Legacy Legislation for California’s Hunters and Anglers
Last Sunday, the United States Senate took the first step towards passing legislation that would make real wild lands more accessible for millions of Southern Californians. S. 22, the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, would permanently protect millions of acres of public lands across the country, including places in the Eastern Sierra and San Gabriel Mountains that are outdoor retreats for many Los Angelenos.
S. 22 would also safeguard critical habitat for native trout and wildlife in California, and ensure that present and future generations of sportsmen will be able to access, free of charge, famous fishing destinations such as the Upper Owens River near Bishop and Piru Creek near Santa Clarita, and excellent hunting grounds such as those found in the D-11 and X-12 deer zones.
S. 22 is one of the best conservation bills to be considered by Congress in the last 25 years, in terms of benefit to hunters and anglers. That’s why Trout Unlimited has endorsed this legislation, and urges its rapid passage into law.
California legislators have contributed much to S. 22. Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) and Sen. Barbara Boxer invested years of collaborative effort to build support for the Eastern Sierra and Northern San Gabriel Wild Heritage Act, one of the bills incorporated into the omnibus lands package. The McKeon-Boxer bill would designate some 450,000 acres of public lands as federal Wilderness, from the West Walker River headwaters in Mono County near Yosemite to Magic Mountain and Pleasant View Ridge in northern Los Angeles County.
Another component of S.22 would implement the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement, championed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the outcome of a decades-long effort to settle one of our state’s most bitter water wars. This portion of S.22 would re-water the San Joaquin River below Friant Dam and recover the major salmon and steelhead populations that once ran in California’s third largest river.
On behalf of California’s more than two million sportsmen, we thank Rep. McKeon, Sen. Boxer, and Sen. Feinstein for their commitment to conserving our rivers and roadless lands -- critical habitat for game and endangered trout, salmon and steelhead.
Unfortunately, S.22, which would also protect outstanding hunting and fishing destinations like the Wyoming Range, the headwaters of the Elk River in southwestern Oregon, and the Gunnison Gorge in Colorado, is opposed by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., the Senate’s notorious “Dr. No.” Coburn has used erroneous information to try to discredit the omnibus lands bill.
For example, Coburn claims the Wyoming Range portion of S.22 would take lots of natural gas and oil out of prospective production. However, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, the range harbors only 24 days worth of natural gas, and 4 days supply of oil, at our present rate of domestic consumption. The bill would not stop any ongoing production of gas or oil in the range, and the Congressional Budget Office has determined the Wyoming Range part of S. 22 wouldn’t cost taxpayers anything.
Sen. Coburn has also argued – incorrectly -- that the San Joaquin Restoration Settlement will cost $1 billion to recover just 500 salmon. In fact, the settlement would cost substantially less than that and targets the restoration of 30,000 salmon to the river. Most of the restoration money would be used to mitigate impacts to farmers and would come from the state, not the federal government. Implementing the San Joaquin Restoration Settlement would finally end one of the longest running water wars in California.
S.22 deserves to be considered on its merits rather than on misinformation. S.22 has rare bipartisan support, and the bill’s many land protection measures were initiated by both Republicans and Democrats.
In 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger signed the Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights, yet every year, more and more land in California is developed, posted No Trespassing, or otherwise made unavailable for parents to take their kids outdoors. S.22 ensures that some of our last, best wild country won’t get trashed, and that future generations will have the same opportunities to fish and hunt these lands that we do today.
The Senate will take up S.22 for a final vote this week. We urge the Senate to support the excellent of work of Boxer, Feinstein and McKeon, and pass this bill.
Sam Davidson
California Field Director
Trout Unlimited
2706 San Juan Road
Aromas, CA 95004
Tel. 831-726-9650
Cell 831-235-2542