Photos: Obama Declares 3 New National Monuments In California Desert : The Two-Way : NPR

Photos: Obama Declares 3 New National Monuments In California Desert : The Two-Way : NPR

Photos: Obama Declares 3 New National Monuments In California Desert Updated February 12, 20168:35 PM ET Published February 12, 20165:22 PM ET toggle caption Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management The Sand to Snow National Monument is one of three California areas designated as national monuments on Friday. Together they protect nearly 1.8 million acres of public lands. Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management President Obama has designated three desert areas in California as national monuments. The move permanently protects "nearly 1.8 million acres of America's public lands," the White House says in a news release. All three areas lie east of Los Angeles. Two of the new monuments — Castle Mountains and Mojave Trails — are near California's border with Nevada. And crucially, "the new monuments will link already protected lands, including Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave National Preserve, and fifteen congressionally-designated Wilderness areas,

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