U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, the Napa Democrat who represents Benicia in the House of Representatives, said Tuesday that all five counties within the Berryessa Snow Mountain Region, including Solano, have endorsed permanent protection for the area.

Mendocino County was the final agency to vote to endorse permanent protection for region, Thompson said. Napa, Lake, Yolo and Solano counties previously voted to support its permanent protection.

The Mendocino vote was unanimous, he said.

Thompson said he has been trying to protect the region since May 2013, when he introduced House of Representatives Bill 1025, the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area Act.

At the same time, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., introduced a companion bill in the Senate. Both bills would designate the 350,000-acre Berryessa Snow Mountain region as a National Conservation Area (NCA).

The region stretches more than 100 miles, from the Putah Creek lowlands below Lake Berryessa across stretches of Cache Creek and up to the peak of Snow Mountain, Thompson said.

It encompasses large portions of Napa, Mendocino, Lake, Solano and Yolo counties.

The region also includes numerous trails, open spaces, lakes and rivers, resources that provide recreation opportunities for hikers, bikers, hunters, campers, off-highway vehicle users and both motorized and non-motorized boaters, Thompson said.

“The area is rich in biodiversity, including bald and golden eagles, black bears, mountain lions, tule elk, and rare plants found nowhere else on Earth,” he said.

Under the NCA designation, the region would be permanently protected, Thompson said. It would provide for “continued recreational opportunities while safeguarding the region’s natural beauty, wildlife, rare plants and waters, which include important sources of drinking water and irrigation for nearby communities,” he said.

Thompson said he has grown impatient with the lack of congressional action on the legislation. He said his legislation has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources, but despite hearings in both the House and Senate it has not received a vote.

“There is overwhelming public support for protection of this national treasure,” he said. In addition to the five counties, more than 100 businesses in the region also support the national monument designation, he said.

“If Congress won’t pass my legislation to permanently protect the Berryessa Snow Mountain Region, then President (Barack) Obama should step up where Congress hasn’t and permanently protect the region as a national monument.

“A national monument designation would also provide a boost to our local economies. Protected public lands are major contributors to our country’s $646 billion outdoor recreation economy,” he said.

“In California alone, more than half of all residents participate in outdoor recreation each year, supporting more than 700,000 jobs and generating more than $6 billion for our state’s economy.”