Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 114 Part 6.djvu/268

 114 STAT. 3324 PROCLAMATION 7318-^JUNE 9, 2000 The monument is home to a spectacular variety of rare and beautiful species of plants and animals, whose survival in this region depends upon its continued ecological integrity. Plant communities present a rich mosaic of grass and shrublands, Garry and California black oak v^oodlands, juniper scablands, mixed conifer and v^hite fir forests, and wet meadows. Stream bottoms support broad-leaf deciduous riparian trees and shrubs. Special plant communities include rosaceous chaparral and oak-juniper woodlands. The monument also contains many rare and endemic plants, such as Greene's Mariposa lily, Center's fritillary, and Bellinger's meadowfoam. The monument supports an exceptional range of fauna, including one of the highest diversities of butterfly species in the United States. The Jenny Creek portion of the monument is a significant center of fresh water snail diversity, and is home to three endemic fish species, including a long-isolated stock of redband trout. The monument contains important populations of small mammals, reptile and amphibian species, and ungulates, including important winter habitat for deer. It also contains old growth habitat crucial to the threatened Northern spotted owl and numerous other bird species such as the western bluebird, the western meadowlark, the pileated woodpecker, the flammulated owl, and the pygmy nuthatch. The monument's geology contributes substantially to its spectacular biological diversity. The majority of the monument is within the Cascade Mountain Range. The western edge of the monument lies within the older Klamath Moimtain geologic province. The d5niamic plate tectonics of the area, and the mixing of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary geological formations, have resulted in diverse lithologies and soils. Along with periods of geological isolation and a range of environmental conditions, the complex geologic history of the area has been instrumental in producing the diverse vegetative and biological richness seen today. One of the most striking features of the Western Cascades in this area is Pilot Rock, located near the southern boundary of the monument. The rock is a volcanic plug, a remnant of a feeder vent left after a volcano eroded away, leaving an outstanding example of the inside of a volcano. Pilot Rock has sheer, vertical basalt faces up to 400 feet above the talus slope at its base, with classic columnar jointing created by the cooling of its andesite composition. The Siskiyou Pass in the southwest comer of the monument contains portions of the Oregon/California Trail, the region's main north/south travel route first established by Native Americans in prehistoric times, and used by Peter Skene Ogden in his 1827 exploration for the Hudson's Bay Company. Section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431), 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 Government of the United States to be national monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof parcels of land, the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.

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