Conservationists cheered U.S. House passage today of three wilderness bills, protecting more than 320,000 acres of wild public land in California and New Mexico, from California’s iconic Joshua Trees and Giant Sequoias to New Mexico’s 1,000-foot-deep Canon Largo.
In a separate action, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne designated 24 trails in 16 states as new National Recreation Trails to mark the 40th anniversary of the National Trails System.
"The U.S. House of Representatives has today given the ‘gold standard’ of protection to some of the country’s most beautiful places," said Mike Matz, executive director of the Campaign for America’s Wilderness. "Passage of these bipartisan bills today sends a strong signal that even in times of polarization and stalemate, lawmakers are working across party lines to find common ground in protecting our wild land," said Matz. "We are seeing a real renaissance in wilderness protection in this country."
The measures passed by the House are:
- The California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act, protecting more than 190,000 acres in Riverside County as wilderness, provide wild and scenic protection to 31 miles of four rivers, and expand the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. A companion bill has been introduced to the Senate.
- The Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness Act (H.R. 3022), protecting 115,000 acres of wilderness in the Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has sponsored a Senate companion bill.
- The Sabinoso Wilderness Act (H.R. 2632), designating more than 15,000 acres in San Miguel County as wilderness.
The House has now cleared five wilderness bills this year (the two others protect land in Oregon and West Virginia), and passed another for wilderness in Virginia last October.
Four additional bills, for wilderness in Idaho, Oregon, and Colorado, have cleared the Senate Committee and are awaiting action by the full Senate. A bill creating the Wild Sky Wilderness in Washington State became law last month.
The trails designated yesterday add 1,100 miles to the National Trails System in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.
The National Recreation Trails were first designated in 1971 to recognize existing trails that connect people to local resources and improve their quality of life.
"There is no better way than through hiking and other human-powered activities to build the human spirit, improve our health and increase environmental awareness and public support for trails," said Greg Miller, American Hiking Society president.
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