SENATOR VOWS TO PROPOSE TWO NATIONAL MONUMENTS IN OUR AREA

Senator Dianne Feinstein said she would be introducing new legislation on the first day of the new Congress next year to establish two new national monuments in the Mojave Desert—totaling more than 1.1 million acres—with most of that land in San Bernardino County. Legislation that Feinstein will propose would create Mojave Trails National Monument, 942,000 acres between Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave Preserve, along historic Route 66. It would also create the Sand to Snow National Monument, 135,000 acres between Joshua Tree National Park and the San Bernardino National Forest in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. The Sand to Snow monument would encompass land from the desert floor in the Coachella Valley to the top of the 11,500-foot-high Mount San Gorgonio. It would also protect 23.6 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. The bill would also add 39,000 acres to Death Valley National Park, almost 30,000 acres to the Mojave National Preserve and 4,500 acres to Joshua Tree National Park. This will be Feinstein’s third run on getting congressional approval for two new monuments in California, including elements that designate 18,840 acres as a National Scenic Area.