by Shevawn Bell | Jun 5, 2018 | Uncategorized
June is National Ocean Month, a time when we take stock of the world’s oceans, marine life, and coasts. This year as we celebrate in America, there is a special urgency to our discussion about the state of our oceans, as the Trump Administration and its Departments of the Interior and Commerce are threatening to harm our oceans on several fronts.
After removing protections from two national monuments in Utah, the Administration is currently considering plans to eliminate nearly half of all highly protected areas in America’s oceans – the largest-ever rollback of ocean protections in U.S. history. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended shrinking boundaries and allowing commercial extraction in three marine national monuments: the Pacific Remote Islands, Rose Atoll, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine Monuments, essentially stripping protection from these rich and vulnerable biodiverse areas. You can learn more about these unique and valuable marine national monuments at: https://cbt.lax.mybluehost.me/stagingwebsite/whats-at-stake
Removing protections and allowing industry to fish, drill, and mine within our ocean monument boundaries would cause irreparable damage to these special places. America’s marine monuments contain rich, unique and vital ocean habitats that support marine wildlife and fuel scientific discovery. They are home to rare and at-risk species, from whales, sea turtles, and seabirds to deep-sea corals. Marine monuments restrict or prohibit extractive activities – like mining, drilling, and commercial fishing – to protect these areas and the animals that inhabit them. Like their land-based counterparts, marine monuments remain accessible to the public for purposes such as recreation and scientific research.
Protecting marine areas helps ensure that future generations will benefit from them. Scientists have documented that providing sanctuary for animals to shelter, feed and breed helps them withstand other stresses and recover more rapidly after disturbances. In addition, when a protected area yields an increase in the number or size of a species, there is a “spillover” effect in which benefits accrue to the surrounding ecology, as well as commercial and recreational fisheries outside the protected area. Marine national monuments also serve as living laboratories for scientific exploration and discovery by retaining their integrity and keeping these vibrant, high-functioning ecosystems intact. In recent years, for instance, deep-sea sponges have been recognized as a source for a promising treatment for pancreatic cancer, and scientific explorations to marine national monuments routinely turn up new species.
As Americans, our public lands and waters are part of our identity; they help define who we are as a nation. The widespread diversity of historic, cultural, and natural treasures that have been federally protected has brought diverse stakeholders together in the effort to protect them: sportsmen, cultural heritage organizations, evangelicals, conservation, recreation businesses, historic preservation, and many others.
That’s why we are working to ensure that these historic areas are protected for generations to come. Join us by taking action at: https://cbt.lax.mybluehost.me/stagingwebsite/action.
by Shevawn Bell | Jul 7, 2017 | Uncategorized
This Spring my partner and I – along with tens of thousands of Americans – were stunned to watch President Donald Trump sign an Executive Order that could jeopardize one of America’s greatest assets: our national monuments. From Bears Ears to the Statue of Liberty, our national monuments preserve our natural and cultural heritage.
As a long-time supporter and lover of our public lands, and after some serious soul-searching, I decided to leave my job at a law firm in Portland, Oregon to see what I could do to help protect these places that we love and in which we play. Having grown up exploring our public lands, it just seemed important to do my part to protect these places for future generations. My partner, Sam, a communications expert in a local non-profit and awesome photographer was all in; willing to use his skills – written and via the camera – to protect these special place and to help tell a story of our American birthright.
So we decided to take a leap and help defend our national monuments! Over the course of the next few months, we will be visiting threatened national monuments throughout the West.
And we want you to come along for the ride. We hope to meet many of the people who worked together to conserve our national heritage along the way. And we hope that you join us in defending our national monuments by making your voices heard at here.
First stop, Hanford Reach in Washington!
Hanford Reach National Monument
On a near 100 degree day we pulled into Richland, WA, heading to Hanford Reach National Monument, our first monument of the trip! Designated in 2000 by President Clinton, Hanford Reach is 195,000 acres along the Columbia River in eastern Washington.
Rattlesnake Mountain
Our first stop was Columbia Kayak Adventures to chat about floating the monument. They do tours which fill quickly and sound amazing. The next Hanford Reach tour wasn’t until July, so we rented a tandem and they shuttled us to just below the monument’s boundary. We spent two hours drifting back to Richland. Leaving the cool Columbia River water was rough, but we jumped in the car and drove to the monument’s western end.
Kayaking in Hanford Reach National Monument
Before today, I equated Hanford Reach solely with its terrifying history of housing the Manhattan Project which developed the world’s first weapons-grade plutonium for the nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, during World War II.
Hanford Reach is one of the few national monuments managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as a wildlife refuge.
A nuclear reactor – Hanford Reach housed the Manhattan Project which developed the world’s first weapons-grade plutonium for nuclear weapons.
The ecological benefit of the area’s nuclear history is that access to the area surrounding the reactors was severely limited and the lands comprising the monument remained undeveloped. As a result, the area provides excellent intact habitat for plants and wildlife. In fact, Hanford Reach is one of the few national monuments managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as a wildlife refuge. The monument is home to elk, beaver, badgers, and bobcats. It is also a stop-over for migratory birds and wintering habitat for bald eagles, white pelicans, and waterfowl. Additionally, in the 1990s, The Nature Conservancy identified dozens of plants and insects
Columbia River Bank
Dragonfly
Native Grass in Hanford
The 18-mile stretch of the Columbia River within the monument is some of the only free-flowing water of the river and has some the last remaining fall Chinook spawning grounds. Floating the river would be the best way to see the monument. Columbia Riverkeeper, whose mission is to protect and steward the great river offers a kayak tour of the monument and is the best source for Columbia River conservation and advocacy.
Pelicans
The beauty of Hanford Reach National Monument
With just a taste of Hanford Reach, it was clearly a special place that houses secrets both of our past and of the plants and wildlife that call it home today.
Sunset in Hanford
As we travel onto our next national monument, I urge you to please help preserve this incredible wildlife haven for future generations to enjoy. Visit here to take action!
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