Recently, the Twentynine Palms City Council decided to defer a decision on whether to endorse a bill by U.S. Representative Paul Cook. That bill is an alternative to a California desert conservation and recreation bill championed by Senator Diane Feinstein. The title of Cook’s bill adds the words “Off-Road” and “Mineral” to the title of Feinstein’s bill. The federal lobbyist employed by the City of Twentynine Palms prepared a 5-page side-by-side comparison of how the two complex bills treat 10 policy areas. Reporter Dan Stork boils down the comparison further, highlighting where the bills substantially agree, where they differ, and where they go in different directions…
- Both the Feinstein and Cook bills call for creation of large Sand-to-Snow, and Mojave Trails National Monuments of about the same sizes, totaling about 1.1 million acres. Feinstein’s bill prohibits more commercial operations within them, while Cook’s bill is less restrictive, and addresses bridge repairs on Historic Route 66.
- Both bills add about a quarter of a million acres to BLM Wilderness Areas.
- Both bills give permanent status to some existing off-highway vehicle areas, with the Cook bill identifying about 300,000 acres for the purpose, double the designation of the Feinstein bill.
- Both bills release several Wilderness Study Areas from study status to non-wilderness uses, with the Cook bill releasing 12 of these, twice as many as in the Feinstein bill.
- Both bills add about the same amount of acreage to three southern California national parks.
- The Feinstein bill calls for a protected scenic area in Inyo County. The Cook bill identifies an area in Imperial County for conservation and recreation usage.
- The Feinstein bill addresses renewable energy planning in ways that will please and offend parties on all sides of the issue. The Cook bill doesn’t have a specific renewable energy section, but it calls for permitting more transmission lines, while at the same time protecting both the Juniper Flats, Black Lava Butte, and Flat Top Mesa areas from development and encroachment.
- The Feinstein bill seeks to prevent groundwater in conservation areas from being used outside those areas.
- The Cook bill would prevent the president from designating Monuments on his own, separate from Congressional action.
