On October 16, 2003, Reps. Hilda Solis (D-CA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) introduced the Southern California Wild Heritage Wilderness and Wild Rivers Act of 2003 (H.R. 3325) and Northern California Wild Heritage Wilderness and Wild Rivers Act of 2003 (H.R. 3327), respectively. When combined, these two House bills mirror Senator Barbara Boxer's statewide California Wild Heritage Act of 2003, introduced in August. Similar bills were introduced in the House during the 107th Congress.
Rep. Thompson's bill would protect a broad array of wild lands and rivers from the central Sierra Nevada to the Oregon border while Rep. Solis's bill would offer protection for wilderness and wild rivers from the central Sierra Nevada to the Mexican border.
Congresswoman Solis said, "With population growth expected to double in Los Angeles, we have to plan for environmental preservation now so that our natural resources are not destroyed by careless over-development. During the last 20 years, 675,000 acres of unprotected wilderness have lost their wilderness character due to activities such as logging and mining. We cannot let the destruction of our most precious resources continue unchecked."
Background
On August 1, 2003, Senator Barbara Boxer introduced the California Wild Heritage Act of 2003 (S.1555) to designate 2.5 million acres of public lands as Wilderness in California and add 440 miles of rivers to the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers system. The measure is slightly modified from the version introduced in the 107th Congress in part due to the removal of areas in California's Big Sur region that were designated as Wilderness last year by separate, stand alone legislation sponsored by Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA).
Support has been continually building for permanent protection of California's last wild lands and rivers. Currently, more than 3,000 businesses, scientists and civic leaders, nearly 200 elected officials, several state constitutional officers, and the California State Senate & Assembly support designating more Wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers.
The measure is also supported by the California Wild Heritage Campaign -- a statewide coalition of nearly 400 member groups that includes The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, California Wilderness Coalition, Friends of the River, League to Save Lake Tahoe, Republicans for Environmental Protection, National Hispanic Environmental Council, American Whitewater, and the Northern California Council Federation of Fly Fishers.
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