Public lands bill looks dead for year

Staff and wire reports
Casper Star-Tribune

CHEYENNE -- A massive lands bill with protections for the Wyoming Range and parts of the Snake River in Wyoming is likely dead for the year.

Supporters said Friday that the bipartisan Omnibus Public Land Management Act apparently fell victim to a filibuster threat by a Republican senator.

The bill would have prohibited any new oil and gas leasing, mining patents or geothermal leasing in a 100-mile-long stretch of the Bridger-Teton National Forest in western Wyoming. It would also protect 387 miles of rivers and streams in the Snake River drainage under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Nevada Democrat strongly supports the lands package, but his first priorities in a lame-duck session next week are a planned rescue for the auto industry and extension of unemployment insurance benefits.

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn had threatened to filibuster the bill over what he calls its excessive spending.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said Friday evening that he intends to fight for the public lands package when the Senate reconvenes in a lame-duck session on Monday.

"There are bills very important to Wyoming in this," he said in a phone interview.

He mentioned the Wyoming Range Legacy Act and the Snake Headwaters Legacy Act, which is under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. In addition, the package contains compensation for ranchers for damages done by wolves to their livestock.

"This is 150 bills that are packaged together for a single vote. And it sounds from that report that one senator is holding up the entire package because of certain bills but not all the bills, but everything is being held up," Barrasso said.

In the Wyoming Legislature the package would require 150 separate votes, he noted.

When the lame-duck session was called, Reid said the senate would be back to work on the public lands bill.

"I'm prepared to do that," Barrasso said.

The Wyoming Range Legacy Act, which, in addition to prohibiting new mineral leasing in part of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, would allow conservation groups to buy and retire existing energy leases.

The bill is sponsored by Barrasso, based on legislation that the late Sen. Craig Thomas was working on at the time of his death.

The Craig Thomas Snake Headwaters Legacy Act would protect 387 miles of rivers and streams in the Snake River drainage.

Supporters of the legislation had urged Congress to act during the lame-duck session, because some authors of the legislation either retired or weren't re-elected, and their replacements won't be as familiar with the omnibus bill.

The Wyoming measures have the support of conservation organizations, sporting groups, and union and trade organizations, as well as Gov. Dave Freudenthal.

Outside Wyoming, legislation would expand wilderness along Oregon's Mount Hood and create a vast new wilderness in Idaho's Owyhee canyons. The bill also would have created wilderness areas in California, Colorado and New Mexico.

Sen. Mike Enzi was with family in Wyoming on Friday evening and could not be reached for comment, according to spokeswoman Elly Pickett.

Senate Energy Committee Approves Three Boxer Bills to Protect More than 700,000 Acres of CA Wilderness

PRESS RELEASE
Sen. Barbara Boxer's office
YubaNet

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today commended the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for including three bills she sponsored that would designate more than 700,000 acres of federal public land in California as wilderness in a larger package of legislation that will now proceed to the Senate floor for consideration.

Senator Boxer said, "Working with colleagues from both sides of the aisle, we have put together legislation that protects some of California and the nation's most magnificent places and ensures that they will be preserved for generations to come. I commend the Committee's decision to include these measures, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to see them become law."

The three bills approved by the committee were the California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act, the Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park Wilderness Act and the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act, all three of which are cosponsored by Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA).

"Preserving California's rich natural heritage is one of my top priorities in the Senate," Senator Feinstein said. "I'm pleased to work with Senator Boxer to help ensure the lasting federal protection of these pristine wilderness areas in the Eastern Sierras and San Gabriel Mountains, in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, and in Riverside County. And I thank Chairman Bingaman and the members of the Committee for their help in moving these bills one step closer to reality."

The California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act, introduced in the House by Representative Mary Bono (R-CA-45), designates new wilderness areas and expands existing wilderness areas. It designates segments of four rivers as wild and scenic and adds four parcels to the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. The total scope of the proposal encompasses approximately 200,000 acres of federal lands and 31 miles of rivers.

The Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park Wilderness Act, introduced in the House by Representatives Jim Costa (D-CA-20) and Devin Nunes (R-CA-21), designates approximately 90,000 acres of land within the Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park as wilderness. The proposed wilderness area includes the Redwood Mountain Grove, the largest Giant Sequoia grove within the Park and California's longest cave. This bill also establishes the John Krebs Wilderness Area, honoring former Congressman John Krebs, who authored the law transferring Mineral King Valley to the National Park Service in 1978, which protected the valley from development.

"This is a fitting honor for a man of great political courage and vision," Boxer said.

The Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act, introduced in the House by Representative Buck McKeon (R-CA-25) will give wilderness designations to more than 450,000 acres of federal public land in Mono, Inyo and Los Angeles Counties, including magnificent High Sierra lands, California's second highest mountain range-the spectacular White Mountains, and classic southern California mountain landscape accessible to millions of people.

Senate should act to help protect the desert wilderness

About 191,000 acres of public land is at stake

OPINION
The Desert Sun

The California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act strives to protect more than 40,000 acres in the Joshua Tree National Park, among other key wilderness areas.

Sponsored by Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, the legislation passed in the U.S. House on June 9. Now, we want to ensure the Senate version of the law, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Rancho Mirage Democrat, makes its way through the Senate when Congress reconvenes after the Republican convention.

The Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing on April 15, but has not taken further action on this important legislation that would designate as wilderness areas 191,000 acres of public land in the San Bernardino National Forest, Joshua Tree National Park and the Pinto Mountains.

It also designates several rivers as “wild, scenic or recreational.” They include Bautista Creek, Fuller Mill Creek, Canyon Creek and the North Fork San Jacinto River.

One option for the Senate is to vote the bill out of committee and pass it as a standalone bill. But given the short time remaining for Congress to act, that plan may prove to be a long shot.

Brian Geiger, spokesman for the Campaign for America's Wilderness, a conservation group, calls the legislation a “win-win for the community.” He says the legislation could be added to a package of public lands bills introduced by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. Bingaman is the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. By adding the wilderness bill to Bingaman's package, it could be voted on and passed in a more expedient manner.

The option certainly deserves consideration. This is a piece of legislation that we have supported since November. The measure adds restrictions for use of the land, including disallowing motor vehicles such as all-terrain vehicles in the wilderness areas. There are exceptions for emergency personnel in order to fight fires and control evasive insect species. We urge the Senate to act soon.

Bono Mack and Boxer's California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act is good, strong legislation that will protect our precious desert wilderness and it deserves speedy passage.

Never Ending Land Grabs

by RJ Smith
OpenMarket.org

Thanks to the Greens, the US Congress and the administration to continue locking up the American land. Yesterday, the House easily approved three more wilderness bills.

• Tom Udall’s (D-NM) HR 2632 created 16,000 acres of new wilderness in northeast New Mexico.
  
• Jim Costa (D-CA) and Devin Nunes (R-CA) were able to add 113,500 acres of new Wilderness in two areas in the southern Sierra with HR 3022.
  
• Mary Bono’s (R-CA) HR 3682 created 41,000 additional acres of wilderness in four areas, and just for good measure created 31 miles of new wild & scenic rivers.

And the beat goes on.

Previously the House had approved new wilderness bills for Oregon and West Virginia and recently the Senate’s omnibus multi-bill land grab package created the long-delayed Washington state “wild sky wilderness.” Bush quickly signed that omnibus monstrosity.

The National Wilderness System already includes over 104,000,000 acres of land—that is an area larger than the entire state of California—most of which has never been inventoried for vital minerals or energy reserves, and is now locked up forever. It can only be used by a tiny percentage of the population as all mechanized equipment is forbidden—including for rescue operations. The unmanaged forests are the source for insect infestations and disease and uncontrollable forest fires. And we keep creating more and more.

The gates are wide open for all these land grabs with no more than a handful of Republicans strongly fighting them. And of course purported Republicans are dropping their own Federal land grab bills left and right. Strict constitutionalist and pro-property rights advocate Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) tried to demand that there at least be recorded roll call votes on these land grabs and lock-ups, but he has met resistance even from Republican leaders. These bills are passed with what amounts to a legislative stealth bomber—bombing the American people with these land grabs under “suspension of the rules.” That means these bills are passed under the usual radar: there is little debate, no amendments, and no recorded vote. The speaker simply calls for a voice vote in a chamber that is basically empty.

Private lands and resources are being acquired by Fed, state, county and local governments at a rapid rate. Increased amounts of private lands are regulated or tied up in Bush administration “partnerships,” perpetual conservation easements, and “cooperative” conservation agreements. And government lands are then locked up in non-use wilderness or quasi-wilderness areas. America is already on its way to becoming a third world country where most land is owned and mismanaged by government. Congress won’t have to bother to pass climate control legislation because soon there won’t be much economic activity to control.

Bono Mack Acts To Preserve Scenic Lands

California Political Desk
The California Chronicle





A view looking at Highway 74 from the trailhead for the South Fork of the San Jacinto River. The area is being considered for the nation's highest level of protection under a bill by Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs.
The Press-Enterprise/William Wilson Lewis III




Washington, D.C. – Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack´s (CA-45) legislation that would preserve over 190,000 acres of scenic desert, forest, and river areas throughout California's 45th District. Broadly supported by local community leaders, elected officials, and local business owners, Bono Mack´s bill – H.R. 3682, the California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act – passed by voice vote today on the House Floor. The bill will now be considered in the U.S. Senate.

"I am thrilled that we are one step closer to preserving some of the most scenic and environmentally sensitive areas in our District," said Bono Mack. "Throughout history, these wild lands have drawn people to our region, and I am pleased that this legislation will help ensure that families and individuals can continue to enjoy the natural beauty of our desert, river and forest areas for years to come.

"Through a collaborative process, this bill was carefully crafted to meet the diverse needs of our community – from Native American tribes to those who enjoy hiking and biking throughout the area. I am thankful for the time and input of so many local groups and individuals that has brought us to this point.

"As our region experiences rapid population growth, it is critical that we protect these lands that have been such an important part of our cultural heritage. Years ago, President Gerald Ford recognized this need when he signed legislation that created over 400,000 acres of wilderness in what is now Joshua Tree National Park. I am proud that the California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act continues the dream of President Ford to protect our spectacular natural scenery for future generations."

The California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act would create four protected wilderness areas, add 31 miles of rivers to the National Wild and Scenic River system, and expand the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, which was created legislatively by Bono Mack in 2000. The bill would protect over 190,000 acres of wilderness areas, including in Joshua Tree National Park, Cahuilla Mountain, the San Bernardino National Forest and the Pinto Mountains. The legislation is also written to clarify the ability of the U.S. Forest Service to effectively fight fires; protect renewable energy potential; and continue access to for visitors to enjoy all that the region has to offer, according to Bono Mack.

California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act

H.R. 3682
Representative Mary Bono Mack (R-CA)
Source: GOP.gov

FLOOR SITUATION
H.R. 3682 is being considered on the floor under suspension of the rules and will require a two-thirds majority vote for passage. This legislation was introduced by Representative Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) on September 27, 2007. The bill was ordered to be reported, as amended, by voice vote by the House Committee on Natural Resources on May 14, 2008.

H.R. 3682 is expected to be considered on the floor of the House on June 9, 2008.

SUMMARY
H.R. 3682 designates the following lands in California as wilderness:

• 2,053 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in the Cleveland National Forest, to be part of the Agua Tibia Wilderness;
  
• 5,585 acres of land in the San Bernardino National Forest to be known as the Cahuilla Mountain Wilderness and the South Fork San Jacinto Wilderness;
  
• 20,217 acres of land in the San Bernadino National Forest to be known as the South Fork San Jacinto Wilderness;
  
• 2,149 acres of BLM land in Riverside County, California, to be incorporated in the Santa Rosa Wilderness;
  
• 15,621 acres of BLM land in Riverside County, California, to be known as the Beauty Mountain Wilderness;
  
• 36,700 acres of land in Joshua Tree National Park, to be part of the Joshua Tree Wilderness;
  
• 4,635 acres of BLM land in Riverside County, California as part of the Orocopia Mountains Wilderness;
  
• 22,645 acres of BLM land in Riverside County, California as part of the Palen/McCoy Wilderness;
  
• 24,404 acres of BLM land in Riverside County, California to be known as the Pinto Mountains Wilderness; and
  
• 12,815 acres of BLM land in Riverside County, California as part of the Chuckwalla Mountains Wilderness.

The bill states that wilderness areas in the Act are intended to exclude rights of way for existing utility facilities, and associated structures and access roads.

H.R. 3682 designates 43,300 acres of land in the Joshua Tree National Park as potential wilderness. The Secretary of the Interior is required to manage such land as wilderness until it is incorporated into the Joshua Tree Wilderness.

The bill also provides for access to the Cahuilla Mountain Wilderness by Indian tribes for traditional cultural and religious purposes. The Secretary of Interior is directed to amend local fire management plans that apply to the Santa Rosa Wilderness and Agua Tibia Wilderness, and prepare local fire management plans for the Beauty Mountain Wilderness, Cahuilla Mountain Wilderness, and South Fork San Jacinto Wilderness Area.

In addition, H.R. 3682 amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (P.L. 90-542) to designate certain creeks and rivers in Riverside County, California as “wild, scenic, or recreational rivers”.

**Note: (1) Wild river areas are rivers or sections of rivers that are free of impoundments and generally inaccessible except by trail. Scenic river areas are rivers or sections of rivers that are free of impoundments, with shorelines or watersheds still largely primitive and shorelines largely undeveloped, but accessible in places by roads. Recreational river areas are rivers or sections of rivers that are readily accessible by road or railroad, that may have some development along their shorelines, and that may have undergone some impoundment or diversion in the past. (P.L. 90-542)**

The bill additionally amends the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-351) to include additional lands within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.

BACKGROUND
In total, H.R. 3682 designates approximately 190,000 acres of land in Southern California as wilderness or potential wilderness. Under the Wilderness Act (P.L. 88-577), wilderness is famously defined as “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” Wilderness areas typically provide many recreational activities for Americans, while certain activities such as logging and oil and gas drilling are prohibited.

The National Wilderness Preservation System was established by the Wilderness Act (P.L. 88-577) in 1964. Under the Wilderness Act, Congress may designate federal lands as wilderness. The National Wilderness Preservation System administers federally managed lands encompassing 107 million acres in 702 wilderness areas, as of January 2008.

Three Wilderness Bills Cleared by U.S. House of Representatives

Brings to Five the Number Passed by House this Year

Press Release
world-wire.com

WASHINGTON D.C. -- Conservationists cheered House passage today of another three wilderness bills, and urged the Senate to take the measures up quickly. The bills, which passed by voice vote, will together protect for all Americans 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, more of our natural treasures will stay as they are for future generations, thanks to the action of Congress today.

“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 today are:

• The California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act (H.R. 3682), introduced by Rep. Bono Mack (R-CA), to protect 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 by Sen. Boxer (D-CA).
  
• The Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness Act (H.R. 3022), sponsored by Rep. Costa (D-CA) and Rep. Nunes (R-CA ), will protect 115,000 acres of wilderness in the Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park. Sen. Boxer has sponsored a Senate companion bill.
  
• The Sabinoso Wilderness Act (H.R. 2632), offered by Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM), would designate 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 Campaign for America's Wilderness works to protect the nation’s last best wild places for future generations.

Bill to protect county mountains, rivers passes House committee

California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act


Keith Matheny
The Desert Sun


A bill to protect additional Riverside County forests, mountains and rivers was passed by the U.S. House's Natural Resources Committee today, paving the way for a floor vote in the full House.

Sponsored by Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, the bill would permanently protect four new wilderness areas, expand six existing protected areas, and add additional protected land to the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. It would include 190,000 acres of wilderness in areas including Joshua Tree National Park.

The protected lands in the bill would help preserve the habitat of the threatened Peninsular bighorn sheep, desert tortoise and mountain yellow-legged frog, as well as many other species including mule deer, mountain quail and bald eagles.

"These lands make up a valuable part of our heritage, and I am pleased that we are now one step closer to ensuring that they are preserved for future generations," Bono Mack said in a statement.

It would also designate the North Fork of the San Jacinto River, Fuller Mill Creek, Bautista Creek and Palm Canyon Creek as potected Wild and Scenic Rivers.

"These four rivers are natural treasures hiding in plain sight," said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers, a national organization dedicated to river protection.

"As more and more people move to Riverside County, we can't afford to let these vital links to our past be swallowed up by our future."

The bill is sponsored in the Senate by California Democratic U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. It has broad local support, including from Riverside County supervisors, municipalities, chambers of commerce and others. The Coachella Valley Association of Governments and 11 municipalities have formally endorsed the legislation.

"It's terrific to see a bill that truly balances the diverse needs of our community, protecting our region's open space, preserving our high quality of life while maintaining and enhancing our economy -- the California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act succeeds on all counts," Palm Desert Councilman Jim Ferguson said in a statement.

Palm Springs Mayor Pro Tem Ginny Foat praised the legislation for its "positive impact on our community's recreation opportunities, quality of life and local economy."

Bill seeks to add thousands of acres of wilderness

California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act


By JENNIFER BOWLES
The Press-Enterprise



William Wilson Lewis III / The Press-Enterprise
John Garner's favorite spot to go hiking with his dog Daisy, along the south fork of the San Jacinto River, could become a federally designated wilderness area as part of a bill pending in Congress to protect 191,000 acres throughout Riverside County.

John Garner and Daisy, his German shepherd, hike a dirt trail above Hemet most mornings before he heads to work.

The five-mile trail hugs the side of a chaparral-studded canyon in the San Jacinto Mountains, then veers down to a tranquil river valley festooned with cottonwoods, willows and oaks where the only signs of modern civilization are jet contrails overhead.

"It's really quiet, peaceful," said Garner, 41, who owns Jag Pest Control in Hemet.

Garner said that although he was unaware his favorite hiking spot -- 21,670 acres with the south fork of the San Jacinto River at its heart -- may become a federally designated wilderness, he'd support the move.

This spring, Congress is likely to consider it in legislation by Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., that would protect 191,000 acres across Riverside County.

But the quest to garner the nation's highest form of land protection for a region prone to wildfires and heavily recreated has required compromises that allow the boundaries to be drawn in a way that permits normally banned activities in wilderness. Federal wilderness areas prohibit the use of mechanized equipment -- fire equipment, off-road vehicles and even mountain bikes.

And there could still be more compromises as Bono Mack faces fellow lawmakers who believe such concessions undermine the intent of the 1964 Wilderness Act. The act defines those areas as "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."

"They think we're spoiling the wilderness designation," Bono Mack said of some of her colleagues. "It's hard to explain to people what Southern California wildfires are ... and it's precedent-setting that we're trying to take into consideration fire caution.

"I do worry and I think often about risking people's property or certainly lives with legislation like this," if it bans firefighting trucks and equipment, she said. "We're trying to be very, very careful. We're in uncharted territory here."

For instance, a fire road that snakes down the middle of the proposed South Fork San Jacinto Wilderness was left outside of the boundaries. The road, known as Rouse Ridge, is also used by off-roaders and mountain bikers as a link to Thomas Mountain.

"We wanted that bisect to be maintained," said Tom Ward, policy advisor for the International Mountain Bicycling Association-California. He said his group helped craft the compromises with the California Wilderness Coalition.

Mike Dietrich, fire chief for the San Bernardino National Forest, said Rouse Ridge, although quite bumpy, is a well-established fire road that provides good access to help douse fires in the rugged terrain.

Some in the environmental community support the compromises.

"I think that it's very important especially in Southern California to ensure we have all the tools we need to fight fire and protect our communities," said Shane Walton, of Palm Springs, with Friends of the River, which is pushing for the bill's passage.

The South Fork wilderness proposal is a few miles from the town of Mountain Center, just south of Idyllwild.

The Bill

Boxer, after testifying Tuesday for the bill during a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forest, dismissed the notion that the bill has been watered down.

"What we're doing is we are making sure that if there's a fire, it can be put out ..." she said. "And we're not changing or weakening the rules here. We're just explicitly stating them so people know."

The bill would create four new wilderness areas across Riverside County in Joshua Tree National Park, the San Bernardino National Forest and open desert; increase the amount of land in six existing wilderness areas; add 31 miles of rivers to the National Wild and Scenic River System; and expand the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument by about 8,000 acres.

Bono Mack suspects the language in the 1964 Wilderness Act was based on circumstances happening then. For instance, areas weren't as populated, and the term wildland-urban interface -- the places where residences back up against wildland -- wasn't even thought of. And some say mountain biking wasn't yet invented.

Jenn Dice, with the international mountain biking group in Boulder, Colo., said biking trails recently have been included in wilderness areas across the nation but the issue often pits "old-school" wilderness advocates against recreationists who also oppose large-scale development.

"We believe our core values are the same as environmentalists'," she said. "We want clean water, clean air and healthy ecosystems. But it gets dicey when you're talking about wilderness and nothing else."

Both Dice and Ward said the real threat to wildlands is development.

Making the Compromise

Bill Dart, of the Off-Road Business Association, asked to downgrade the wilderness designations in Bono Mack's bill to a so-called "backcountry" -- meaning it would ban future development but allow recreation -- when he testified in November before a House subcommittee.

The off-roading group came around and now supports the bill after negotiating with Bono Mack's office, Dart said.

Bono Mack said it took a telephone call from her to an off-roading leader and assurances that the Bradshaw trail around the Orocopia and Chuckwalla mountains in eastern Riverside County wouldn't be affected.

"It was never clear, and we gave them certainty on it," she said.

Bono Mack has experience trying to hatch compromises in the name of land protection. She spearheaded creation of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument above the Coachella Valley eight years ago when President Clinton created more than a dozen in the West when he signed an executive order.

Bono Mack said it has been a similar experience this time.

"It's always been about bringing as many concerned people to the table to discuss the issues," she said.

Walton has a more ethereal reason for wanting the land protected, he said while sitting on the grass in a meadow near the San Jacinto River in the proposed wilderness.

"It's good for my spirits," he said of hiking. "... It leaves me feeling good for the whole day."

Bill would help protect our desert paradise

EDITORIAL
The Desert Sun [Palm Springs CA]

What makes this desert paradise we live in unique is that it is a desert paradise and we should do all we can to protect the precious landscape and its creatures.

The California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act, H.R. 3682, would provide that protection. It is sponsored in the U.S. House by Rep. Mary Bono, R-Palm Springs, who is working with Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. to expand the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. More than 40,000 acres in the Joshua Tree National Park would be designated as wilderness and certain river segments would be protected as "wild, scenic, or recreational."

The land would receive the highest level of protection under federal law. That means no Motocross, no bicycles - just pure and simple preservation for all time.

There are concerns about gaining access to fight fires. Fires in remote areas are often fought by air, in addition to ground crews.

Because we're talking about thousands of acres of designated natural habitat, we're looking at land that has virtually no private property to defend.

In addition, Bono has addressed some of the concerns in the bill. Necessary measures for control and prevention of fire, insects and diseases will be afforded to the land as deemed appropriate by the Secretary of Agriculture.

The Secretary has six months after the enactment to prepare management plans for the area.

In addition, certain, small areas considered sacred sites of Native American tribes will be closed to the general public, but open to tribal members for traditional cultural and religious purposes.

Again, such areas are not expansive, but are important to the native people of the land and this Act ensures respect of native tribes and protection of their history and culture.

The area also is home to threatened wildlife species. Another 40,000 acres in the park would be designated as potential wilderness while the National Park Service settled property claims.

This is a good bill that has the teeth to ensure protection of one of the most beautiful spots on earth.

Words can't describe dusk at Joshua Tree National Park, but a bill to protect that time of day, every day, can and should.

Fire threat versus bid to expand Inland wilderness

By BEN GOAD and KIMBERLY TRONE
The Press-Enterprise

Lawmakers have worked for decades to keep vast swaths of wilderness pristine -- free of human development and industry.

But as the space between communities and protected wilderness areas narrows, firefighters are concerned about the increasing threat of wildfire, particularly in places such as fire-prone Inland Southern California.

On Thursday, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Rep. Mary Bono, R-Palm Springs, introduced legislation that would add more than 150,000 acres of protected wilderness in Riverside County, most near Joshua Tree National Park and the San Jacinto Mountains. An additional 41,000 acres would be designated as "potential wilderness" until final property claims are settled by the National Park Service.

Environmentalists heralded the plan. But fire and county officials are reserving judgment until they can assess whether the plan will impede their ability to aggressively fight wildland fires with mechanized equipment and address the overgrowth of vegetation in protected wilderness areas.

Boxer said she knew of no opposition and that she wouldn't pass any bill opposed by firefighters.

Riverside County officials, already contemplating severe restrictions on new development in high fire-hazard areas, have asked the region's fire chiefs to recommend how to proceed, said Bob Tremaine, a county management analyst.

"I understand and share their concerns," said Bono. "In Southern California, we know all too well how devastating fires can be."

Permits Tree Removal

She said the bill permits tree removal and other fire prevention work to lessen the danger to communities, including Idyllwild, that lie close to the proposed wilderness areas. Such language was key in convincing the Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council to drop its opposition to the bill, Bono said.

Officials from Cal Fire, the state's firefighting agency, have yet to take a position, spokesman Michael Jarvis said. But he said the wilderness designation "restricts the methods we use for fire suppression."

Taxpayers spent $118 million over two months this summer to combat the Zaca Fire, which consumed 240,200 acres, much of it in the steep and rocky terrain of the San Rafael Wilderness of Santa Barbara County.

Jarvis said efforts to battle the blaze were complicated by a prohibition against using mechanized equipment in the designated wilderness areas.

The problem today is that homes and communities have sprung up on the fringes of the wilderness, said Mike Esnard, a Pine Cove resident and president of the Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council, a mostly volunteer organization that works with Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service to eliminate fire hazards in the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa mountains.

Two Key Areas

Esnard said two areas of particular concern are the South Fork of the San Jacinto River and the Cahuilla Mountains near Anza, which the legislation would designate as wilderness areas.

He said the U.S. Forest Service has inadequate funding to properly manage wilderness areas with prescribed burning and mechanical thinning of vegetation and trees.

"These lands are too close to populations to ignore. We want to make sure the Forest Service is not presented with particularly onerous obstacles to doing that," Esnard said. He confirmed that the council had decided, for now, not to oppose the legislation.

"In fairness to everybody, it is a complex issue and you have two competing, worthwhile values -- fire safety on one hand and wilderness on the other," he said.

The bill, called the California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act, is the most recent piece of a plan championed by Boxer and Rep. Hilda Solis, D-El-Monte, to add some 2.4 million acres of protected wilderness throughout California.

The current bills follow a long line of wilderness legislation.

President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the original Wilderness Act in 1964, protecting roughly 9 million acres nationwide.

Defined as those areas "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain," wilderness areas were set out to be protected from human intrusion, development and industry.

David Dreher, a government affairs representative with the environmental group Campaign for American Wilderness, said the Forest Service should follow the direction of Congress and continue cutting overgrown wildland to prevent large, unnatural fires.

Red Tape Factor

For years, Big Bear City fire Chief Dana Van Leuven has spoken out against plans to create thousands of acres of wilderness area near the small town of Sugarloaf.

He said regardless of the language in bills allowing for fuel breaks, tree removal or other fire prevention efforts, the red tape and environmental review processes are prohibitively difficult.

The costs and time associated with projects in wilderness areas effectively cause them to be passed over for simpler cheaper projects, he said.

"Designate it wilderness and it's almost guaranteed that nothing will ever be done," Van Leuven said. "That's the point-blank truth of what occurs."