Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 114 Part 6.djvu/273

 PROCLAMATION 7319—JUNE 9, 2000 114 STAT. 3329 sects new to science and many species not before identified in the State of Washington. Such rich and diverse insect populations are important to supporting the fauna in the monument. In addition to its vital biological resources, the monument contains significant geological and paleontological objects. The late-Miocene to late-Pliocene Ringold Formation, known as the White Bluffs, was formed from river and lake sediments deposited by the ancestral Columbia River and its tributaries. These striking cliffs form the eastern bank of the Columbia for nearly half of the length of the Reach, and are significant for the mammalian fossils that they contain. Fossil remains from rhinoceros, camel, and mastodon, among others, have been found within these bluffs. The Hanford Dune Field, located on the western shore of the Columbia in the southeastern part of the monument, is also of geologic significance. This active area of migrating barchan dunes and partially stabilized transverse dunes rises 10 to 16 feet above the ground, creating sandy habitats ranging from 2 to several hundred acres in size. The monument also contains important archaeological and historic information. More than 10,000 years of human activity in this largely arid environment have left extensive archaeological deposits. Areas upland from the river show evidence of concentrated human activity, and recent surveys indicate extensive use of arid lowlands for hunting. Hundreds of prehistoric archaeological sites have been recorded, including the remains of pithouses, graves, spirit quest monuments, hunting camps, game drive complexes, quarries, and hunting and kill sites. A number of Native American groups still have cultural ties to the monument. The monument also contains some historic structures and other remains from more recent human activities, including homesteads from small towns established along the riverbanks in the early 20th century. 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. WHEREAS it appears that it would be in the'public interest to reserve such lands as a national monument to be known as the Hanford Reach National Monument: NOW, THEREFORE. I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225. 16 U.S.C. 431), do proclaim that there are hereby set apart and reserved as the Hanford Reach National Monument, for the purpose of protecting the objects identified above, all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the United States within the boundaries of the area described on the map entitled "Hanford Reach National Monument" attached to and forming a part of this proclamation. The Federal land and interests in land reserved consist of approximately 195,000 acres, which is the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.

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