WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will expand a national monument in California this week to add about 1,665 acres (674 hectares) of Pacific shoreline, the White House said on Saturday.
Obama on Tuesday will add the federally owned Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands to the California Coastal National Monument, about 100 miles (160 km) north of San Francisco, said a White House official who declined to be named.
The president's designation will add such features as coastal bluffs and shelves, tide pools, dunes and the mouth and estuary of the Garcia River to the monument, said the official.
President Bill Clinton established the California Coastal National Monument in 2000 to protect coastal resources. They include geologic formations that provide habitat for breeding seabirds, marine mammals and other species.
Since taking office in 2009, Obama has designated more than 2 million acres (809,000 hectares) of federal wilderness and thousands of miles of trails. He also has established nine national monuments.
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Ian Simpson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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