WASHINGTON, DC (November 13, 2007) -- Senator Barbara Boxer's (D-CA) and Congresswoman Mary Bono's (R-CA) broadly supported desert, forest and river conservation bill for Riverside County today goes before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
The California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act would permanently protect four new wilderness areas, six additions to existing wilderness areas, four wild and scenic rivers and additions to the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.
The bill would protect a total of 191,000 acres of wilderness in areas including Joshua Tree National Park, Cahuilla Mountain, Palm Canyon Creek, South Fork San Jacinto and the Pinto Mountains among others. It would also expand the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument by approximately 8,000 acres and add 31 miles of four rivers to the National Wild and Scenic River System.
Congresswoman Bono and Senator Boxer spent more than a year consulting with diverse stakeholders and making numerous accommodations to address local concerns. As a result, the bill is broadly supported by a wide range of local interests, including Riverside County supervisors, municipalities, chambers of commerce, realtors, equestrians, and businesses.
Passage of the California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act would ensure that a broad range of family recreational opportunities, such as hiking, hunting, horseback riding, bird watching, camping and other outdoor activities will remain widely available in Riverside County for future generations.
Over 50 local businesses and five chambers of commerce support the measure because of the economic benefits of preserving the scenic beauty of Riverside County.
The bill will protect habitat for threatened Peninsular bighorn sheep and desert tortoise as well as many other species such as mule deer, mountain quail, and bald eagles. It will also preserve the biologically important watersheds of Fuller Mill Creek, Bautista Creek, Palm Canyon Creek and North Fork San Jacinto River.
"This visionary bill will ensure that Riverside County's free-flowing rivers will remain that way for generations to come," said Steve Evans, Conservation Director of Friends of the River. "Kudos to Boxer and Bono for ensuring our children can enjoy nature unspoiled in perpetuity."
Representative Bono and Senator Boxer made a series of adjustments to the bill since it was first introduced last year. They have stated they will continue to seek local input as the bill makes its way through the legislative process. The list of adjustments includes drawing boundaries to allow popular motorized routes to remain open, ensuring Native American tribes have access to important cultural sites, drawing boundary setbacks in consultation with local communities, and clarifying that federal agencies can use all the tools necessary to fight and prevent wildfires.
The California Desert and Mountain Wilderness Campaign is composed of the Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, the California Wilderness Coalition, Friends of the River, the National Hispanic Environmental Council, and the Campaign for America's Wilderness.
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