President Barack Obama on Friday proclaimed Berryessa Snow Mountain one of three new national monuments.

Obama said he chose Berryessa Snow Mountain because its landscape contains “rare biodiversity and an abundance of recreational opportunities.” Bald and golden eagles, black bears and tule elk are among the species living there.

He also named two other sites as national monuments: Waco Mammoth, a “significant” Texas paleontological site with the well-preserved remains of 24 Columbian mammoths; and the Basin and Range in Nevada, which he called “an iconic American landscape” with such features as 4,000-year-old rock art that make it “an irreplaceable resource for archeologists, historians and ecologists.”

Berryessa Snow Mountain National Moment has about 331,000 acres of public land in California’s Inner Coastal Range, rising northward to more than 7,000 feet from sea level land 100 miles to the south.

The region covers portions of Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Glenn, Colusa, Yolo and Solano counties.

A “biodiversity hotspot,” according to the announcement, the area has been inhabited by Native Americans for the last 11,000 years, and making it a national monument will protect its cultural sites.

In addition, the area supplies water for millions and is where people gather for such outdoor activities as hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, off-highway vehicle use, horseback riding, mountain biking and rafting.

The White House cited an independent economic report that determined that giving the area a monument designation is likely to increase the number of visits there, and might add another $26 million to the area’s economy. The new monument will be managed jointly by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

Obama used the Antiquities Act to make the three designations. That act first was used by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 to name Devils Tower, Wyo., a national monument. Since then, such natural and historic American features as the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty and the Colorado Canyon of the Ancients also have been chosen as national monuments under provisions of the act.

Both of California’s U.S. senators praised the designation.

“Berryessa Snow Mountain stands out among California’s stunning natural resources as one of the most biologically diverse and beautiful, home to distinctive wildlife, vegetation and Native American cultural sites,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein said.

“I’m thrilled this special place will receive lasting federal protection. In the absence of congressional action on Berryessa, President Obama is right to take executive action, protecting more than 300,000 acres and boosting local communities.”

For Sen. Barbara Boxer, the announcement was more personal.

“For years, our coalition has worked to protect these lands and I applaud the president because his actions will preserve this magnificent area for generations and boost the local economy,” she said.

Boxer first introduced legislation to protect the region in 2012. Last December during a meeting of federal, state and local officials, she urged Obama to designate the region as a national monument.

U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa, Benicia’s member of the House, also lauded the action.

“After years of tireless work by countless numbers of people, the Berryessa Snow Mountain region is finally getting the permanent protection it deserves,” he said.

“This national monument designation will provide a boost to our local economy, enhance recreational opportunities for tens of thousands of people, and protect important wildlife.”

Thompson expressed gratitude to Secretary of the Interior Sarah Jewell, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Boxer for helping secure the designation. “This wouldn’t have happened without their partnership,” he said. “And a special thanks to President Obama for taking action to protect one of America’s national treasures.”