Sen. Feinstein reintroduces desert protection act

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. If passed, the bill proposed for 2011 will create the Mojave Trails National Monument, which will be about 941,000 acres of protected land east of Ludlow. The bill will also create the Sand to Snow National Monument north of Interstate 10 near Banning and add additional land to Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley National Park and the Mojave National Preserve. Other aspects of the bill include designating five new wilderness areas, designating 250,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management wilderness areas near Fort Irwin, and designating four areas in the California desert currently used for off-highway vehicle use as permanent...more