Establishment of the Browns Canyon National Monument, 9975-9980 [X15-10224]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 2015)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 9975-9980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: X15-10224]



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Vol. 80

Tuesday,

No. 36

February 24, 2015

Part IV





The President





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Proclamation 9232--Establishment of the Browns Canyon National Monument


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 36 / Tuesday, February 24, 2015 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

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                Proclamation 9232 of February 19, 2015

                
Establishment of the Browns Canyon National 
                Monument

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                In central Colorado's vibrant upper Arkansas River 
                valley, the rugged granite cliffs, colorful rock 
                outcroppings, and stunning mountain vistas of Browns 
                Canyon form an iconic landscape that attracts visitors 
                from around the world. The landscape's canyons, rivers, 
                and backcountry forests have provided a home for humans 
                for over 10,000 years, and the cultural and historical 
                resources found in this landscape are a testament to 
                the area's Native Peoples as well as the history of 
                more recent settlers and mining communities. The area's 
                unusual geology and roughly 3,000-foot range in 
                elevation support a diversity of plants and wildlife, 
                including a significant herd of bighorn sheep. Browns 
                Canyon harbors a wealth of scientifically significant 
                geological, ecological, riparian, cultural, and 
                historic resources, and is an important area for 
                studies of paleoecology, mineralogy, archaeology, and 
                climate change.

                Following its descent between the Sawatch and Mosquito 
                Ranges, the Arkansas River flows through Browns Canyon 
                in the heart of the upper Arkansas River valley. The 
                Arkansas River valley is the northernmost valley in the 
                R[iacute]o Grande Rift system, one of the most 
                significant rift systems in the world and one of few 
                where the Earth's continental crust is actively moving 
                apart. The 35 million-year-old R[iacute]o Grande Rift 
                begins in the State of Chihuahua in Mexico and extends 
                northward through New Mexico and into Colorado to a 
                terminus in the mountains just north of Browns Canyon.

                The Browns Canyon area of the upper Arkansas River 
                valley has long offered both a permanent source of 
                water and a means of transportation for its human 
                inhabitants. The area lies within the transition zone 
                between the cultural traditions of the Great Basin and 
                Plains peoples. As a transportation corridor where 
                stable sources of subsistence resources could be found, 
                both migrating people and permanent inhabitants left 
                traces of their presence in this area. Ancestors of the 
                Ute, Apache, Eastern Shoshone, and Comanche Indians are 
                known to have traversed this dramatic landscape while 
                hunting and gathering.

                The upper Arkansas River valley was foundational to the 
                establishment of today's tribal configuration. It was 
                here that the proto-Comanche (Numuna) split into two 
                groups, the Comanche and the Eastern Shoshone. The 
                Buffalo-Eater Band (allies of the Utes) broke away from 
                the Eastern Shoshone in the upper Arkansas River valley 
                vicinity sometime between the late 1600s and early 
                1700s, traveling south into what is present-day New 
                Mexico, Texas, southern Colorado, western Kansas, and 
                the panhandle of Oklahoma.

                While most archaeological resources in the Browns 
                Canyon area have not yet been surveyed or recorded, the 
                story of people living in the upper Arkansas River 
                valley is told through artifacts dating back over 
                10,000 years. Of the resources surveyed, there are 18 
                known archaeological sites within the Browns Canyon 
                area, including 5 prehistoric open lithic sites that 
                have been determined to be eligible for the National 
                Register of Historic Places. Primarily seasonal camps, 
                these sites include open campsites, culturally modified 
                trees, wickiups, tipi rings, chipped stone manufacture 
                and processing sites, a possible ceramic pottery kiln, 
                and rock shelter sites that

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                date to the Archaic Period. The sites range from early 
                Archaic Period and possibly Paleo-Indian Period (around 
                8,000 to 13,000 years before present), which would make 
                this among the earliest known sites in the region, to 
                the Late Archaic Period to proto-historic period 
                (around 3,000 years before present to the 19th century 
                A.D.).

                European exploration of the Browns Canyon region began 
                when the Spanish explorer Juan de Ulibarri visited in 
                1706. A century later, Zebulon Pike explored the Browns 
                Canyon area after his failed attempt to summit what is 
                now known as Pike's Peak. During the late 18th and 
                early 19th centuries, the Spanish army patrolled the 
                upper Arkansas River valley as far north as Leadville 
                to secure the boundaries of Spanish influence and 
                attempt to bar access by competing traders and 
                explorers. Fur trappers exploited the area in the first 
                few decades of the 1800s. The region later became a 
                center for mining, including one of the United States 
                major historic mining districts for fluorite, a 
                colorful mineral with both ornamental and industrial 
                uses. The remnants of this area's mining history 
                include small, abandoned mine sites, old cabin 
                foundations, and nearby mining ghost towns.

                Discovery of gold along the Arkansas River in the 1850s 
                and the 1870s silver boom in Leadville brought an 
                influx of people and a need for transportation. In the 
                1870s, stage roads carried thousands of passengers 
                through this region every year. In the 1880s, after a 
                multi-year legal and armed battle between rival rail 
                companies, the Denver and R[iacute]o Grande Railway 
                became the major transportation option for the region. 
                The section of railroad bed that runs through Browns 
                Canyon east of the Arkansas River is eligible for 
                listing on the National Register of Historic Places. 
                Even today, this same upper Arkansas River valley 
                remains a major transportation corridor for Chaffee 
                County residents and visitors, as well as an important 
                resource for recreational anglers and boaters, and area 
                ranchers and farmers. Local communities have proposed 
                and conducted a feasibility study for establishing the 
                Arkansas Stage and Rail Trail, which would serve as a 
                testament to this travel corridor's prehistoric and 
                historic significance.

                The 1.6 billion-year-old Precambrian granodiorite 
                batholith that constitutes the Canyon is incised by 
                steep gulches that cut through the pink granite and 
                metamorphic rock. Stafford Gulch provides astounding 
                views of the unique Reef formation, a long and 
                distinctive face of exposed rock. During the 
                Pleistocene Epoch, glaciers covered the rugged canyons, 
                gulches, and mountains that awe visitors today. The 
                movement of these glaciers created unique topographical 
                features in the river valley--including glacial 
                cirques, flat, mesa-like terraces, and remnants of 
                large moraines--that are not found along other major 
                streams in the region. While shaping the topography, 
                the glaciers also filled the valley below with masses 
                of sediment, including the gold, silver, and semi-
                precious gems that fueled the mining booms of the 
                1800s. These gems, including the garnets that lend 
                their name to Ruby Mountain in the northern part of the 
                Browns Canyon area, continue to interest professional 
                and amateur geologists.

                Portions of the Browns Canyon area offer a relative 
                wealth of Pennsylvanian age geologic exposures of the 
                Minturn formation and Belden shale that include a 
                diverse assemblage of invertebrate fossils. These sites 
                represent the accumulation of shell fossils in an 
                ancient reef environment, and include remains of 
                bivalves, brachiopods, gastropods, echinoids, 
                nautiloids, conodonts, crinoids, bryozoans, and 
                vertebrates including sharks and bony fish. Many of the 
                fossil forms remain undescribed and will form the basis 
                for future paleontological research.

                The topographic and geologic diversity of the Browns 
                Canyon area has given rise to one of the most 
                significant regions for biodiversity in Colorado. The 
                forest community incorporates a transition zone, with 
                semi-arid pinyon-juniper and mountain mahogany 
                woodlands on the lower slopes giving way to ponderosa 
                pine, Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine, and Douglas fir 
                at higher elevations. Scattered pockets of aspen, 
                willow, Rocky Mountain juniper, river birch, and 
                narrowleaf cottonwood can be found in riparian

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                areas. The Aspen Ridge area is also home to a 
                significant stand of aspen. The understory is home to a 
                variety of plant species, including blue grama grass, 
                mountain muhly, Indian ricegrass, Arizona fescue, blue 
                bunchgrass, prickly pear, cholla, yucca, isolated 
                pockets of alpine bluegrass, and the endemic 
                Brandegee's buckwheat. A stunning array of wildflowers 
                such as the scarlet gilia and larkspur bloom here 
                during the spring and summer. Near Ruby Mountain, 
                imperiled plant species such as Fendler's Townsend-
                daisy, Fendler's false cloak-fern, livemore fiddleleaf, 
                and the endemic Front-Range alumroot can be found. The 
                plant community in this area has repeatedly evolved 
                during periods of climate change since the Eocene 
                Epoch. Geologic and climatic changes since the 
                Precambrian have made the area an important site for 
                research on geology and paleoecology as well as the 
                effects of climate change, wildland fire, and other 
                disturbances on plant and animal communities.

                Some of Colorado's most emblematic animal species call 
                Browns Canyon home. Mountain lions, bighorn sheep, mule 
                deer, bobcat, red and gray fox, American black bear, 
                coyote, American pine marten, kangaroo rat, elk, and 
                several species of tree and ground squirrels can all be 
                found in the Browns Canyon area, which provides 
                essential habitat for mammals and birds alike and 
                attracts hunters and wildlife viewers. Raptors such as 
                red-tailed hawks, Swainson's hawks, golden eagles, 
                turkey vultures, and prairie falcons make their homes 
                in the rocky cliffs and prey upon the abundance of 
                small animals that live in this area. The area also 
                provides habitat suitable for peregrine falcons, which 
                have been identified for possible future reintroduction 
                here, as well as potential habitat for the threatened 
                Canada lynx. A stunning diversity of other bird 
                species, including the cliff swallow, Canada jay, 
                mourning dove, flicker, blue jay, wild turkey, great 
                horned owl, western screech owl, and saw whet owl, 
                attract ornithologists and bird enthusiasts alike to 
                these remote hills.

                A number of reptile and amphibian species occur in the 
                area, including the sensitive boreal toad and northern 
                leopard frog. The Browns Canyon area represents one of 
                the only riparian ecosystems along the Arkansas River 
                that remains relatively undisturbed and contains an 
                intact biotic community.

                The protection of the Browns Canyon area will preserve 
                its prehistoric and historic legacy and maintain its 
                diverse array of scientific resources, ensuring that 
                the prehistoric, historic, and scientific values remain 
                for the benefit of all Americans. The area also 
                provides world class river rafting and outdoor 
                recreation opportunities, including hunting, fishing, 
                hiking, camping, mountain biking, and horseback riding.

                WHEREAS section 320301 of title 54, United States Code 
                (known as the ``Antiquities Act''), 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 the lands 
                owned or controlled by the Federal Government to be 
                national monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof 
                parcels of land, the limits of which shall be confined 
                to the smallest area compatible with the proper care 
                and management of the objects to be protected;

                WHEREAS it is in the public interest to preserve the 
                objects of scientific and historic interest on the 
                lands in and around Browns Canyon;

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by the authority vested in me 
                by section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, 
                hereby proclaim the objects identified above that are 
                situated upon lands and interests in lands owned or 
                controlled by the Federal Government to be the Browns 
                Canyon National Monument (monument) and, for the 
                purpose of protecting those objects, reserve as part 
                thereof all lands and interests in lands owned or 
                controlled by the Federal Government within the 
                boundaries described on the accompanying map, which is 
                attached to and forms a part of this proclamation. 
                These reserved Federal lands and interests in lands 
                encompass approximately 21,586 acres. The

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                boundaries described on the accompanying map are 
                confined to the smallest area compatible with the 
                proper care and management of the objects to be 
                protected.

                All Federal lands and interests in lands within the 
                boundaries described in the accompanying map are hereby 
                appropriated and withdrawn from all forms of entry, 
                location, selection, sale, leasing, or other 
                disposition under the public land laws or laws 
                applicable to the U.S. Forest Service, including 
                location, 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.

                The establishment of the monument is subject to valid 
                existing rights. Lands and interests in lands not owned 
                or controlled by the Federal Government within the 
                boundaries described on the accompanying map shall be 
                reserved as a part of the monument, and objects 
                identified above that are situated upon those lands and 
                interests in lands shall be part of the monument, upon 
                acquisition of ownership or control by the Federal 
                Government.

                The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
                Agriculture (Secretaries) shall manage the monument 
                through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the 
                U.S. Forest Service (USFS), pursuant to their 
                respective applicable legal authorities, to implement 
                the purposes of this proclamation. The USFS shall 
                manage that portion of the monument within the 
                boundaries of the National Forest System (NFS), and the 
                BLM shall manage the remainder of the monument. The 
                lands administered by the BLM shall be managed as a 
                unit of the National Landscape Conservation System, 
                pursuant to applicable legal authorities, including, as 
                applicable, the provisions of section 603 of the 
                Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1782) 
                governing the management of wilderness study areas. The 
                lands administered by the USFS shall be managed as part 
                of the Pike and San Isabel National Forests and 
                Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands.

                For purposes of protecting and restoring the objects 
                identified above, the Secretaries shall jointly prepare 
                a management plan for the monument and shall promulgate 
                such regulations for its management as deemed 
                appropriate. In developing any management plans and any 
                management rules and regulations governing NFS lands 
                within the monument, the Secretary of Agriculture, 
                through the USFS, shall consult with the Secretary of 
                the Interior through the BLM. The Secretaries shall 
                provide for public involvement in the development of 
                the management plan including, but not limited to, 
                consultation with tribal, State, and local governments. 
                In the development and implementation of the management 
                plan, the Secretaries shall maximize opportunities, 
                pursuant to applicable legal authorities, for shared 
                resources, operational efficiency, and cooperation.

                Except for emergency or authorized administrative 
                purposes, motorized and mechanized vehicle use in the 
                monument shall be allowed only on roads and trails 
                designated for such use, consistent with the care and 
                management of the objects identified above. After the 
                date of this proclamation, new roads or trails may only 
                be designated for motorized vehicle use in areas west 
                of the Arkansas River and at the Ruby Mountain 
                Recreation Site and then only as necessary to provide 
                reasonable river or campground access, consistent with 
                the applicable management plan. Forest Road 184 may be 
                realigned or improved only if for the care and 
                management of the objects identified above or as 
                necessary for public safety.

                Nothing in this proclamation affects or shall be deemed 
                to preclude the Secretaries from reissuing existing 
                authorizations or agreements for the cooperative 
                administration of the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation 
                Area. New or modified authorizations or agreements for 
                such purpose may be issued, consistent with the care 
                and management of the objects identified above. The 
                Secretaries also may authorize and reauthorize 
                commercial recreational services within the monument, 
                including outfitting and guiding, consistent with the 
                care and management of the objects identified above.

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                Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to affect 
                the operation or use of the existing railroad corridor 
                as a railroad right of way pursuant to valid existing 
                rights or for recreational purposes consistent with the 
                care and management of the objects identified above.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge 
                or diminish the rights of any Indian tribe. The 
                Secretaries shall, to the maximum extent permitted by 
                law and in consultation with Indian tribes, ensure the 
                protection of Indian sacred sites and traditional 
                cultural properties in the monument and provide access 
                by members of Indian tribes for traditional cultural 
                and customary uses, consistent with the American Indian 
                Religious Freedom Act (42 U.S.C. 1996) and Executive 
                Order 13007 of May 24, 1996 (Indian Sacred Sites).

                Laws, regulations, and policies followed by the BLM or 
                the USFS in issuing and administering grazing permits 
                or leases on lands under their jurisdiction shall 
                continue to apply with regard to the lands in the 
                monument, consistent with the care and management of 
                the objects identified above.

                This proclamation does not alter or affect the valid 
                existing water rights of any party, including the 
                United States. This proclamation does not reserve water 
                as a matter of Federal law, and the inclusion of the 
                land underlying the Arkansas River in the monument 
                shall not be construed to reserve such a right. This 
                proclamation does not alter or affect agreements 
                governing the management and administration of Arkansas 
                River flows, including the Voluntary Flow Management 
                Program.

                Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to enlarge 
                or diminish the jurisdiction of the State of Colorado, 
                including its jurisdiction and authority with respect 
                to fish and wildlife management.

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

                Warning is hereby given to all unauthorized persons not 
                to appropriate, injure, destroy, or remove any feature 
                of the monument and not to locate or settle upon any of 
                the lands thereof.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                nineteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

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