Establishment of the Hanford Reach National Monument
President Clinton established the 195,000-acre Hanford Reach National Monument in Washington State under the Antiquities Act to protect scientific, historic, and biological resources, including the last free-flowing stretch of the Columbia River and rare shrub-steppe ecosystems. The proclamation withdraws federal lands from development, prohibits off-road motorized vehicles and livestock grazing, assigns management to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Energy, and reserves water rights while preserving existing utility operations and tribal rights.