Broad Support Shown for New Sáttítla Highlands National Monument

Here’s what some supporters have shared following the announcement of Sáttítla Highlands National Monument:

“Redding Rancheria celebrates the designation of the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument, and supports all Tribes working to protect their lands. Tribes revere our lands as historic places of learning and sacred practice. Just as other American cultures might seek to protect a historic church or university, tribal communities wish to preserve our culture by protecting the sacred land where we learn, heal, gather medicine, and honor The Creator.  I protected Sáttítla as an occupier 26 years ago, and my wife Myrna Potter and I attend the annual gathering still held today under direction from elders Mildred and Willard Rhoades, Mary and Donald Preston, Dolores and Ralph Degarmo, Aurelia Raglin, and Charlene and Gerald Jackson. We thank President Biden for honoring and protecting our sacred space for generations to come.” – Chairman Jack Potter, Redding Rancheria

"Modoc Nation shared the sacred landscapes of the Medicine Lake Highlands with the Pit River Tribe. Our Pit River neighbors refer to this land as Sáttítla; it seems the traditional Modoc word for this land may have been lost following the attempted extermination and eventual forced removal of the Modoc people from our lands. Modoc Nation celebrates the designation of our shared sacred land as a national monument, and looks forward to participating in a new land management planning process." – Robert Burkybile, Chief of Modoc Nation

“Sáttítla has long served as the spiritual center for the Pit River and Modoc Nations, and establishing it as a national monument will ensure that its sacred and ecological benefits endure for generations to come. This designation will advance our conservation goals and protect vital recreational opportunities for local communities by conserving hundreds of thousands of acres of federal land. I applaud President Biden for recognizing the lasting importance of this unique landscape and building on his impressive record, which has helped us safeguard nearly 1 million acres of California’s public lands.” – California Senator Alex Padilla.

“The California Legislature expressed strong bipartisan support for establishing Chuckwalla and Sáttítla national monuments by passing Senate Joint Resolutions (SJRs) 16 and 17 last year. These new monuments include lands long-valued and cherished by California’s First Peoples for their cultural and sacred significance. I am glad to see these irreplaceable natural and cultural treasures join our nation’s network of national monuments.” – Assemblymember James Ramos, Member of the Serrano/Cahuilla Tribe and Chair of the California Legislative Native American Caucus

avid explorer, runner, and lover of the outdoors, I couldn’t be more excited about the designation of Sáttítla National Monument.  This new designation will ensure that these treasured public lands will endure for future generations.” – Casey Glaubman, Mt. Shasta City Council and Executive Director of the Friends of the Mount Shasta Avalanche Center

“I am grateful to President Biden for declaring just over 200,000 acres of the Medicine Lake Highlands region as Sáttítla Highlands National monument. This is a win for access to clean water for millions of Californians. I am happy to know that there will not be a geothermal plant in our pristine backyard due to the protections of this designation!” – Sue Tavalero, Weed Rotary President & former City of Weed Mayor

“President Biden understands the importance of the water that comes from the aquifer within the Medicine Lake Highlands and I am thankful for his observation. As a former resident of Michigan, I understand the necessity of clean water for drinking and agriculture, it’s why I moved here. I am encouraged by the designation of Sáttítla Highlands National Monument as it will ensure millions of Californians have access to safe, clean water. Many thanks to President Biden for his vision.” – John Redmond, Mt Shasta City Mayor

“College of the Siskiyous expresses its sincere gratitude to the Biden administration for their crucial support in establishing the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument. This designation is a significant step in protecting this culturally and ecologically vital landscape, honoring the deep history of the Pit River and Modoc Nations, and ensuring its preservation for generations to come. We are proud to be part of a community that values both its natural heritage and its rich Indigenous history.” -Char Perlas, PhD MPA MS, President College of the Siskiyous

“The sole source of the Fall River and its world-famous trout fishery is the waters absorbed and filtered by the Sáttítla landscape. This river is California’s largest spring creek and its abundant waters feed the Pit River, Lake Shasta and the Sacramento River. Our guide service depends on these waters – each a unique fishery -- to provide great local fly-fishing experiences for over a thousand anglers every year. On behalf of our working guides and clients, and the many other people who come to this area for its exceptional fishing opportunities, we applaud President Biden’s action to permanently protect this extraordinary area of public lands as a national monument.” – Andrew Harris, Owner, Confluence Outfitters, Red Bluff, CA

“President Biden’s designation of Sáttítla as a national monument is long overdue recognition from the federal government of Indigenous community care for the survival of future generations on Earth. Deep gratitude to the Pit River Tribe for their continued stewardship of these lands and their advocacy towards protecting clean water sources for the sake of all.” – Renée Camila (Chorotega + Spanish ancestry), traditional healing arts practitioner, owner of La Yerba Buena Herbs, Mount Shasta, CA

“It's deeply meaningful to us at the Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center that Sáttítla Highlands National Monument is now a reality. Since 1997 we have worked in collaboration with the Pit River Nation, Native Coalition for Medicine Highlands Defense, and Stanford Law Clinic to protect this culturally significant, geologically unique, magnificent pristine landscape from industrial development that threatened this vital source of California’s water supply. But it’s more than that — in a time of climate change and loss of biodiversity, Sáttítla is especially important as sacred land that revitalizes the Indigenous Native American cultural worldview, a world view that understands the interrelatedness of all life—"all our relations”—and the importance of living in harmony and balance with nature.” – Michelle Berditschevsky, Founder & Protect Medicine Lake Highlands and Aquifer Program Director, Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center

"The Medicine Lake Highlands are ecologically and culturally significant, and this landscape serves as a headwater and freshwater source for the largest spring system in the state of California. The Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center applauds the designation of the Sattitla Highlands National Monument that spans portions of the Medicine Lake Highlands within the Klamath, Modoc & Shasta-Trinity National Forests. This is an important step forward in supporting the Pit River Tribe and Indigenous communities' efforts to co-steward and co-manage public lands within their ancestral homelands." – Michael Dotson, Executive Director, Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center

“I would like to thank the Biden Administration for protecting Sáttílla. This renown place where all people can escape and enjoy the outdoors is key to our community’s health and wellbeing. The natural resources and the water will now be available for future generations of people throughout the state of California.” – Nathan Parker, M.D., Mercy Mt. Shasta, Medical Director

“As a mother and a registered nurse I have seen how important wild spaces can play in the wellness of our children and all people. I would like to thank the Biden administration for making sure that future generations will have access to wild and sacred places so that our children and our society have opportunities to remain connected to our planet.” – Heather Moran, R.N., BSN Fairchild Medical Center 

“National monument status for Sáttítla will provide important protections to the Medicine Lake Highlands, keeping its waters pristine while also protecting our quality of life. We are thankful to the Biden Administration for protecting this important natural area of northern California.” – David Ledger, President, Shasta Environmental Alliance

“We applaud this historic action to designate Sáttítla Highlands National Monument. Protecting source water areas like Sáttítla is more urgent than ever, as is listening to the wisdom of California’s Indigenous people. The current drought patterns in the Western US threaten water resources and struggling fisheries. These permanent protections give us time to better understand the impact of consistent cold spring systems on the landscape, which will provide information to help facilitate strategic water security planning under climate change.” – Damon Goodman, Shasta-Klamath Director, California Trout

“California Trout is thrilled to celebrate the designation of Sáttítla as a national monument. Protecting this spectacular, sacred, and ecologically rich region is critical. The freshwater from the Medicine Lake Highlands will now be preserved from unsustainable development, benefitting fish populations and millions of Californians downstream. This designation represents hope—hope for the environment, for cultural heritage, and for future generations. We applaud the Biden Administration for taking action and demonstrating America’s commitment to cultural and environmental justice.” – Redgie Collins, Legal and Policy Director, California Trout

“The California Native Plant Society is thrilled and grateful to see these national monument designations, which have received overwhelming community support, give rare plant species a fighting chance for survival, and honor knowledge held by the land’s original stewards since time immemorial. California faces the highest risks for species extinction in the nation, and habitat loss is the leading cause. Protecting intact habitat, like Chuckwalla and Sáttítla, is essential to stopping the extinction crisis and avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.” – Dr. Jun Bando, Executive Director, California Native Plant Society

“The Shasta Trinity Cascades Chapter of Trout Unlimited is committed to protecting and restoring coldwater habitats in the famous fishing waters of our northern California territory, including the Fall River, a truly unique fishery in California that depends entirely on water from the huge aquifer under the Sattitla region. We have lost so much habitat for trout and salmon, which require clean, cold water to thrive, over the past century -- we have to act now to better protect what’s left. President Biden’s designation of the Sattitla Highlands National Monument is a critically important action for better protecting one of the most extraordinary water resource areas in the country – and the exceptional fishing and hunting opportunities this area provides. We salute the Pit River Tribe for their leadership in the campaign to create this monument, and applaud President Biden’s establishment of this monument and his leadership in trout and salmon conservation.”  – Creighton Smith President, Shasta Trinity Cascades Chapter of Trout Unlimited  Redding, California

“Sáttítla Highlands National Monument designation is an incredibly hopeful development for the forests, rivers, people and wildlife of far Northern California. Without threat of industrial-scale depletion and contamination, the region's volcanic aquifers can continue to provide clean, cold freshwater for countless dependents locally and downstream. Thank you, Biden Administration, for taking this decisive action and allowing the natural and cultural values of this ecologically significant area to flourish.”  – Angelina Cook Restoration Associate, CA Sportfishing Protection Alliance

"Californians for Western Wilderness applauds President Biden for his proclamation designating Sáttítla  in the Medicine Lake Highlands as a national monument. Sáttítla is a place of great cultural significance, as well as a geologically unique area worthy of protection. We are proud to have worked with the Pit River Tribe and other organizations to have its importance formally recognized." — Mike Painter, Coordinator of Californians for Western Wilderness, San Francisco, CA