Bishop - Boxer/McKeon wilderness bill passes House, Senate committees

Assemblyman Buck McKeon (front right) addresses the House Sub-Committee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands in regards to the Wild Heritage Act on Thursday. The Sub-Committee approved the wilderness bill. Photo courtesy Assemblyman Buck McKeon’s office

The Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act has been approved by a key Senate Committee and the House Sub-Committee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, and is now bound for a vote by the full Senate.
The Wild Heritage Act, sponsored by Congressman Howard “Buck” McKeon and Senator Barbara Boxer and supported by Senator Dianne Feinstein, went before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Thursday for markup on more than 465,000 acres of wilderness and more than 52 miles of wild and scenic rivers.
It was considered and approved at a hearing in the House Sub-committee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands the same day.
Despite the approval of the bill in the House and the Senate committees, Inyo County’s Advocates for Access to Public Lands (AAPL) is pursuing efforts to have the bill shot down.
“We continue our quest to oppose this and defeat it,” said AAPL member Greg Weirick.

The Senate Committee also reviewed and approved the California Desert Mountain Heritage Act, which will designate more than 190,000 acres as wilderness and 31 miles of wild and scenic river, and the Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park Wilderness Act, which will designate 77,000 acres of wilderness.
The California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act and the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park Wilderness Act were both approved when they were brought before the House of Representatives on June 8.
At the Senate Committee markup, conservation groups, community leaders and business owners voiced their support of Boxer and McKeon’s wilderness bill.
“The sponsors of these bills, along with Senator Dianne Feinstein, have been real champions for wilderness protection in our state,” Sam Goldman of the California Wild Heritage Campaign said. “We appreciate their steadfast effort to pass these important wilderness bills this Congress, ensuring a lasting legacy for the many people who use and enjoy these wild lands.”
“The fact that these bills have gone through the Energy Committee is very exciting,” said Eastern Sierra Wilderness Society representative Sally Miller, of Lee Vining.
Miller said the Wilderness Society is hoping to see the bills passed in the Senate in the coming weeks, but a date for that vote has not been scheduled.
Supporters of the bill are hoping the Senate and House will take action before both adjourn on Sept. 26.
“The Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Mountains legislation is the result of a great deal of compromise, cooperation and support,” McKeon testified during Thursday’s House Sub-Committee meeting. “Both Senator Boxer and I care very deeply about the wild heritage of the pristine lands throughout California.”
Thursday’s action on the part of the sub-committee is just one more step on the path to approval for the wilderness bills. With the approval of the House Sub-Committee and Senate Committee, the wilderness bill is now eligible to be included in any pending House Natural Resources Committee markup. Boxer’s bill is already slated to go to a full vote of the Senate before being passed on for President George Bush’s approval.
Testimony was also provided by U.S. Forest Service Deputy Chief Joel Holtrop and Mono County Supervisor Vikki Bauer, who submitted her testimony in writing.

Holtrop addressed the committee, saying that he was “supportive of Mr. McKeon’s wilderness efforts” and that his staff will continue to work with both the Congressman and Senator Boxer to address any concerns the committee may have.
Speaking for Mono County, Bauer testified of the recreational opportunities in the Eastern Sierra, and stated that the Wild Heritage Act will benefit generations to come by preserving the natural environment.
“The Eastern Sierra is a multi-generational experience for many as it has been for my family, and knowing that is will be preserved, as well as access to it preserved, is the reward here,” Bauer testified. “Mono County has been proud to be part of this historic process helping to find ways that we can serve our common constituents and agencies.”
The Mono County supervisor also provided the committee with written testimony from the other Mono County board members and constituents there who support the wilderness bill.
The Mono County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion in support of the Wild Heritage Act on Aug. 5.
“I want to thank Vikki Bauer and the Mono County Board of Supervisors for being such strong advocates for the wild heritage legislation,” McKeon said. “The input from the board of the past year and a half has been instrumental in moving H.R. 6156 this far, and I appreciate that.
“I’m also deeply grateful to the residents of my district for the dedication they have shown in providing input on this legislation. Their firsthand experience in the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Mountains has greatly aided my efforts to craft a bill to best fit their needs,” he said.
“I have been very pleased with the true bipartisan work of Boxer and McKeon and I truly appreciate the support of Senator Feinstein,” said Miller, of the Wilderness Society. “I hope we’ll see the bill passed this year, and if it isn’t, we will be working on it again next year.”
Not everyone in the Eastern Sierra is in favor of the bill, however.
The Inyo County Board of Supervisors, which did not provide written testimony, voiced its objections to the Wild Heritage Act through a letter to both Boxer and McKeon, as well as the senate committee members.
In that letter the board addressed some of its concerns relating to the bill and asked the committee members to consider, in addition to the Wild Heritage Act, legislation that would protect multiple use of public lands.
“A lot of the acreage (included in the wilderness bill) does not fit the definition of the 1964 Wilderness Act because it is not pristine and unspoiled,” said Fourth District Supervisor and Board Vice-Chair Jim Bilyeu. “It’s a double-edged sword – we don’t say we don’t support wilderness, but these don’t fit that definition.”
The Inyo County Board of Supervisors has yet to discuss its next move, or how it will respond to the Senate committee and House sub-committee’s decisions last week.
One avenue the board may take could be an appeal to President Bush to veto the Wild Heritage Act.
“We can certainly discuss that as a board, and it could certainly be one avenue of approach,” Bilyeu said, adding that it would be difficult to persuade the president to veto a bill that has so much support in both the House and the Senate, and on both sides of the aisle.
“AAPL hopes that at this late hour, people will contact their representatives and let them know this is a bad wilderness bill,” said Weirick. “Changes are taking place daily to the bill without any consultation to the motorized travel world,” which means many in Inyo County are underrepresented.
First District Inyo County Supervisor and Board Chair Linda Arcularius was unavailable for comment Monday.