Waco Mammoth National Monument was one of three national monuments established by President Obama on Friday.

A site in Texas where a herd of Columbian Mammoths and other Ice Age animals died in a catastrophic event that preserved their remains in surprisingly good condition on Friday became one of three national monuments designated by President Barack Obama via the Antiquities Act.

While Waco Mammoth National Monument will be managed by the National Park Service, the other two, Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in California and Basin and Range National Monument in Nevada, will be overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service.

Waco Mammoth National Monument protects the site where the "extremely well-preserved fossils of a herd of Columbian Mammoths and other Ice Age animals have been found," the Interior Department said in a release early Friday. The site provides a rare chance to understand and interpret the behavior and ecology of the extinct Columbian Mammoth, the release added. The oldest fossils identified at the site are thought to be more than 65,000 years old. In addition, both the excavation area and the land around it offer an excellent opportunity for further exploration and paleontological and geological research.

“Our national parks inspire and teach us about our nation’s natural history – in this case, about the prehistoric animals that walked our Earth tens of thousands of years ago,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said. “The Waco Mammoth National Monument will share the wonder of these incredible mammoths with visitors from around the world and help introduce a new generation to the thrill of scientific discovery that only a special site like this can demonstrate first-hand.”

Congress directed the National Park Service to conduct a special resource study of the Waco Mammoth Site. That study, completed in 2008, confirmed that the Waco Mammoth resources were nationally significant, worthy of permanent preservation, and suitable and feasible for inclusion in the national park system.

In 1978, Columbian Mammoth fossils were first discovered at the site, and it remains the nation's first and only recorded discovery of a nursery herd (females and their offspring) of Pleistocene mammoths. The remains of at least 24 mammoths have been found at the site, 18 of which were part of the nursery herd.

According to researchers, the nursery herd died at the same moment in time as a result of a natural catastrophic event, the skeletons are relatively intact, and the individual mammoths range in age from 3 to 65 years old. The site offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to examine the matriarchal herd structure and behavior of this extinct species. For example, juvenile mammoth skeletons rest atop the long tusks of adults, suggesting that the adults were trying to save their offspring from the rising waters and sucking mud. The site has already revealed other Ice Age fossils, including camel, saber-toothed cat, dwarf antelope, and giant tortoise.

"Today is a special day for Texas. President Bush and I are thrilled that the Waco Mammoth Site is America's newest national monument. I applaud President Obama, the City of Waco, Baylor University, and now the National Park Service, who worked to develop, preserve, and champion the Waco Mammoth Site,” said former First Lady Laura Bush. “The Waco Mammoth Site takes visitors back in time nearly 65,000 years, and reminds us of our country's connection to the history of our planet. As we approach the Centennial of the National Park Service in 2016, this is a great time to celebrate our nation's parks.”

The site will be managed by the National Park Service in cooperation with the City of Waco and Baylor University. The Park Service will conduct a management planning process, working closely with these partners, community residents, and other groups that have devoted themselves to preserving the site for many years.

“The National Park Service is proud to work in partnership with the City of Waco and Baylor University to protect, preserve, and most importantly share the remarkable Waco Mammoth National Monument with the American people and visitors from around the world,” said Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “The Waco Mammoth National Monument will engage students, visitors, and scientists alike with the story of these extinct mammoths. As the National Park Service prepares to celebrate its centennial in 2016, this new addition to our Park Service family will help more Americans develop lifelong relationships with parks as places where they can discover amazing things.”

The site was discovered when Waco residents Paul Barron and Eddie Bufkin were looking for arrowheads and fossils along the Bosque River and found a large bone protruding from the earth. Realizing the possible significance of this discovery, Mr. Barron and Mr. Bufkin immediately took the bone to the Strecker Museum at Baylor University where the bone was identified as the upper leg bone of a Columbian Mammoth.

Over the next 20 years, Baylor University oversaw the excavation of the site, where they found the remains of 24 Columbian Mammoths, including both adults and juveniles, as well as a Western Camel, saber-toothed cat, dwarf antelope, American Alligator, and giant tortoise. The Columbian Mammoths are the largest mammoth species – larger than its relative, the Woolly mammoth – and stood 12 to 14 feet tall and weighed seven to eight tons. Their tusks grew as long as 16 feet. Many of the discovered bones, including the remains of four Columbian Mammoths as well as the skeleton of the camel, remain in place, providing visitors an opportunity to view them.

The City of Waco has operated the Waco Mammoth Site as a park since 2009, in partnership with Baylor University and with support from the nonprofit Waco Mammoth Foundation, Inc. The city donated to the United States approximately five acres, which includes the excavation site and the dig shelter, making it possible to establish the monument. Nearly the entire Waco Mammoth Site will be included within the boundary of the national monument.

“We are grateful that President Obama has stepped forward to protect one of Texas’s unique and valuable natural treasures," said Suzanne Dixon, senior director of regional operations for the National Parks Conservation Association. "The community asked for the designation and the president answered. This new national monument will benefit the city’s economy as well as schoolchildren, scientists and other visitors to this site. Waco Mammoth is a window to a world lost long ago, and with this designation, visitors from across the country will be able to continue learning about the science and history of these amazing creatures.

“Waco Mammoth is a classic site for inclusion in our National Park System. It is the nation’s only discovery of a nursery herd of Pleistocene-era mammoths, and there is no other Park Service site specifically set aside to tell their story. The bones at Waco Mammoth provide a glimpse into North America’s wild past, enabling us to see what lived here tens of thousands of years ago."

The new 330,780-acre Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in California is comprised of existing federal lands, extending from Berryessa Peak and other lands in the vicinity of Lake Berryessa in Napa, Yolo, and Solano counties through the spectacular lands of Lake, Colusa, and Glenn Counties to the eastern boundary of the Yuki Wilderness in Mendocino County. It is now the second largest national monument in California, after the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. The monument does not include Lake Berryessa itself, which will continue to be managed as a recreation area by the Bureau of Reclamation.

Basin and Range National Monument, located in Lincoln and Nye counties in Nevada about two hours from downtown Las Vegas, spans approximately 704,000 acres of rugged mountains and sweeping valleys. The monument tells the story of the area’s native peoples as well as the history of more recent settlers and mining communities. The designation also preserves current uses of the land, including traditional ranching practices and ongoing military training operations, while ensuring that the land remains unspoiled for future generations.

The Antiquities Act was first used by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 to designate Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. Since then, 16 presidents have used this authority to protect unique natural and historic features in America, such as the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, and Colorado's Canyons of the Ancients.

With these new designations, President Obama will have used the Antiquities Act to establish or expand 19 national monuments. Altogether, he has protected more than 260 million acres of public lands and waters – more than any other President – as well as preserved sites that help tell the story of significant people or extraordinary events in American history, such as César E. Chávez National Monument in California, Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument in Maryland, and Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Ohio.