Obama declares national monuments in CA, NV, TX

PUBLIC LANDS — New protections and prestige have been designated for federal lands with outstanding qualities.

President Obama designates 3 new national monuments
On Friday, President Obama designated three new national monuments:

• The Basin and Range National Monument covering roughly 704,000 acres in Nevada that are rich with ancient sites;
• The 331,000-acre Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in Northern California to protect a “biodiversity hot spot”;
• The Waco Mammoth National Monument in Texas, which contains the well-preserved remains of a nursery of Colombian mammoths from more than 65,000 years ago.

—New York Times