House votes to add 2 miles of coast to national monument

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Monday to add more than two miles of stunning Mendocino coastline to the California Coastal National Monument. Monday's vote to pass the bill backed by Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, brings the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands a significant step closer to achieving monument status. As a national monument, the lands would benefit from stricter protections for the delicate coast ecosystem as well as greater access to money for improvements and management. The next hurdle will take place in the U.S. Senate. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer introduced companion legislation that will face committee and floor votes. The passage of the bill, called the California Coastal National Monument Expansion Act of 2013, would provide the first mainland addition to an existing monument encompassing 1,100 miles of coastal rock formations, pinnacles and reefs along the entire California coastline. The property to be added includes the 1,132-acre Stornetta Public Lands and a 123-acre portion of the nearby Cypress Abbey Ranch, which are both currently run by the Bureau of Land Management...more