Sáttítla Highlands National Monument

At the monument’s core sits the Medicine Lake Volcano, a massive dormant volcano covering an area roughly 10 times that of Mount St. Helens in Washington. The dramatic landscape is dotted with cinder cones, volcanic craters, spatter cones and hundreds of cave-like lava tubes—including Giant Crater, the longest known lava tube system in the world. These unique geologic features shaped a landscape in contrast between stark unvegetated lava fields interspersed with islands of relict forest communities, and grass-covered forests that offer exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities. The volcanic geology and other features like obsidian deposits are central to the spiritual beliefs and cultural practices of its Indigenous peoples.

The lava flows emerging off the flanks of Medicine Lake Volcano extend in every direction for more than 30 miles. The area's concentration of lava flows that are fewer than 13,000 years old makes Sáttítla one of the premier places to view geologically young lava flows in California—and in the United States.

In addition to volcanologists who have come to Sáttítla to study and understand the depths of the earth's core, astronauts have also learned from the area. Between 1965 and 1967, the area's Pumice Crater—was used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for Apollo program astronauts who trained in the collection and identification of lunar-like geologic features to be prepared for observation and sampling on the moon. Multiple groups of astronauts traveled to the Pumice Crater area, and four of those astronauts flew Apollo missions, making this crater an important piece of space exploration history.

Many of the lava flows within Sáttítla-created islands of remnant forests that were elevated enough to escape the deluge of lava. One such island is Black Lava Butte, which is dominated by shrubs, grasses and old-growth ponderosa pine. Isolated from historical logging and development, these islands of forest provide valuable laboratories for future study of enduring and unaltered ecosystems.

Sáttítla is home to miniature volcanoes known as spatter cones, a well-preserved and accessible handful of which appear adjacent to the Giant Crater Lava Flow l. Sáttítla's more than 100 cinder cones, which are formed when lava cools mid-air and falls as fragments creating mounds, including Pumice Stone Mountain, Paint Pot Crater, and Porcupine Butte, are intact, making them of particular scientific interest.

The Fourmile Hill Tree Molds Geologic Area contains dozens of molds formed over 12,000 years ago when molten lava flowed through a conifer forest leaving behind casts of the ancient tree trunks. These trace fossils can help improve scientists' understanding of the complex geologic history of the region.

Sáttítla also contains hundreds of cave-like lava tubes, which were formed over time when molten basaltic lava flows cooled. Many of these formations are relatively unexplored, with more likely yet to be discovered through future scientific inquiry. The Giant Crater lava tube forms the longest known lava tube system in the world.

Sáttítla is nearly devoid of surface water drainages, but its surface waters only hint at what is stored underground, as most of the precipitation that falls in this area filters down through the porous volcanic rock filling underground aquifers. These aquifers supply water to spring systems in northern California—and ultimately to the Sacramento River to the south and the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake national wildlife refuges to the north.

The Sáttítla Highlands have framed the homelands of Indigenous communities and cultures for millennia and include the ancestral homelands of and are sacred to the Pit River Tribe and Modoc Peoples. Many other tribes and Indigenous peoples in the region, including the Karuk, Klamath, Shasta, Siletz, Wintu, and Yana, hold deep connections to this area.

The Modoc believe Medicine Lake is a place of healing and have referred to the lake and its banks as "Lani'shwi." Plants and animals found within Sáttítla's habitats include many that are rare or vulnerable and have long been important to the Indigenous peoples of the area for food, medicine and ceremonies. Sáttítla's remarkable geologic formations and the ecosystems cultivated within and around them have shaped the history and cultures of generations of Indigenous peoples.

At least 85 plant species found in Sáttítla are used by Indigenous peoples for healing, medicine, food, tools, building materials and ceremonial objects and are considered to have powerful medicinal and ceremonial uses. For example, Indigenous people used ichen from this area to dye materials used to adorn clothes and ornaments.

This area contains evidence of human occupancy dating back at least 5,000 years. For members of the Pit River Tribe, Sáttítla, as part of the broader landscape within which it sits, is central to their creation stories and core to their physical, mental, spiritual and cultural health.

Their cultural and spiritual connections to Sáttítla reach across time and space, linking a web of heritage sites near and far and underscoring the importance of this land to the Indigenous people who have lived here throughout history. They believe that the people and the land are one in the same, not only that one cannot be separated from the other, but that one cannot exist without the other.

Sáttítla's deep silence, local plants and animals, unobstructed views across the landscape, and pure water sources are necessary to carry out customs, traditions and ceremonies of the Indigenous peoples connected to this area. The volcano and surrounding highlands were central to ceremonial life of the Modoc people, and the area is an enduring place of historic and cultural significance.

The area continues to serve as a place of gathering, healing, and spiritual importance for surrounding Indigenous peoples, including the Karuk, Klamath, Shasta, Siletz, Wintu, and Yana. In view of the importance of these lands to Indigenous peoples and the rich cultural resources found here, in 1999, a portion of Sáttítla was designated as a Traditional Cultural Property District.

This spectacular landscape is home to many rare, vulnerable and culturally important flora and fauna, such as the northern spotted owl, the Cascades frog, the long-toed salamander, and the sugarstick, a parasitic plant associated with the roots of old-growth conifers. Much of the rain that falls on the area is filtered through the porous volcanic rock to recharge underground aquifers that are essential to protect water resources in northern California. Sáttítla's exceptionally varied habitats also support high levels of biodiversity, including a variety of sensitive and endemic species. The area partially overlaps the historic range of the federally listed Franklin's bumblebee, which has one of the most limited geographic distributions of any bumblebee in the world.

The Townsend's big-eared bat, a state of California Species of Concern, uses the region's lava tube caves for roosting. The Swainson's hawk returns from South America in the spring to breed in the low-elevation juniper forests, sagebrush, and bitterbrush habitats found along the northwestern edge of area. In the northern portion of Sáttítla, the Three Sisters Bald Eagle Winter Roost Area provides habitat for bald eagles, endangered in California.

Scattered aquatic and riparian habitats in the western portion of the area support two state of California Species of Special Concern, the Cascades frog and long-toed salamander. Sáttítla supports the survival of at least 16 plants considered threatened, endangered or rare in California, including the federally listed whitebark pine growing near Garner Mountain in the western portion of the area, as well as a diverse community of fungi, with 20 species considered rare or sparsely distributed.

Amongst host trees is the Pacific fuzzwort, a rare liverwort that is at the southern end of its habitat in northern California, and the sugarstick, a parasitic plant associated with the roots of old-growth conifers. As the climate continues to warm, high-elevation habitats within Sáttítla will remain critical refugia for species including the gray-headed pika and the Sierra Nevada red fox, a state of California threatened species.

What is a national monument?

A national monument is a designation given to a protected area of federal land. National monuments encompass landscapes of beauty and diversity-containing objects of historic and scientific interest. They range from rugged coastlines to vividly hued desert canyons to precious cultural and archeological sites. Since the Antiquities Act’s passage in 1906, 18 presidents have designated 165 national monuments, as large as the 10.9 million-acre Wrangell St. Elias National Monument in Alaska, and as small as the 0.12-acre Stonewall National Monument in New York. This national monument designation prompts the U.S. Forest Service to develop a new management plan with public input.

What authority does the president have to designate national monuments?

The Antiquities Act of 1906 grants the president authority to designate national monuments in order to protect “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest.” While most national monuments are established by the president using Antiquities Act authority, Congress has also established national monuments through legislation to protect natural and historic features.

Why is this area being designated as a national monument?

Protecting this landscape through the 224,676-acre Sáttítla Highlands National Monument will preserve its important cultural, scientific, historic, natural and recreational values for the benefit of all Americans. Sáttítla is an area sacred to its first inhabitants, the Pit River and Modoc, and is important to many surrounding tribal peoples. Recognizing the archeological, cultural and spiritual significance of the landscape, portions of Sáttítla have been designated as a Traditional Cultural Property District since 1999. The national monument designation builds on this recognition and provides additional protection and management opportunities. Many of the important objects identified in President Biden’s monument proclamation are fragile, vulnerable to theft or illegal use, or could be damaged by development. The national monument designation provides federal agencies with the specific mandate to ensure proper care and management of the monument’s natural and historic features.

Is there public support for the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument?

The national monument designation builds on years of tribal and local efforts to protect the land’s cultural, spiritual and natural resources from harm including geothermal development. Supporters include: California Governor Gavin Newsom; Senator Padilla and Senator Schiff; members of local city and county governments; dozens of regional and national stakeholders including wildlife, wilderness, snow-based recreation, veterans, and hunting and fishing organizations; and many local, regional and national businesses. Importantly, more than a dozen tribal nations, and other Indigenous tribal peoples and organizations also support the area’s protection.

Who will manage the monument? Will there be a management plan?

The public lands designated as a national monument would continue to be managed by the USDA Forest Service through the Klamath, Modoc, and Shasta-Trinity national forests. The designation provides for the development of a monument management plan, which provides a basis for informed decision making, while guiding resource management, practices, uses, and framework for project development. The planning effort will provide for maximum public involvement including conferral with Indigenous communities, surrounding communities, industry, as well as consultation with federally recognized tribal nations and with state and local governments. The management plan will provide for the protection and interpretation of the monument’s scientific and historic objects identified in the proclamation, as well as continued public access in keeping with the protection of the objects identified in the proclamation.

How many visitors come to this area annually? Do you anticipate an increase in visitation?

It is difficult to accurately predict if visitation will increase. The monument area is estimated to receive 42,550-62,550 visitors annually.

Will a monument designation bring additional resources to the area?

While a national monument designation does not bring additional resources, this area is important to many. With public support and attention, additional public and private resources may become available to help manage the area.

Will there be any fees required with visitation to the monument?

Monument designation does not prompt a fee.

What types of recreational activities are currently allowed, and will they change within the national monument?

Sáttítla provides exceptional outdoor recreational opportunities, including stargazing, snowmobiling, camping, hunting, scenic driving, and hiking. Monument management plans provide for continued public access to the area to the extent consistent with the protection of the objects identified in the proclamation. The monument includes hundreds of miles of motorized road open to the public ranging from paved highways to offroad vehicle trails. In addition, the monument includes a portion of the Modoc Volcanic Scenic Byway, which runs through the eastern portion of the monument, and a section of the of the Tri-Forest Snowmobile Area.

Will over the snow vehicles (snowmobiles) be allowed in designated monument boundaries?

A portion of the popular Tri-Forest Snowmobile Area, a system of over-snow vehicle routes managed in partnership with California State Office of Highways, is within the monument, as well as miles of motorized roads seasonally open to snowmobiles. The proclamation allows motorized vehicle use within the monument only on roads and trails, including over-snow vehicle routes, documented in USDA Forest Service route inventories as of the date of this proclamation. For purposes of protecting and restoring the monument’s resources, the Forest Service will prepare a transportation plan, through a public process, that designates the roads and trails on which motorized and non-motorized mechanized vehicle use will continue.

Is research allowed within the national monument?

Research on federal lands must adhere to a series of regulations and laws. Current research on these lands is consistent with these authorities and will continue as such under the monument management plan.

Will existing mining or grazing permits be affected?

The proclamation respects existing grazing permits and shall continue grazing where grazing is currently allowed, including vacant but authorized allotments. Mining on federal land, including pumice mining, will only continue if found to be a valid existing right. Only federal land is included in the designation.

Will obsidian collection continue?

Many areas within the monument are already closed to personal, non-commercial collection of obsidian in order to protect archeological, cultural and religious sites. In order to ensure protection of these sites, the monument designation will close all areas to obsidian collection with the exception of tribal collection for cultural, traditional and ceremonial purposes.

Will forest health, ecological restoration or wildfire fuels treatment continue?

Vegetative management treatments, including prescribed fire and hazardous fuels removal, will continue to be used to reduce the risk of wildfire, insects or diseases that could endanger the monument’s objects including natural and cultural resources or threaten public safety. All actions conducted must be done in accordance with care and management of the objects identified in the proclamation.

Are existing water resources, utility and transmission infrastructure or rights-of-way/corridors affected?

The establishment of a monument is subject to valid existing rights, including but not limited to maintenance of water or flood-control infrastructure, state highway corridors or rights-of-way, and existing utility and telecommunications rights-of-way or facilities. Existing infrastructure and facilities located within the monument may be expanded, and new facilities may be constructed within the monument, to the extent consistent with the proper care and management of the objects protected by the designation and subject to special use authorities and other applicable law.