House of Representatives’ new public lands protections include Central Coast
Law addresses outdoor access, climate, public health, and local economies
–On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that will protect and increase access to public lands and rivers throughout California. This bill, Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act, is championed in California by Reps. Carbajal, Chu, Huffman, and Schiff, and passed as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Public lands amendments to the NDAA will safeguard more than a million acres of public lands and well over 500 miles of rivers in California, in the Northwest, Central Coast, and Los Angeles regions, in addition to public lands and rivers in Arizona, Colorado, and Washington. In California, the Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act is a key step forward in ensuring equitable access to public lands for local communities, and supports public health and economic recovery. The legislation is also critical to the state’s work to address climate change, build resilience, and protect 30% of lands and waters by 2030.
The Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act previously passed the House in February of this year and a version passed twice in 2020. Today’s passage is particularly significant, however, given that the National Defense Authorization Act is considered to be “must-pass” legislation. Senators Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein have introduced companion legislation to the California bills: the PUBLIC Lands Act and the Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act.
“I am glad to see the PUBLIC Lands Act continue to gain momentum with today’s House passage. This bill will increase access to California’s world-class nature for communities of color and all Californians,” said Senator Alex Padilla. “Our public lands are some of our state’s greatest gifts – from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Central Coast and through Northwestern California’s forests and rivers. We must be thoughtful stewards of these special places so that communities can continue to enjoy them and benefit from our rich natural heritage for generations to come. And we must do so in a way that reverses racial and economic disparities in access to nature and our public lands. Now, I will be pushing my colleagues in the Senate to follow suit and pass these critical protections.”
House amendment includes protections for the following
- Protection of special places in the Los Padres National Forest and the Carrizo Plain National Monument, located in the Central Coast region. This includes approximately 288,000 acres of wilderness, two scenic areas encompassing 34,882 acres, and 159 miles of wild and scenic rivers. This would be the first wilderness protection on the Central Coast in twenty years, and is particularly important as many of these areas are currently under threat from extractive industries. It also includes the designation of a 400 mile-long trail, the Condor National Scenic Trail, which would connect the northern and southern portion of the Los Padres National Forest by a single hiking route.
- Protection of public lands and rivers in Northwest California, including in Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity counties. This includes protecting about 317,000 acres of public lands as wilderness, designating 379 miles of new wild and scenic rivers, requiring management plans for an additional 101 miles of existing wild and scenic rivers.
- In the Los Angeles area, the bill would expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument by over 109,000 acres to include the western Angeles National Forest. The bill would also designate over 30,000 acres as protected Wilderness and over 45 miles of Wild and Scenic rivers throughout the San Gabriel range.
- The bill would also establish a National Recreation Area in the San Gabriel Valley.
- In the Los Angeles area, the bill would add more than 191,000 acres of the Rim of the Valley Corridor to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The Rim of the Valley stretches from the Simi Hills and Santa Susanas to the Verdugos and on to the San Gabriel Mountains.
“Nature is priceless, but it is too often taken for granted,” says local Representative Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara).
“Pragmatic policies that defend our public lands from development make a real difference in the fight against climate change, give residents and visitors the opportunity to appreciate the great outdoors, and boost our local economy, all while preserving the plant and animal life that call these public lands home. I am proud to see the Protecting America’s Wilderness Act, which includes my Central Coast Heritage Protection Act, pass the House as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. I will continue fighting to protect the public lands that make the Central Coast uniquely beautiful, so our children and grandchildren can enjoy them for generations to come.”
