114 STAT. 3234 PROCLAMATION 7264-JAN. 11, 2000 nacles off the coast above mean high tide provide havens for significant populations of sea mammals and birds. They are part of a narrow and important flight lane in the Pacific Flyway, providing essential habitat for feeding, perching, nesting, and shelter. The California Coastal National Monument is a biological treasure. The thousands of islands, rocks, exposed reefs, and pinnacles are part of the nearshore ocean zone that begins just off shore and ends at the boimdary between the continental shelf and continental slope. Waters of this zone are rich in nutrients from upwelling currents and freshwater inflows, supporting a rich array of habitats and organisms. Productive oceanographic factors, such as major ocean currents, stimulate critical biological productivity and diversity in both nearshore and off- shore ocean waters. ' The monument contains many geologic formations that provide unique habitat for biota. Wave action exerts a strong influence on habitat distribution within the monument. Beaches occur where wave action is light, boulder fields occur in areas of greater wave activity, and rocky outcroppings occur where wave action is greatest. The pounding surf within boulder fields and rocky shores often creates small, but important, habitats known as tidepools, which support creatures uniquely adapted for survival under such extreme physical conditions. Although shoreline habitats may appear distinct from those off shore, they are dependent upon each other, with vital and dynamic exchange of nutrients and organisms being essential to maintaining their healthy ecosystems. As part of California's nearshore ocean zone, the monument is rich in biodiversity and holds many species of scientific interest that can be particularly sensitive to disturbance. The monimient's vegetative character varies greatly. Larger rocks and islands contain diverse growth. Dudleya, Atriplex-Baeria-Rumex, mixed grass-herb, Polypodium, Distichlis, ice plant, Sjmthyris-Poppy, Eymus, Poa-Baeria, chaparral, and wetlands vegetation are all present. Larger rocks and islands contain a diverse blend of the vegetation types. The monument provides feeding and nesting habitat for an estimated 200,000 breeding seabirds. Development on the mainland has forced seabirds that once fed and nested in the shoreline ecosystem to retreat to the areas protected by the monument. Pelagic seabird species inhabit salt or brackish water environments for at least part of their annual cycle and breed on offshore islands and rocks. Gulls, the endangered California least tern, the threatened brown pelican, and the snowy plover, among countless others, all feed on the vegetation and establish their nests in the monument. Both bald eagles and peregrine falcons are foxmd within the moniunent. The moniunent also provides forage and breeding habitat for several mammal species. Pinnipeds are abundant, including the threatened southern sea otter and the Guadalupe fur seal. The monimient contains important shelter for male California sea lions in the winter and breeding rookeries for threatened northern (Steller) sea lions in the spring. Section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431) authorizes the President, in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be na-
�
