WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests on the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act, bipartisan legislation she introduced with Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA) to protect almost half a million acres of pristine public lands in California.

The following is Senator Boxer’s testimony:

Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Barrasso, thank you for providing this opportunity to consider the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Mountains Heritage Act, my legislation to protect almost half a million stunning acres in California.

Working with my colleague, Congressman Buck McKeon, who represents the areas included in this bill, we have crafted a bipartisan, compromise bill that will preserve the magnificent mountains, rivers and open spaces of California’s Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Mountains.

Specifically, it will permanently protect approximately 470,000 acres of wilderness and nearly 52 miles of wild and scenic rivers, including a vital section of the only free flowing river in the Mojave Desert. And colleagues, these wild places are truly spectacular.

From the 14,000-foot peak in Mono County’s White Mountains to the Amargosa River near Death Valley, to Magic Mountain in the San Gabriels near Los Angeles, the proposal includes some of the region’s most treasured natural wonders, including the specially-designated Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, which contains the world’s oldest living trees.

I would like to take the next few minutes and demonstrate just how truly special and wild these areas of the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Mountains are.

First, the proposed Hoover Wilderness Additions—adjacent to Yosemite National Park—represent a classic High Sierra landscape of deeply carved glacial valleys, tranquil alpine lakes, and big pine forests that people around the world associate as quintessentially California.

Second, our addition to the Ansel Adams Wilderness includes the San Joaquin Ridge, Glass Creek Meadow and the region’s largest old-growth red fir forest and would protect the pristine headwaters of the Owens River, the Eastern Sierra’s most important river system.

The bill also designates 19 miles of the Upper Owens River as a Wild and Scenic River. These headwaters, are truly spectacular, and support one of America’s finest and most popular trout fisheries and this designation would help enhance the area’s fishing economy.

Next, America’s largest and highest desert mountain range, the White Mountains is the second largest unprotected roadless area in the Lower 48, and contains one of the greatest expanses of alpine tundra in America as well as the Great Basin’s highest peak.

The John Muir Wilderness Additions protect the dramatic eastern escarpment of the Sierra and trout-bearing streams which flow down into the Owens Valley, while maintaining access to popular car camping, hunting and fishing sites.

My legislation also designates about 25 miles of the Amargosa River as a Wild and Scenic River. As the only river flowing into Death Valley, the Amargosa is an ecologically-important river in a dry desert area.

In addition to Eastern Sierra, the bill also protects about 40,000 acres in the Magic Mountain and Pleasant View Ridge areas, and seven miles of Piru Creek, one of the few year-round trout fishing streams in southern California—all within Los Angeles County, one of the most urban and densely populated areas of our country.

I hope that these pictures have demonstrated just how truly special these places are and why Representative McKeon and I have worked so hard over the years to conserve them.

As California’s population continues to grow, these refuges represent some of the last places for future generations to use for recreation and to find solitude from an ever increasing hectic life-style. Moreover, these sensitive areas safeguard water and air quality for our expanding urban populations.

Colleagues, it has literally taken years to get to this point. Representative McKeon and I have worked very closely to develop this compromise package and we believe that this bill balances the goals of conservationists, off-roaders, local citizens and others who appreciate and enjoy these special wild areas.

Thank you again for this opportunity to testify on my bill, and I look forward to working with you and Chairman Bingaman and Ranking Member Domenici to move this bill forward.



###