'Range of Light National Monument' in Central California gaining traction and push back

OAKHURST, Calif. (KFSN) -- A proposal to transform the land between Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks into a national monument is gaining traction but there is also opposition.

A group called Unite the Parks is calling on President Biden to sign an act transforming over 1.4 million acres of land into the Range of Light National Monument.

North Fork resident Julie Phillips is one of the thousands living in the Sierra Nevada foothills and says she's fearful her home could be forever changed.

"I was driving up the road, and I was just thinking, oh my gosh, in a year for now, I may not be able to drive up this road or may be stopped and have to pay to be able to get on that road, or there may be trees planted on it. We don't know what's going to happen," says Phillips.

The proposed area for the national monument spans over three counties. Fresno, Madera, and Mariposa.

Executive Director of Unite the Parks, Deanna Lynn Wulff, says the biodiverse ecosystem is not being properly maintained, and this move would stop what she calls destructive practices like logging, mining, and grazing.

"There's this really well-protected region, and then there's just this missing piece, and the big idea is to protect that piece, create an integrated migratory corridor for wildlife and a wonderful place for people to go and recreate," says Lynn Wulff.

Lynn Wulff says this move will help farmers by ensuring the watershed remains intact and an exceptional place for recreation.

"We don't want this to be another Yosemite or another Sequoia. There are amazing four-wheel-drive roads out there. We want to have mountain bicycling in the front country. I want people to do disperse camping and actually disperse the landscape rather than concentrated," says Lynn Wulff.

Phillips is angry and says this move would cut off generations of family cattle ranchers and stop the already minimal commercial logging industry.

She's now organizing several protests in the foothill communities. Dozens have shown up to protest, and thousands have signed an online petition calling on lawmakers to leave the land alone. Many call it a 'land grab.'

"We need to, as people, get together and take care of this forest and make it healthy again without the government telling us what we can and can't do and what needs to be done. I think we are the people who know what's best for our forest and how to enjoy it," says Phillips.

The campaign to create the Range of Light National Monument is about a decade old but is gaining new traction after over 50 California lawmakers signed a letter calling on Governor Newsom to push this forward to the national level.

Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig says most of those lawmakers don't represent those who will be most impacted.

"None of them represent this area where they want to create this monument; many are from the metropolitan areas of California," says Supervisor Magsig.

Supervisor Magsig represents parts of the proposed area, and he warns that tens of thousands could be displaced if it passes. However, the letter to the Governor claims that this new designation would increase local employment by some 2,900 jobs, 40 new jobs for every job displaced, and catalyze park-based tourism, residential growth, and business opportunities worth $1.1 billion annually.

Supervisor Magsig also noted that a lot of people aren't aware that there are significant utilities such as Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric are located within the proposed monument area; he says their future could also be up in the air because of this decision, as they have leases under the US Forest Service.

While Supervisor Magsig says he agrees that more needs to be done to manage these lands, he believes the responsibility should be turned over to local governments and the people.

"I look at what we have right now, Yosemite and other national parks that exist across the United States right now, and the federal government doesn't have enough resources to maintain that land. We don't need to create any more monuments," says Supervisor Magsig.

This decision could be made by an act of Congress or by a proclamation by President Biden. However, President-elect Trump could ultimately overturn that, so its future is still up in the air.

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