WASHINGTON President Obama announced that lands in the San Juan Islands will be designated as a federally protected national monument, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Thursday.

Obama will sign the proclamation Monday, a White House official said Thursday.

Todays announcement, Murray said in a statement, ensures that nearly 1,000 acres of cherished lands in the San Juan Islands will join our nations most iconic parks, wildlife refuges, and landmarks as a permanent, federally protected national monument.

From the bluffs on Stuart Island to Watmough Bay, the San Juan Islands are home to some of our nations most beautiful and important natural resources. I applaud President Obama for making this designation and thank (Interior) Secretary (Ken) Salazar for his incredible leadership to protect this beloved region, she said.

The San Juan Islands will become the third national monument in Washington, joining Mount St. Helens and Hanford Reach.

This historic monument designation will ensure that 60 locations across the islands ranging from pine forests, to wind-swept beaches, to rocky outcroppings, to proud old lighthouseswill remain a permanent part of what makes the San Juans so special, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said. These nearly 1,000 acres will provide recreational, ecological, historical, cultural, and scientific benefits to island residents and around 70,000 tourists that visit each year.

Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said: San Juan Islanders have been shouting from the rooftops for years: Protect these lands. Well, the president heard our message loud and clear.

President Obamas designation of the national monument in the San Juan Islands is the culmination of years of persistence by environmental and business leaders who built consensus and remained resolute in their mission. The national monument designation will protect this resource for residents and visitors today and in the future, Larsen said.

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Nearly 1,000 acres in San Juan Islands to be national monument