On the recordAugust 5, 2010
I am pleased to introduce the Pinnacles National Park Act. This legislation would elevate the Pinnacles National Monument to a National Park. The legislation would also rename the current Pinnacles Wilderness as the Hain Wilderness after Schuyler Hain, an early conservationist whose efforts led to the establishment of the Monument in 1908. The Pinnacles National Monument ascends out of the beautiful Gabilan Mountains, east of central California's Salinas Valley. Established by President Theodore Roosevelt, the monument protects the spectacular remains of the Neenach Volcano. Colossal monoliths, sheer-walled canyons and talus caves exhibit millions of years of volcanic evolution and tectonic plate movement. Originally 2500 acres, the monument has grown to encompass 26,000 acres of diverse California wildlands. These parklands represent one of only 5 regions, or less than 2 percent of the world's surface area, supporting a Mediterranean habitat. Less than five percent of the world's Mediterranean habitat remains protected, so it is essential that we preserve this special resource. Mediterranean habitats provide a rare combination of cool wet winters, hot dry summer days, and evening fog--supporting many plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. One of the animals that calls the Pinnacles home is the critically endangered California condor.
