This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
800,000 Wildland Acres Sought to be Protected
Taken at Sequoia National Park, which has parts included in the bill | Photo by Allie_Caulfield via Flickr
There are two identical bills floating around the U.S Senate and House this month that would protect federally owned land from any development, vehicles, permanent structures, mining or basically anything else that would alter the environment. The land would go under The Wilderness Act, signed into law by President Johnson and says defines land as "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." Hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, hunting and fishing are allowed, according to the Sacramento Bee.
The land in the bills titled the the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act and sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) and Representative Buck McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), covers 800,000 acres (that's larger than Rhode Island) in three counties: Inyo, Mono and Los Angeles.
Magic Mountain (not theme park, but nearby) in Santa Clarita (13,709 acres), Pleasant View Ridge (28,424 acres) in the San Gabriel Mountains and Piru Creek (7 acres) in Piru off the 126 highway between Ventura and Santa Clarita are the three LA County representatives in the bill, totally 42,133 acres of coverage. The bills are expected to be voted on next month.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
