NATIONAL NATURAL LANDMARKS PROGRAM
Columbia Cascades Cluster
Point of Arches, Washington (16)
Great Rift, Idaho (22)
Newberry Crater, Oregon (34)
Boulder Park and McNeil Canyon Haystack Rocks, Washington (4)
Cassia Silent City of Rocks, Idaho (20)
Fort Rock State Monument, Oregon (30)
History
The National Natural Landmarks Program (NNL) was established on May 18, 1962 by Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall, under the authority of the Historic Sites Act of 1935 (16 U.S.C. 361-467). Regulations for the NNL Program were initially published in 1980 with revisions released on May 12, 1999.
Background
Since 1962, the Secretary of the Interior has designated thirty-four national natural landmarks throughout Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Administratively, the three states comprise the Columbia Cascades Cluster of the National Park Service. Collectively however, the NNL program recognizes outstanding regional examples of our nation's natural heritage forged by a partnership ethic, involving in some instances multiple types of ownership.
Nisqually Delta National Natural Landmark (WA) for example is comprised of state, federal, and private ownership. The site is nationally significant for its unique salt marsh habitat and provides a major flyway for migratory waterfowl. Niagara Springs (ID) NNL on the other hand is comprised solely of private ownership, which illustrates a large spring set emanating from the Snake River Plain aquifer. The volcanic crater at Newberry Crater (OR) too is a national natural landmark under federal ownership. These three landmark sites, and the other thirty-one remaining ones throughout the Columbia Cascades Cluster, represent a diverse array of ecological and geologic resources knitted together by a diverse public.
Definition and Purpose
A National Natural Landmark is a nationally significant natural area that has been designated by the Secretary of the Interior. To be nationally significant, a site must be one of the best examples of a type of biotic community or geologic feature in its natural region. Examples of this natural diversity include terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, features, exposures, and landforms that record active geologic processes as well as fossil evidence of biological evolution. The objectives of the National Natural Landmarks Program are fourfold: to encourage the preservation of sites illustrating the geological and ecological character of the United States; to enhance the scientific and educational value of the sites thus preserved; to strengthen public appreciation of natural history; to foster a greater concern for the conservation of the nation's natural heritage.
Selection Criteria
The determination, that a site is one of the best examples of a particular feature in a natural region, is typically decided using criteria of illustrativeness and condition of the specific feature. Also, in situations that require it, the secondary criteria of rarity, diversity, and values for science and education can be applied.
The states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, which comprise the Columbia Cascades Cluster of the National Park Service, incorporate all or a portion of six of the thirty-three natural regions of the United States and its territories. Studies of the thirty-three natural regions have produced a list of sites for further consideration. Other agencies, organizations, and private citizens can also recommend sites.
Designation Process
The National Park Service contracts with scientists to conduct on-site evaluations of those sites, which have been ranked as high priority by natural region inventories. The evaluations gather additional information and comparatively evaluate the site against other similar sites, relying on national significance criteria. Completed on-site evaluations are peer reviewed by other scientists and then by the National Park Service. If a site is deemed qualified and landowners have not objected in writing, the Director of the National Park Service then nominates the site to the National Park System Advisory Board, who in turn can recommend it to the Secretary of the Interior for designation. Once designated, the area is listed on the National Registry of Natural Landmarks. During the designation process, the National Park Service solicits comments from landowners, local, state, and federal government officials, and other interested groups and individuals.
As of January 2001, 587 sites have been designated as National Natural Landmarks. Thirty-four of these sites are located within the Columbia Cascades Cluster: eleven in Idaho, six in Oregon and seventeen in Washington. For the most current information on the National Natural Landmarks Program please log on the internet at http://www.nps.gov/ccso/nnl.htm.
Program Management
The National Natural Landmarks Program does not place land use restrictions on property as a direct result of federal designation. The NNL Program simply recognizes and encourages the voluntary, long term commitment of public and private owners to protect an areaÕs outstanding values. In fact, designated sites do not even have to be open to the public. Conversely, national natural landmarks can be commercial ventures, if the integrity of the natural feature is maintained.
As far as potential benefits to landowners, the National Park Service can provide technical assistance by advising owners on conservation practices, if so requested. In addition owners, who voluntarily agree to help protect their landmark property, are eligible to receive a certificate and wooden plaque for appropriate indoor presentation or a bronze plaque for outdoor display at the site. In the case of federal ownership, agencies should consider the unique properties of natural landmarks in assessing the effects of their actions on the environment as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Depending on land ownership, national natural landmark designation can in fact enhance potential funding opportunities in some instances.
For More Information
For more information about the National Natural Landmarks Program Contact:
Columbia Cascades Cluster
National Park Service
909 First Avenue,
Seattle, WA 98104-1060
Writing and Photography Steve Gibbons
Map prepared by the Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho
Published by Northwest Interpretive Association, 909 First Avenue, Suite 630, Seattle, WA 98109-3627, http://www.nwpubliclands.com in cooperation with National Park Service Columbia Cascades Cluster
