Victory - Molok Luyuk Protected!

Sandy Schubert • May 16, 2024

Do you remember the first time that you visited Molok Luyuk? The first time you saw a meadow of wildflowers, bright yellow reaching out to the sapphire blue sky?

The first time that you realized that you could tell where the tectonic plates meet; where sandstone and serpentinite collide? And, that you knew some of the different plants that bloom on both? The first time you saw metalliferous chert bursting into the sky, caught bubbling on the ocean’s floor, frozen then lifted up over millennia for us to see? The first time you saw an adobe lily? The joy of California poppies? The first time you stood at Molok Luyuk’s summit and saw hundreds of miles in each direction — from the mountains of the coastal range rolling west to the Pacific to Snow Mountain and Shasta in the North, over the Sutter Buttes to the Sierra Nevada Mountain’s in the east, snow glistening on the peaks, and across Bear Valley, the yellow and purple of the wildflowers shimmering in the sun? The first time you heard the Patwin people speak of the importance of the place, of gathering and traveling and tending to the place?


I do. I remember each discovery and the people who shared them with me. Nate and Nick and Glen sharing the wildflowers and oak groves and all their nuances. Bob explaining the unique geology, the millennia of history, that you walk across as you traverse Molok Luyuk. Gayle and Laverne sharing their stories of the Patwin people and their history with the land. Bob and Andrew planning the Condor Trail, which one day will link from the Bay Area to the Klamath. Don and Del sharing the joy of bouncing along the trails on their bikes and ATVs. Ryan’s love of all of its nooks and crannies, especially Wintun Campground, a gem that needs a little TLC. Maureen’s excitement at organizing her members. Jora’s and Elyane’s passion for the land. I remember anointing Bob’s Rock, a beautiful example of serpentinite, California’s state rock, that stands proudly surrounded by wildflowers and, on at least one occasion, a rattlesnake.


Molok Luyuk is a remarkable place. It is an amazing ecological and cultural treasure. After years of fighting to protect it, on May 2, 2024, President Biden signed a Presidential Proclamation adding Molok Luyuk to Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, officially renaming the area Molok Luyuk and calling for co-stewardship with Tribes.


Establishing a National Monument is first and foremost a community process. It is the best of democracy; people in a community or communities coming together with their neighbors and elected representatives to effect positive change.


The effort to protect Molok Luyuk’s public lands began with a coalition of folks including Tuleyome, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, conservation and recreation groups, scientists, landowners and our champions in Congress, all the people above, numerous folks I haven’t even mentioned, and you, who recognized Molok Luyuk’s significant cultural, geological and natural resource values. Together we built a broad coalition of more than 160,000 people, 8 tribes, dozens of businesses and organizations, community leaders and decision makers from the local communities all the way to the President of the United States.



And the support kept growing. Just a week and a half earlier, on April 22nd, the California Senate voted 35-0 in support of Senate Joint Resolution 10, introduced by California State Senator Bill Dodd, California State Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire and California State Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, urging the White House to include Molok Luyuk in the Monument.

I was honored to represent Tuleyome at the Oval Office ceremony with President Biden and Vice President Harris and our other champions. All of our Congressional leaders were present: Senators Padilla and Butler, Representatives Garamendi, Thompson and Schiff. Bureau of Land Management Director Tracey Stone Manning, Council on Environmental Quality Director Brenda Mallory and US Department of Agriculture Secretary Vilsack attended, as did California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot. Our coalition was strongly represented by Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation Tribal Secretary Mia Durham, CalWild Policy Director Ryan Henson, California Native Plant Society Executive Director Jun Bando, and me on behalf of Tuleyome.

The reason it was such an honor to be there is because it is an honor working with all of our partners and champions and all of you to protect Molok Luyuk.


Now that we’ve completed phase I, “What ‘s next?” you may ask. Next, we need to complete a Monument Management Plan that protects and stewards all of the things that we value about Molok Luyuk. Then we need to implement that plan on the ground. And, as always, Tuleyome will be there each step of the way.



"We Dream... We Act... Together, We Get Things Done"


-Sandra Schubert; sschubert@tuleyome.org

Executive Director

RECENT ARTICLES

By Nate Lillge October 2, 2025
Tuleyome was excited to be back in the field at Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve. Volunteers installed a Chronolog station that will help monitor restoration efforts on the Blue Ridge Trail. This station - a post next to the trail that encourages hikers to take a photo - will help UC Reserve System document the changes at the site without large amounts of resources and time dedicated to monitoring. You can be a part of restoration efforts by taking a photo at the station. Thanks to our volunteers who joined us! Photos from the day are available on Flickr . Check out our website for more chances to help Tuleyome maintain trails! More information about Chronolog can be found on their website . There are currently two cameras at Stebbins - one monitoring big leaf maples and this one on the Blue Ridge Trail . Head to Stebbins and be a part of the restoration efforts!
By Geoff Benn October 2, 2025
Interns Diego, Ellen, and Rithika on the Rotary Pavilion at the Preserve Tuleyome is excited to welcome three new Horticultural Interns for Fall 2025! This is our second year offering this internship, where we pair college students with mentors at Woodland Regional Park Preserve to assist with projects including invasive plant removal, native plantings, and native species monitoring. This year’s cohort includes three UC Davis Environmental Science and Management majors – senior Diego Barraza and sophomores Ellen Jenkins and Rithika Warrier. They will be mentored by longtime Preserve volunteers Jennifer Hogan and Teri Barry. Over the course of the Fall Quarter, the interns will join volunteer crews for work days at the Preserve, providing opportunities for both skill development and networking. The Preserve, which opened to the public in May 2025, is a restored former landfill site that was developed into nature preserve to provide outdoor education opportunities and to protect the rare and endangered plants found on the site. The Preserve is a collaborative effort by the City of Woodland, Tuleyome, Yolo Habitat Conservancy, Rotary clubs, and other local organizations and volunteers. If you have any questions about the internship program or Tuleyome’s work at the Preserve, please contact Geoff Benn at gbenn@tuleyome.org.
By Bryan Pride October 2, 2025
Thank you to everyone who submitted comments on the proposed rescission of the Roadless Rule and the USDA reorganization. We've cycled through several comment periods over the recent months, including the current open comment period for the rescission of the Public Lands Rule . Your voices joined half a million people who participated in the Roadless Rule comment period with 99% of comments supporting protection of our forest by keeping them roadless. This level of engagement shows the administration that we the people are paying attention. But our work isn’t done. Even though we defeated Senator Lee’s amendment to sell off public lands in the Big Beautiful Bill, the administration is still pursuing that same goal through a more coordinated attack. The mass firing of federal employees, efforts to rescind the Roadless Rule , the Public Lands Rule , and the proposed reorganization of USDA create the conditions necessary for unprecedented extraction from and eventual sale of our public lands. What we're witnessing isn't a series of isolated policy changes, it's a coordinated strategy with the "Big Beautiful Bill" connecting each attack on our public lands. The Strategy The sale of public lands started with DOGE’s mass firing of thousands of experienced Forest Service rangers, BLM land managers, and National Park employees, dedicated public servants who had built expertise from boots-on-the-ground field work to policy development roles. The loss of these public servants also means the elimination of institutional knowledge of what sustainable land management looks like in practice. The administration then moved to make these cuts permanent by closing and selling federal office buildings. The Ukiah BLM office , which manages the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument was initially threatened with closure but was eventually removed from the list. Removing the land managers was only one part of the plan. The Big Beautiful Bill passed through Congress with devastating budgetary cuts and protocol mandates for public lands and national forests. The bill, now signed into law, mandates destructive logging quotas : 250 million board feet annually from National Forests and 20 million board feet from BLM lands, with annual quota increases through 2034. The bill also requires agencies to award 20-year logging contracts to private companies, locking in extraction commitments through 2046. Logging levels this high haven't been seen since the 1900s. While the Big Beautiful Bill is now law, agencies cannot implement these logging and extraction mandates unless existing protective regulations, the Roadless Rule and the Public Lands Rule, are rescinded. These rules prevent the Big Beautiful Bill’s quotas from being implemented, which strongly suggests why the administration is moving to eliminate them. The Roadless Rule has coexisted with national forest logging for 25 years. The Rule protects 58.5 million acres of sensitive forest by preventing new road construction in designated roadless areas, while allowing logging to continue in areas with existing roads. However, the mandatory extraction quotas in the Big Beautiful Bill require access to previously untouched, sensitive areas. Meeting these dramatically increased quotas means building roads through currently protected roadless areas. Rescinding the Roadless Rule is a prerequisite for implementing the Big Beautiful Bill’s mandates. The Public Lands Rule recognizes conservation as a legitimate form of multiple use alongside grazing, mining, logging and recreation. The Public Lands Rule hasn’t stopped these uses, it requires that these activities be managed sustainably to protect long-term land health. However, the mandatory extraction minimum in the Big Beautiful Bill prioritizes meeting quotas over sustainable management. Rescinding the Public Lands Rule removes the requirement to balance extraction with conservation, making it possible to prioritize extraction regardless of long-term impacts on public lands. The USDA reorganization completes the strategy by eliminating local expertise, moving California’s forest management out of state. With no local forester position to resist unsustainable quotas or provide expertise about our unique ecosystems, implementation of new extraction protocols becomes inevitable. The sequence reveals the coordination: eliminate the people who understand sustainable management, pass legislation mandating unprecedented extraction, then remove the regulatory barriers that would prevent implementation. Why This Matters Now The Big Beautiful Bill's extraction mandates are already law, but they cannot be implemented while protective rules remain in place. These rules alone make it nearly impossible for the administration to enforce the newly set and unprecedented logging quotas. The protective rules that would prevent devastating extraction practices are under attack. Without these regulatory protections, the already-passed mandates will transform our public lands in ways that may be irreversible. Help speak for our public lands and take action to protect conservation by signing on to Tuleyome’s petition opposing the rescission of the Public Lands Rule, and/or submit comments directly on the Federal Register , you have until November 10th. For more information on how to participate in the public comment process or other advocacy opportunities, contact Bryan Pride Breaking News: Federal Government Shutdown The federal government shut down at 12:01 AM on Wednesday, October 1, 2025. National Parks and public lands will remain open to the public, though each location will vary in the number of staff present. USFS and BLM will have reduced staff at both field offices and regional offices. Some staff will be furloughed, while others may be working without pay. Offices such as the Bureau of Reclamation have the ability to run and operate Lake Berryessa activities for at least two weeks due to their access to discretionary funds, this is not a reality for all agencies. It is fire season. The Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture both released contingency plans for the lapse in federal funding. Both plans state that personnel directly related to wildfire response will largely be exempt from furloughs. The DOI's plan said National Park Service employees involved in fire suppression or fire monitoring activities will not be furloughed. USDA's plan said that employees who respond to and prepare for wildland fires will not be furloughed. Furloughs will still affect employees who are red-carded, or have wildland fire incident qualifications, but whose wildfire duties are secondary to their primary duties . During the government shutdown, some services may not be available or will be delayed. With reduced ranger presence on public lands, take extra precautions: don't hike alone, let someone know your plans, and be sure to pack out what you pack in.