Feinstein/Harris: Adopt these San Gabriels bills!
San Gabriel Mountains, by Mason Cummings.
Rep. Judy Chu has introduced two bills to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, establish an adjacent San Gabriel River and Foothills National Recreation Area, and protect wilderness and wild and scenic rivers in the mountain range.
Now it’s time for Senators Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein to show their support for the protection of the majestic San Gabriel Mountains by introducing companion legislation in the U.S. Senate. Please send emails today to them both to introduce companion bills to Rep. Chu’s comprehensive legislation to protect the San Gabriel Mountains.
Please send your emails to Senators Harris and Feinstein TODAY. Feel free to expand and add to the sample email provided.
Senators de Leon and Lara can revive AB1000
We recently alerted our supporters to the threat posed by the Cadiz, Inc. water project planned for the Mojave Desert, and the bill AB1000 that would require an environmental review for it to proceed. On Friday, the bill was passed over for a vote by Senator Ricardo Lara and therefore didn’t get passed out of committee.
Despite this setback, Senators Kevin DeLeon and Ricardo Lara have the power to release AB1000 from suspension and get this bill heard. We need our supporters to call these legislators TODAY before our chance is missed. Tweets are also encouraged!
McCarthy needs to lend his voice to protect Giant Sequoia
Representative Kevin McCarthy
The Giant Sequoia National Monument (GSNM) covers 328,315-acre protecting the giant Sequoia groves and their surrounding forests and watersheds from resource development. A previous protection proposal by President George H.W. Bush was less than 1/3rd of the Monument established by President Clinton. The more expansive Clinton proclamation was preceded by extensive public input and local meetings. Although some people opposed its establishment, the Giant Sequoia National Monument enjoyed widespread public support, which continues today.
The Forest Service has all the policy tools it needs to effectively address tree mortality in the Monument. What the agency lacks is adequate funding from Congress. The Forest Service has suffered from severe budget cuts since the Giant Sequoia National Monument was established and most of its current budget is spent fighting wildfires. Budget cuts are a major impediment to effective forest management in the Giant Sequoia National Monument. Lack of funding and political support in Congress is also the primary reason why the Monument lacks a visitor center, which would improve the visitor experience and boost tourism and the economy of local communities.
The well documented economic value of the Giant Sequoia National Monument is completely ignored by President Trump and the Western Caucus. Travel and tourism are important to the communities in the Giant Sequoia region, supporting about 55,100 jobs. Tulare and Fresno counties have experienced strong growth since the monument was established, with increases in population, jobs, and personal income. Overall, outdoor recreation in California generates $92 billion annually in consumer spending, directly contributes to 691,000 jobs, and adds $6.2 billion in state and local tax revenue.
Please make sure McCarthy understands how many benefits the Giant Sequoia is providing to his own constituents.
Reps. LaMalfa, McClintock, and Cook: Support Your Monuments Like Your Constituents Do!
Reps. Lamalfa-Cook-McClintock
While literally millions of us were submitting our pro-monuments comments for the DOI’s recent National Monuments review, three of our California Representatives signed onto a letter that attacked almost all of the 27 national monuments that were under threat.
The letter asked the Secretary to completely eliminate 10 of the national monuments under review including Berryessa-Snow Mountain and Cascade-Siskiyou, to reduce the size of 13 of the national monuments including Carrizo Plain, Giant Sequoia, Mojave Trails, and San Gabriel Mountains, and to make no changes to only four of the national monuments, including Sand to Snow. It contained much misinformation, which is catalogued here.
The three California members of the Western Caucus who signed onto this letter were Doug LaMalfa (1st District), Tom McClintock (4th District), and Paul Cook (8thDistrict).
We need to let these Representatives know that we disapprove of their decision to sign onto this letter. This is especially true if you live in one of their districts. It is important to let them know that you strongly oppose efforts to eliminate or reduce the size of any national monuments. Please also express your support for the California monuments attacked in the Western Caucus letter, including Berryessa-Snow Mountain, Cascade-Siskiyou, Carrizo Plain, Giant Sequoia, Mojave Trails, and San Gabriel Mountains
Take action below to “shame” Representatives LaMalfa, McClintock, and Cook. They need to be reminded that they work for us!
Thank Rep. Chu for her San Gabriels wilderness bill
Rep. Judy Chu.
On June 23, 2017, Rep. Judy Chu introduced the San Gabriel Mountains Forever Act, a bill that would add 31,069 acres of new wilderness and 45 miles of new wild and scenic rivers to the dramatic and popular San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California. Rep. Chu has been acting with decisive and expedient force lately; between this bill and her swift introduction of H.R. 2323 (which would expand the San Gabriels National Monument), she has demonstrated her willingness to stand up for the anti-public lands sentiments coming from President Trump, his cabinet, and Congress. CalWild is proud to have her as one of our many conservation allies working to protect our public lands, monuments, and wilderness areas.
Please take a moment to thank Rep. Chu for this bill using the form below.
Expand (not revoke!) the protection of the San Gabriel Mountains
Mt. Baldy by Jack Schlinkert
Rep. Judy Chu has introduced legislation to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, a week after President Donald Trump ordered the review of the Monument and six others in California. Cosponsored by Representatives Grace Napolitano, Adam Schiff, Linda Sanchez, and Tony Cardenas. Chu’s H.R. 2323 proposes to add more than 109,000 acres to Monument, which was established in 2014 by President Barack Obama. The bill also proposes to establish a 51,000-acre San Gabriel National Recreation Area in the publicly-owned foothills adjacent to the Monument and along the lower San Gabriel River and Rio Hondo.
Email Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Kamala Harris urging them to introduce a Senate companion bill to Rep. Chu’s bold legislation to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and establish the downstream National Recreation Area.
Show your support for Sen. Feinstein's re-introduced desert bill
Feinstein staff near the Amargosa River
Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced the California Desert Protection and Recreation Act (S. 32) earlier this year. The bill would protect many wild and special places in our desert and build upon the Senator’s career-long dedication to the preservation of our desert. The bill is a well-balanced compromise of a wide array of interests. As such, the bill not only has the support of conservationists, but of off-road vehicle enthusiasts, veterans, local government, utilities, small businesses, tribes, and the military, among other interests.
As one might guess, the current Administration and make-up of Congress lessen the probability that Congress will pass legislation like the Senator’s bill. However, what makes this bill different is that Representative Paul Cook has introduced a bill that is almost identical to the Senator’s bill (California Off-Road Recreation and Conservation Act (H.R. 857). That means the bill has bi-partisan support, which is critical in this political climate.
We need to encourage the Senator to continue to push for the bill’s passage. Take a moment to send the Senator a letter of support below.
Rep. Knight Needs to keep his promise on the Proposed Castaic Wilderness
In 2015, Representative Steve Knight (R-Palmdale) introduced legislation in Congress to protect the proposed Castaic Wilderness and establish the St. Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial. The nearly 70,000-acre proposed Castaic Wilderness is located on public lands in Los Angeles County north of the Santa Clarita and Los Angeles. The proposed St. Francis Dam National Memorial is a small 440-acre site located just southeast of the proposed wilderness.
Fast forward to 2017: Rep. Knight recently reintroduced his St. Francis Dam National Memorial legislation, without including the proposed Castaic Wilderness.
Send him an email now with the form below to let him know the Castaic deserves the protection he originally proposed!
Don't let Rep. Bishop sell off federal lands to the states
NW CA Hayfork Creek bridge walker. photo: Jason Smith
Congressman Rob Bishop [R-UT] has consistently made himself an obstacle to conservation work and a foe to public lands in general. Now, he’s using a different angle to try take away your public lands: by using the federal budget process to request $50 million of taxpayer money for the immediate transfer of national public lands to state control, and for other anti-conservation requests.
Rep. Bishop’s budget proposal also stops the protection of new tracts of land; supports the repeal of measures to reform the federal coal program and to prevent new coal leases on public lands; and siphons money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which helps to support our public lands.
Rep. Bishop’s budget request runs counter to the fundamental, democratic principle that public lands are part of our heritage and belong to everyone.
The House Appropriations Committee will soon be considering Rep. Bishop’s budget request. We need to tell our California members of Congress who are key to the federal budget process that Rep. Bishop’s request is a bad one. Contact your member of Congress to tell her/him that you oppose any budget that contains this dangerous proposal.
Stop Congress from removing law enforcement on your public lands
Rose Valley by Linda Castro
Representative Chaffetz (R-UT) has introduced H.R. 622, Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act, which would terminate all United States Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) law enforcement officers and would take away from these agencies all federal funding for law enforcement activities.
This bill is now being considered by the House Natural Resources Committee and Agriculture Committee. A good number of California Representatives are on those Committees and will be an important part of Congress’ decision making process on this bill.
Please send them a letter that asks them to oppose H.R. 622 NOW.
A vote is expected any day. Let them know why the public lands in your district are so important to you – personal letters are always more powerful.