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CONGRESS STRIPS PROTECTION FOR CALIFORNIA NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDERNESS

Deletes Spending Provision Barring Giveaway of Federal Lands for Disputed "Highway" Claims

For Immediate Release: October 28, 2003

Contact: Keith Hammond, California Wilderness Coalition, 530-758-0380 ext. 109

Last night Congress stripped protective language from the Interior Appropriations bill that would have prevented the Interior Department from giving away federal lands in California's National Parks, Monuments, and Wilderness Areas which are subject to disputed road claims under a dead 1866 mining law called Revised Statute 2477.

The Bush administration recently revived RS2477 by passing a new "disclaimer of interest" regulation that allows the Interior Department to "disclaim" federal lands and give them away to local governments and special interests who claim "highway" rights-of-way over jeep trails and other faint or abandoned routes. Thousands of miles of disputed highway claims crisscross California's Mojave National Preserve, Death Valley National Park, Giant Sequoia National Monument, and many other parks and designated wilderness areas, threatening to reverse their protection.

The House of Representatives earlier passed an amendment to the Interior spending bill, known as the Taylor amendment, that would bar Interior from giving away lands in National Parks, Monuments, Refuges, Wilderness, or Wilderness Study Areas, for the coming fiscal year. Unfortunately that amendment was removed from the bill last night by the joint House-Senate conference committee.

"Congress just removed a roadblock that would stop this administration from giving away federal wilderness for phony highways," said Keith Hammond, spokesman for the California Wilderness Coalition. "Now we could see thousands of miles of backcountry trails given away to special interests who want to "un-protect" the Mojave National Preserve, Giant Sequoia National Monument, and other national parks and wilderness areas."

In California, the deleted provision (the Taylor amendment) would have protected the following lands:

National Parks and Monuments

Death Valley National Park
Giant Sequoia National Monument
Joshua Tree National Park
Mojave National Preserve
Redwood National Park
Sequoia National Park

National Wilderness Areas

Chemehuevi Mountains Wilderness
Cleghorn Lakes Wilderness
Dead Mountains Wilderness
Death Valley National Park Wilderness
Kingston Range Wilderness
Mesquite Wilderness
Mojave National Preserve Wilderness (11 areas)
Orocopia Mountains Wilderness
Palen McCoy Wilderness
Palo Verde Wilderness
Sheephole Valley Wilderness
Sequoia National Park Wilderness
Siskiyou Wilderness

Wilderness Study Areas

Avawatz Mountains Wilderness Study Area
Cady Mountains Wilderness Study Area
Kingston Range Wilderness Study Area
Soda Mountains Wilderness Study Area
Death Valley National Park (DV-17) Wilderness Study Area

For more background on the disclaimer rule and the Taylor amendment, see the national press release below.

Conservationists Assail Late Night Decision to Strip Protective Language from Interior Appropriations Bill

National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, Monuments and Wilderness in Jeopardy from Road Development

For Immediate Release: October 28, 2003

Contacts:
Scott Groene, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, 801-486-7639 ext. 26
Kathryn Seck, Campaign for America's Wilderness, 202-266-0436
Kate Himot, National Parks Conservation Association, 202-454-3311
David Slater, The Wilderness Society, 202-429-8441
Annie Strickler, Sierra Club, 202-675-2384
Lexi Keogh, Alaska Wilderness League, 202-544-5205
Amy Mall, Natural Resources Defense Council, 202-289-2365

Late last night, it is reported that the negotiators on the Interior Appropriations bill stripped language that would have prevented the federal government from using taxpayer dollars to process road claims through national parks, wildlife refuges, monuments, wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas, using a loophole known as RS 2477. This move runs contrary to the vast bipartisan support for the protective language, and comes just the day before Utah Governor Mike Leavitt was confirmed by the Senate as the new Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Leavitt penned a secret deal with the Bush administration last April to open up millions of acres of land in Utah to road proposals using RS 2477. The removal of the protective language follows the same pattern of secrecy that ignores and cuts out the participation of the American people.

Last week, 104 members of the House of Representatives, led by Reps. Mark Udall (D-CO) and Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) sent a letter to the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee's chairman and ranking member urging them to retain the language. In July, the panel's chairman, Rep. Charles Taylor (R-NC) added the provision to the House bill, which passed by a vote of 226-194 (roll call vote 388). Taylor's amendment overrode a provision offered by Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO) that would have gone further and barred any taxpayer dollars from being used to implement the "disclaimer rule" on any public lands. Many of those who voted against Taylor's amendment this summer wanted more stringent protections for public lands, and signed last week's letter in a demonstration of the overwhelming House support for preserving these areas. A vote on the final Interior Bill is expected this week.

"By removing the language, Congress lets the Bush administration give away America's treasured wild lands to profiteering developers," said Mike Matz, executive director of the Campaign for America's Wilderness. "Although the language wasn't perfect because it left tens of millions of acres of lands the public owns open to destruction, keeping the provision in the bill would have been a critical first step in preserving wilderness for future generations. Now that opportunity is lost."

"RS 2477 threatens the wilderness and wildlife of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah," said Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance spokesperson Scott Groene. "While the Taylor amendment leaves most of America's Redrock wilderness open, it provided at least some protection to Canyonlands National Park and the monument."

"Once again, powerful Senator Stevens has 'paved the way' for Alaska's magnificent wilderness lands to be developed," said Cindy Shogan, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League.

"Americans want their wild places protected, not opened up to unchecked development," said Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director. "But the Bush administration opened a loophole to allow for increased development on lands that belong to all Americans, and now some members of Congress are preventing its closure. This language would have been an important first step in the process of balancing development with environmental protections."

"Despite overwhelming support in the House, and even apparent acquiescence from the administration, Congress has failed to protect our national parks from harmful land grabs," said Craig Obey, Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association. "Eliminating the widely-supported protections sends exactly the wrong message to states, localities, and individuals about the desirability of protecting our irreplaceable national parks for future generations."

"Unused wagon tracks, illegal off-road routes and other bogus roads could be considered legitimate under this absurd and obsolete loophole," said Amy Mall, a senior public land advocate with NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). "Congress is letting the Bush administration give away public lands to special interests. The administration's sneaky, underhanded move could eventually unleash bulldozers and off-road vehicles on millions of acres of federally protected wild lands."

Founded in 1976, the California Wilderness Coalition defends the pristine landscapes that make California unique, provide a home to our wildlife, and preserve a place for spiritual renewal.