The Honorable Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
BUSINESS SUPPORT FOR EXPANDING THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL NATIONAL MONUMENT
Dear Mr. President,
As outdoor industry companies that depend on protected landscapes where our customers recreate, we urge you to use your authority under the Antiquities Act to expand the California Coastal National Monument. After years of community dialogue and overwhelming public support, it is time to add Trinidad Head, Lighthouse Ranch, Lost Coast Headlands, Cotoni-Coast Dairies, and Piedras Blancas to the California Coastal National Monument.
When President Clinton first established the California Coastal National Monument in 2000, it became our most viewed, but least visited monument. Comprised originally of 20,000 offshore rocks and islands, the monument was biologically important and scenically jaw dropping, yet offered few opportunities to visitors. With your addition of the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands to the monument in 2014, visitors gained the first on-land addition to the monument. Expanding the monument will provide public access and interpretation opportunities while protecting important coastal resources for current and future generations to enjoy.
Thanks to the efforts of Senators Boxer and Feinstein along with Representatives Capps, Eshoo and Huffman, the proposed expansion of the California Coastal National Monument enjoys widespread support throughout California. We are encouraged that these Congressional champions have also called on you to expand the California Coastal National Monument.
As companies in California, we can attest to the direct benefits that this designation will bring to the communities of our state, and the outdoor industry. In California, the outdoor recreation economy contributes $85 billion in consumer spending and supports 732,000 jobs. This economic contribution depends on places for our customers to play, learn, and share the outdoors with friends and family. The proposed additions to the California Coastal National Monument will help grow California’s outdoor recreation economy.
We hope you will use the Antiquities Act to expand the California Coastal National Monument before the end of 2016.
Sincerely,
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