California Desert Wilderness News

The 14 percent unemployment rate in San Bernardino County has taken a heavy toll on families, businesses and communities. But an often overlooked source of revenue for our county is that generated by our California desert national parks. Since the beginning of the recession in 2008, Americans may have curtailed plans for international travel, but tourism has actually increased at Joshua Tree National Park from 1.3 million visits in 2008 to 1.4 million in 2010.

Carbondale, CO -- The Wilderness Land Trust recently completed a complex corporate merger resulting in the donation of a 2,450-acre property in the Death Valley Wilderness Study Area to the Bureau of Land Management.   The donation was made possible through a grant from the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation's Preserving Wild California Program and will help clear the way for the designation of the Death Valley Wilderness Area with the proposed passage of Senator Dianne Feinstein's sponsored Desert Protection Act.

JOSHUA TREE - A local businessperson traveled to Washington, D.C., recently to meet with congressional representatives about supporting the Desert Protection Act of 2011.

Cheryl Kandel, who has a home-based embroidery business, has never held political office or otherwise engaged in governmental affairs. But Kandel is a self-professed outdoor enthusiast; she and her husband even chose the backdrop of Joshua Tree National Park for her wedding.

Riverside County supervisors think expanding Joshua Tree National Park and creating the 133,524-acre Sand to Snow National Monument is a good idea.

They voted 4-0 on Tuesday to formally support the California Desert Protection Act, a federal bill pending in Washington that would expand the park and add the new monument.

I am a veteran as well as someone who cares about the protection of our lands. I feel I have a patriotic duty to have my voice heard concerning the conservation of our lands.

My role, the veteran's role, is not restricted to serving overseas, but defending our land, here - and everywhere!

Save our deserts

California's Sen. Feinstein and our class want the other senators to vote for the California Desert Protection Act of 2011.

This bill will add 41,000 acres to Death Valley National Park, 2,900 acres to Joshua Tree National Park, and would create two national monuments. Every minute of every day, trees and plants and wildlife are being cut down to make buildings. We need more land in California to have fun on and to protect animal habitats. We read about this in the
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and think

Mt. San Gorgonio and more than 1 million acres of desert land would get new federal protections under a bill proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Feinstein on Tuesday reintroduced a bill that would expand Joshua Tree National Park, create two new national monuments - both within or mostly within San Bernardino County - and protect several rivers in the Mojave desert.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is once again proposing legislation to protect 1.6 million acres of desert lands. Late Tuesday, she introduced the California Desert Protection Act of 2011. It would create two new national monuments, the Mojave Trails and the Sand to Snow National Monuments, as well as expanding the Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks, and the Mojave National Preserve.

Mountain ranges overlooking Desert Hot Springs would be deemed a national monument under legislation introduced today by Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

The Sand to Snow National Monument is one of two preservation areas proposed by Feinstein, D-Calif., in the California Desert Protection Act of 2011, which would also expand Joshua Tree and Death Valley national parks and establish wilderness areas in Death Valley.

The bill would preserve about 1.6 million acres of public land across the California desert area, according to Feinstein's office.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein reintroduced legislation on Tuesday that will designate different areas of the Mojave Desert for recreation and environmental conservation, including a new national monument along Route 66 east of Ludlow.

Feinstein introduced the California Desert Protection Act last year but was not able to get it passed before the end of 2010. One of the biggest changes to the bill is the elimination of a renewable energy section. Instead, the bill will separate the land conservation from the renewable energy portion and will leave the renewable energy to other agencies.