Sand to Snow National Monument

The proposed 134,000 acre Sand to Snow National Monument rises from the Sonoran Desert floor up to southern California's tallest alpine peak, Mount San Gorgonio at 11,503 feet. National Monument status would elevate the protection of one of California's most diverse landscapes, as well as protect wildlife corridors between the San Bernardino Mountains, San Jacinto Mountains and Joshua Tree National Park. It includes the headwaters of southern California's longest river, the Santa Ana River, as well as the headwaters of the Whitewater River. The monument status sought in Senator Feinstein's Senate Bill 2921 would create a consolidated vision for a remarkable landscape owned by multiple federal and state agencies and nonprofit organizations.

This regions rich ecology is known as a laboratory of evolution where mountain, coastal, and desert species hybridize. The Sand to Snow National Monument may stake a claim to being North America's most diverse protected area including alpine peaks, conifer forests, pinyon forests, Joshua tree woodlands, mountain rivers and desert wetlands, coastal chaparral, Mohave and Sonoran Desert landscapes. The Wildlands Conservancy (TWC) privately acquired and donated 32,000 acres in this region to enhance federal landscape linkages and protection.

Monument stature would enhance tourism and promote the regions's four season recreational venues. Senator Feinstein's bill enjoys broad community support and would not change existing recreational uses, but would protect lands from future exploitation. It would enhance public-private partnership and abuts four TWC preserves that offer free public access, as well as free picnicking and camping.

Maps

Map of Sand to Snow National Monument Proposal