President Obama announced Friday that he is designating three new national monuments, . The new monuments will protect over one million acres of public land.
The monuments include in California, in Texas, and in Nevada.
The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument is a “biodiversity hot spot” and spans 331,000 acres in California’s Inner Coast Range, according to the release. Waco Mammoth National Monument includes the remains of 24 Columbian mammoths, “including the nation’s first and only recorded discovery of a nursery herd of mammoths.” Basin and Range National Monument covers 704,000 acres and contains rock art dating back 4,000 years.
“With these new designations, President Obama will have used the Antiquities Act to establish or expand 19 national monuments,” according to the release. “Altogether, he has protected more than 260 million acres of public lands and waters—more than any other president.”