PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — A vast swath of wilderness in Southern California was dedicated as a national monument, with federal, local and tribal officials celebrating the cooperation that led to monument status.
The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains make up a stark and rugged landscape that is home to bighorn sheep, tortoises, salamanders and migratory songbirds. The 440-square-mile expanse includes everything from broiling palm oases to rocky, often snowcapped peaks topping 10,000 feet.
"This is one of the few places in Southern California where you can still find solitude," said Frank Bogert, 91, a former Palm Springs mayor who has lived in the area since 1927.
The land became a national monument on Oct. 24 when President Clinton signed a congressional measure into law. Of the 11 national monuments approved this year, Santa Rosa-San Jacinto was the only one created by an act of Congress and not by an executive order by Clinton.
Rep. Mary Bono, R-Calif., crafted legislation that permits flights over the land, allows development adjacent to the monument and allows private landowners within the boundaries to build if they want.
This was considered a compromise between land developers and environmentalists, said Palm Desert Mayor Buford Crites.
"In other Western states, a lot more of them don't want to see federal land grabs, and I don't blame them," Bono said.
The primary advantage to monument status — one step shy of recognition as a national park — will be a higher priority for federal funding and a coordinated management plan among various federal agencies that own the land.
Richard Milanovich, chairman of the Agua Caliente band of the Cahuilla Indians, who have lived on the land for 3,000 years, said the monument designation culminates efforts at protection that began more than 75 years ago. He said tribal members originally fought those efforts because they weren't included in the process.
"This is a very heady day for us, because for the first time ever a tribe is involved in a meaningful way in the creation of a national monument," he said.
About 150 people attended Friday's ceremony, which began with a Cahuilla flute player lofting music to the crowd from atop a large pile of earthquake-tumbled granite overlooking Andreas Canyon.
The flute player, Raven Longbow, said the trails of the mountains provide people with a "spiritual solstice," especially during the summer when few tourists are willing to brave temperatures that can reach up to 115 degrees.
On the Net: Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument: www.ca.blm.gov/palmsprings/santa_rosa_national_monument.html