Tuleyome's Policy Corner - What a Year 2023 Was!

Sandy Schubert • January 13, 2024

Molok Luyuk from Bear Valley by Bob Wick

2023 was a good year for public lands across the nation and Molok Luyuk.

President Biden and his administration took numerous actions to safeguard our public lands and meet his “America the Beautiful” commitment to protect 30% of our land, waters and oceans by 2030 (30X30). In doing so President Biden is preserving the Nation’s vast biodiversity, numerous scientific and cultural resources, linking together critical wildlife corridors and elevating the role of Tribes in managing our lands.

President Biden designated four new National Monuments to protect significant natural, cultural and scientific objects throughout the West. Avi Kwa Ame (Spirit Mountain) National Monument spans 506,814 acres in southern Nevada and is important to numerous Indigenous peoples. Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon – National Monument safeguards nearly one million acres surrounding the Grand Canyon that contains ancestral places sacred to numerous Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples. Castner Range National Monument in El Paso, Texas, protects 6,672 acres of high desert mountains that once served as an Army training site and contains numerous sites that trace the history of Tribal Nations. Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument is comprised of 5.7 acres spread over three sites in Illinois and Mississippi that are central to Emmett Till’s murder, the events that followed and the Civil Rights movement.

President Biden also took numerous other actions to protect our public lands. A recent report by the Center for American Progress, The Biden Administration Has Reached Conservation Records in 2023 , has documented the more than 12.5 million acres that he safeguarded and 200 co-stewardship agreement with Tribes in 2023 alone.  

And, the Administration’s eyes have turned to California and Molok Luyuk in 2023. Tuleyome hosted 11 wildflower tours of Molok Luyuk and Bear Valley and numerous other tours of the area for partners, the Biden Administration, our Congressional champions, the media, scientists and more.

Congressman Mike Thompson, Secretary Deb Haaland, BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning, Tuleyome Executive Director Sandra Schubert, and Congressman John Garamendi on Molok Luyuk

U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Deb Haaland visited Molok Luyuk with Representatives Garamendi and Thompson in September for a tour with Tuleyome and the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. The one on one opportunity was invaluable for Tuleyome to share the uniqueness of Molok Luyuk. She then held a roundtable with our Congressional champions and local Tribal Nations and conservation organizations, followed by a hike on Frog Pond Trail.

In December, DOI, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) hosted a Community Listening Session for feedback on the proposal to add Molok Luyuk to Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. Over 200 people attended and 75 offered comments, 100% in favor of protecting Molok Luyuk! The following day Tuleyome, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and our partners hosted Nada Wolff Culver, Principal Deputy Director, BLM, Karen Mouritsen, BLM – California Director, Wade McMaster, Mendocino National Forest Supervisor, representing Regional Forester Jennifer Eberlien and Alexx Sanchez, Special Assistant, Office of Assistant Secretary - Land and Minerals Management, DOI, and others on a tour of Molok Luyuk.

All were able to see first hand the amazing natural, scientific and cultural resources that are part of Molok Luyuk.

But our work is not over. We need to keep building support and show the Administration how special this place is. We are only done when Molok Luyuk is added to Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. So, come join us in this effort – learn more , sign the petition , volunteer with us , join us for a hike or a tour and spread the word!

-Sandra Schubert; sschubert@tuleyome.org

Executive Director

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