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Wild Heritage Act passes Senate |
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Tuesday, 20 January 2009 |
 Twenty seven miles of the Amargosa River Valley in Death Valley are being considered for a Wild and Scenic River designation in the Wild Heritage Act that was passed by the Senate this week. The next step for the bill will be a review by the House of Representatives. Photo by John Dittli By Mike Gervais
Register Staff
1-17-2009 An early-morning vote by the Senate Thursday resulted in the 73-21 passage of the controversial Wild Heritage Act and the two other wilderness propositions included in the Omnibus bill.
With approval from the Senate, the bill now awaits a decision from the House of Representatives and a stamp of approval from the Oval Office.
The Omnibus Public Lands Package approved Tuesday includes the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wilderness Bill authored by U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), to protect almost half a million acres of wilderness in Mono, Inyo and Los Angeles counties. Representative Buck McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) also sponsored this legislation in the House.
The Wild Heritage Act, which designates 472,007 acres of land in Inyo and Mono counties as wilderness, was one of the three proposals included in the Omnibus Public Lands Package.
“The Senate’s passage of this legislation is an important step in preserving California’s rich natural heritage,” Senator Feinstein said. “It will ensure that as California’s population continues to grow, areas like the magnificent High Sierra lands, the White Mountains and classic southern California mountain landscape will remain protected for generations to come.”
“I am pleased the Senate has recognized the need to set aside 470,000 acres of pristine wilderness in the 25th Congressional District,” said McKeon. “This action ensures that these lands will be preserved for the use and enjoyment of future generations.”
The Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act will give wilderness designations – the highest level of protection and conservation for federal lands – to more than 472,000 acres of federal public land in California.
Specifically, the bill designates an additional 432,968 acres of wilderness in Mono and Inyo counties and establishes nearly 67 miles of the Owens River Headwaters and Amargosa River as Wild and Scenic Rivers. The bill also designates an additional 39,039 acres of wilderness in Los Angeles County, and it establishes more than seven miles of Piru Creek as a Wild and Scenic River.
Locally, the land protected under the bill include the Amargosa River in Death Valley and the White Mountains, America’s largest and highest desert mountain range and the second largest unprotected “roadless” area in the lower 48 states. The Whites are home to the world’s oldest living trees – the ancient Bristlecone Pines – which live almost 5,000 years.
It also makes additions to the Hoover Wilderness, a classic High Sierra landscape of deeply carved glacial valleys dotted with tranquil alpine lakes and forests of lodgepole pine.
Here in the Eastern Sierra the Wild Heritage Act has been a subject of controversy, with many residents on both sides of the debate participating in public comment sessions with the Inyo and Mono county boards of supervisors.
“The Senate made history with California land conservation today,” said Sally Miller, senior field representative for The Wilderness Society in Lee Vining. “Our elected officials crossed party lines, worked with local interests, and came together to protect our state’s magnificent natural heritage for present and future generations.”
Tim Alpers, a third generation rancher and fish farmer from Lee Vining, said he is pleased with the Senate passage of the bill “because it preserves beautiful wild lands for future generations, protects watersheds crucial to the health of our fisheries and provides high quality recreation opportunities for our visitors which helps our local economy.”
“We are all very pleased at the designation of the Amargosa as a wild and scenic river,” said Wilderness Society member and Tecopa resident Brian Brown. “For several years, this has been a key part of our plan for the economic recovery of our struggling area. This designation will help to protect the truly unique natural resources found along the Amargosa, and help us move into a sustainable eco-tourism based economy. The entire community supports this and we hope the bill passes quickly.”
Comments about the bill being a bipartisan effort that is unopposed by residents have circulated among some groups, but the fact remains that hundreds of Inyo County residents turned out to voice their opposition to the bill during two public comment session hosted by the Inyo County Board of Supervisors last year.
“This bill is the furthest thing from a bipartisan effort,” said Greg Weirick, president of the Advocates for Access to Public Lands (AAPL), which has vocally opposed the bill. “It’s one thing for politicians to cross the aisle on social, medical and economic legislation, but it’s another thing entirely for a Republican to cross the aisle when it comes to legislation that is so obviously partisan.
“These Omnibus bills are an amazing way to run government. They take controversial bills and lump them all together to get other authors to support them. It’s been done for a long time and it’s wrong,” Weirick said.
With a stamp of approval from the Senate, the next step for the The Omnibus Public Lands Package is the House of Representatives.
According to Lindsay Mask, press secretary for McKeon, the bill “is not on the (House of Representatives’) calendar yet, but all indications is that it will be relatively quickly.”
According to a press release from the Wilderness Society, House leaders have “promised to take it up quickly.”
The AAPL has launched a letter-writting campaign, inviting residents to voice their opposition of the bill to House representatives. “We will be directing comments to the president if it passes there,” Weirick said.
Representatives from the Inyo County Board of Supervisors who were called for comment for this story did not return calls as of press time Friday. According to Lindsay Mask, press secretary for McKeon, the bill “is not on the (House of Representatives) calendar yet, but all indications is that it will be relatively quickly.”
According to a press release from the Wilderness Society, House leaders have “promised to take it up quickly.”
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 25 April 2009 )
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