California's 43 million acres of public land encompass some of the most diverse, awe inspiring, and pristine natural areas in the United States. From Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 states, to Death Valley National Park, the lowest, our state stands out as a bright constellation of natural beauty.
Senator Boxer has worked tirelessly to ensure that our state's national treasures are protected and preserved for countless generations to come. By granting California's most pristine and sensitive public lands a wilderness designation, Senator Boxer seeks to provide the highest level of protection and conservation afforded under federal law. Out of California's 43 million acres of public land, roughly 14 million of it is designated as wilderness.
While Senator Boxer has sponsored and co-sponsored a number of bills seeking federal protections for California's public lands, this feature outlines her most recent work on these issues. On January 15, 2009, the Senate approved a package of public lands bills that included three bills sponsored by Senator Boxer. Combined, these bills would designate approximately 700,000 additional acres of wilderness, the fourth-largest wilderness designation in California’s history.
The California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act, also introduced in the House by Representative Mary Bono Mack (R-CA-45), establishes approximately 200,000 acres of wilderness or wilderness study areas and 31 miles of wild and scenic rivers in Riverside County. The bill would designate or expand ten wilderness areas, add four parcels of land to the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, and designate segments of four rivers as wild and scenic. These areas provide habitat for numerous endangered species including Peninsular bighorn sheep and desert tortoises.
The Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park Wilderness Act, also introduced in the House by Representatives Jim Costa (D-CA-20) and Devin Nunes (R-CA-21), designates approximately 85,000 acres of land within the Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, in Tulare County, as wilderness. The bill expands the Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness, which includes unique landscapes such as the largest Giant Sequoia grove in the park and one of the most extensive networks of caverns in the western United States. The centerpiece of the bill is the 39,740-acre John Krebs Wilderness Area, named in honor of the former Congressman who wrote the 1978 law transferring the Mineral King Valley to the National Park Service to protect it from development.
The Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act, introduced in the House by Representative Buck McKeon (R-CA-25), provides wilderness designation to more than 470,000 acres of public lands in Mono, Inyo, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles Counties. The areas protected under this bill include the spectacular High Sierra lands and White Mountains. The bill also designates approximately 74 miles of wild and scenic rivers, including the ecologically-important Upper Owens River and the Amargosa River, which is the only major river flowing into Death Valley National Park.
