President Obama on Thursday added six areas to the California Coastal National Monument, including a prized parcel on the Santa Cruz County coast and some small islands off the coast of Orange County. All of the sites, totaling 6,230 acres, are currently managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The monument designation adds another layer of protection by closing the areas to new development, such as gas and oil drilling. Three of the other new monument sites are in Humboldt County: Trinidad Head, Waluplh-Lighthouse Ranch and about 400 acres of Lost Coast Headlands south of Eureka. Obama also added 48,000 acres to the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southwestern Oregon and Northern California.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 13, 2017 03:59 UTC