Political Quotes

“I rise to introduce legislation to expand the Joshua Tree National Park by approximately 17,842 acres of public lands. In 2016, the National Park Service, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, prepared the Eagle Mountain Boundary Study for an area Mountains, located in Riverside County, CA. The purpose of the study and environmental assessment was to consider whether to expand Joshua Tree National Park to include additional lands and to develop alternatives for protecting cultural, natural, and scenic resources related to the purpose of the national park. NPS' selected alternative recommends expanding the National Park by the more than 17,000 acres of federally managed lands covered by my legislation. Notably, these lands are adjacent to the national park. NPS found that doing so could allow for greater protection of existing habitat, restoration opportunities, and landscape connectivity for wildlife such as bighorn sheep, as well as new visitor opportunities. I urge my colleagues to swiftly pass this straightforward boundary adjustment as soon as possible. ______ By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Ms. Butler): S. 4228. A bill to redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park as the ``Senator Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center''; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.”