California Wilderness Bills Clear Congress
Historic legislation heads to President Obama’s desk
After years of hard work from leaders of both parties, the U.S. House of Representatives today overcame procedural challenges on both sides of the Capitol and voted 285 to 140 to pass the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (H.R. 146), protecting some 700,000 acres of California wild lands and rivers.
This was the second time the House voted on the omnibus lands bill. The original bill (S. 22) was approved by the Senate 73-21 on January 15, 2009. This comprehensive measure was the first environmentally related bill in the 111th Congress. In an attempt to prevent amendments that would have likely killed the bill, the House took up the legislation under the suspension of the rules on March 11. However, it failed to attract the necessary two-thirds majority to move forward. The Senate, on March 19, 2009, again overwhelmingly passed the bill as an amendment to H.R. 146 and sent the bill back to the House for consideration today.
Today’s vote only needed a simple majority for passage. The three California provisions in the bill will protect publicly owned lands and rivers in Riverside County, the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Mountains and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks by designating new wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers. When signed into law, the acreage of all three California measures will amount to the fourth largest designation of wilderness in California since the Wilderness Act was established in 1964.
“The California provisions in the lands package will guard the last remaining wild places in our state, and have been permanently protected because of the hundreds of organizations, volunteers, businesses, and elected officials that have worked hard to pass on our wild heritage to future generations,” remarked Sam Goldman from the California Wild Heritage Campaign, a coalition of over 500 businesses and organizations working to ensure the permanent protection of California's wild public lands and rivers.
The opportunity to protect our natural legacy is due not only to strong support from local communities, but also to the bipartisan work of California’s representatives in Congress. Senator Barbara Boxer worked diligently with Congressman Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (R-Palm Springs), and Congressmen Jim Costa (D-Fresno) and Devin Nunes (R-Visalia) to develop and shepherd these bills through the legislative process. Senator Diane Feinstein cosponsored all three bills.
“The sponsors of these bills, along with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), have been great backers of wilderness protection in our state,” said Ryan Henson, Policy Director for the California Wilderness Coalition. Jon Owen, Deputy Campaigns Director for the Campaign for America's Wilderness said, “With Americans facing so much uncertainty, from events abroad to the economic crisis, this legislation serves as a promise to the nation that these lands will be protected forever.This is a bi-partisan success story. Our elected officials reached across the partisan divide, found common ground, and protected it.”
Many of the special wild places included in this historic bill are threatened by rampant off-road vehicle abuse and unchecked sprawl. This year, Congress and the President have an historic opportunity to protect these special places once and for all by working together to make this public lands package law. The broadly-backed omnibus public lands conservation bill will ensure the highest form of protection for some of the nation’s most beloved remaining wild places, including:
The Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act. This bill will preserve more than 472,000 acres of wilderness and four wild and scenic rivers totaling 73 miles near Santa Clarita and in the magnificent Eastern Sierra, including the White Mountains and the headwaters of the Owens River.
The California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act. This bill will protect approximately 190,000 acres of pristine and ecologically sensitive land in Riverside County as wilderness, including parts of Joshua Tree National Park, and four wild and scenic rivers totaling 31 miles.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Wilderness Act of 2008. This bill will preserve close to 70,000 acres of wilderness, including the new John Krebs Wilderness, named for the former Congressman and conservationist who worked to protect these lands in the Mineral King Valley.
Local support for wilderness protection for each of these areas is bipartisan, broad, and deep---the result of a multi-year process of collaboration and consensus-building.
The three California provisions, along with other wilderness measures in the package, enjoy the support of local governments, chambers of commerce, business owners, and community leaders.
Steve Evans, Conservation Director of Friends of the River said, “The passage of the lands package will guarantee that these precious areas and rivers are protected in perpetuity for future generations and that Americans from throughout the nation will forever be able to hike, hunt, fish, paddle, climb, and otherwise enjoy more of America’s great wild gifts.” The legislation is expected to be signed into law by President Obama in the very near future.
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