This would preserve and expand forests and soils sequestering carbon and create a wildlife corridor enabling plants and animals to adapt to climate change.

The Antiquities Act is a critically important presidential tool that has played a pivotal role in our country’s history, and in the history of the National Park Service. As advocates for the protection of our National Parks, public lands, and nature itself –– we urge you to use the Antiquities Act to protect the southern Sierra Nevada, and create Range of Light National Monument for people and wildlife for all time.

Sincerely,

  1. 350 Bay Area Action
  2. 350 Eugene
  3. 350 Salem Oregon
  4. 350 Seattle
  5. 350Hawaii
  6. 350PDX
  7. Adventure Safety International
  8. Aequor Inc.
  9. Alliance for the Wild Rockies
  10. Animals Are Sentient Beings, Inc.
  11. Anthropocene Alliance
  12. Arts District Community Council Los Angeles
  13. Athens County’s Future Action Network
  14. AV Exit, LLC
  15. Aytzim: Ecological Judaism
  16. Battle Creek Alliance
  17. Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project
  18. Bozeman Birders
  19. California Chaparral Institute
  20. Californians for Energy Choice
  21. Cascadia Climate Action Now
  22. Christians Caring for Creation
  23. Christians For The Mountains
  24. Clean Energy Action
  25. CleanEarth4Kids.org
  26. Climate Action Now, Western Massachusetts
  27. Climate Communications Coalition
  28. Climate Reality Bay Area Chapter
  29. Climate Reality Chapter, Sacramento
  30. Climate reality Massachusetts Southcoast
  31. Climate Reality Project San Diego
  32. Climate Reality Project, Riverside County Chapter
  33. Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks
  34. Coastal Plain Conservation Group
  35. Co-Chair
  36. Conservation Congress
  37. Creation Justice Ministries
  38. Dogwood Alliance
  39. Don’t Waste Arizona
  40. Earth Ethics, Inc.
  41. Earth Law Center
  42. Earth Neighborhood Productions
  43. ecoAmerica
  44. Eco-Integrity Alliance
  45. Elders Climate Action Northern California Chapter
  46. Empower Our Future
  47. Endangered Species Coalition
  48. Environmental Center of San Diego
  49. Environmental Education Fund
  50. Environmental Protection Information Center
  51. Extinction Rebellion San Francisco Bay Area
  52. Feather River Action!
  53. Forest Keeper
  54. Forest Unlimited
  55. Forests Forever
  56. Foundation Earth
  57. Friends of Big Bear Valley
  58. Friends of the Bitterroot
  59. Friends of the Clearwater
  60. Friends of the Earth US
  61. Gallatin Wildlife Association
  62. Gallatin Yellowstone Wilderness Alliance
  63. Green Latinos
  64. Heartwood
  65. Heirs To Our Ocean
  66. Inland Ocean Coalition
  67. Interfaith Oceans program
  68. Intheshadowofthewolf
  69. John Muir Project
  70. Kettle Range Conservation Group
  71. Klamath Forest Alliance
  72. Last Tree Laws
  73. Last Tree Laws Massachusetts
  74. Latino Outdoors
  75. Legal Rights for the Salish Sea
  76. Los Padres ForestWatch
  77. Massachusetts Forest Watch
  78. Melrose UU Church Climate Action Team
  79. MO’s Defensible Space
  80. Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center
  81. Natural Resources Law
  82. New Jersey Forest Watch
  83. North American Climate, Conservation and Environment (NACCE)
  84. North County Climate Change Alliance
  85. Northwest Watershed Institute
  86. NTS Group
  87. Oil and Gas Action Network
  88. Old-Growth Forest Network
  89. One Earth
  90. Our City SF
  91. Peace Action Wisconsin
  92. Project Monarch LA
  93. Protect Our Woods
  94. Protect Thacker Pass
  95. Public Land Media
  96. Public Lands Conservancy
  97. Putnam Progressives
  98. Rachel Carson Council
  99. RESTORE: The North Woods
  100. Ridgeview Conservancy
  101. Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment (SCOPE)
  102. Santa Cruz Climate Action Network
  103. Santa Fe Forest Coalition
  104. Selkirk Conservation Alliance
  105. Sequoia ForestKeeper
  106. Shawnee Natural Area Guardians
  107. Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt, NY
  108. Soda Mountain Wilderness Council
  109. Sonoma County Climate Activist Network (SoCoCAN!)
  110. Spokane Audubon Society
  111. Standing Trees
  112. Sustainable Central Savannah River Area
  113. Sustainable Mill Valley
  114. Swan View Coalition
  115. Terra Advocati
  116. The Climate Reality Project: California Coalition
  117. The Enviro Show
  118. The Forest Advocate
  119. The People’s Justice Council
  120. The Wei LLC
  121. Thurston Climate Action Team
  122. Tree Action Group
  123. Timbuctoo Mountain Club
  124. Turtle Island Restoration Network
  125. Umpqua Natural Leadership Science Hub
  126. Umpqua Watersheds
  127. Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community
  128. Valley Watch, Inc.
  129. Vote Climate
  130. Wall of Women
  131. Water League
  132. We Advocate Thorough Environmental Review
  133. Western Watersheds Project
  134. Wild Heritage
  135. Wild Watershed
  136. WildEarth Guardians
  137. Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network
  138. World Rainforest Fund
  139. World Stewardship Institute
  140. Yaak Valley Forest Council
  141. National Religious Coalition on Creation
  142. Young Democrats of America Environmental Caucus
  143. Unite the Parks

*List is being updated daily; the date reflects last recorded update.