A Santa Barbara congressman has jumped on the bandwagon over efforts to try to keep national monument status for a huge preserve on the Central Coast.
Democratic Congressman Salud Carbajal has written a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke calling on him to keep the protected status for Carrizo Plain National Monument. Some environmental groups in the region have been involved in efforts to rally support for the monument.
President Trump issued an Executive Order calling on Zinke to review the status of a number of national monuments, including Carizzo Plain, with an eye towards opening up some of them for development of their natural resources.
Carrizo Plain National Monument includes more than 200,000 acres of land northeast of Santa Maria, and is home to a number of endangered animals and plants. It’s also home to some unique geology, including a huge swath of the San Andreas fault.
The 50 mile long national monument was created by President Bill Clinton in 2001.
