Padilla Conservation, Public Lands, Wildfire, and Water Bills Advance in Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) advanced 10 bills he introduced to conserve California public lands, mitigate wildfire risk, expand the use of prescribed fire, strengthen drought resiliency, and support wildlife. The bills will now be considered by the full Senate.

"With California communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, mitigating wildfire risk, improving water and wildlife conservation, and strengthening management of our treasured public lands is absolutely essential," said Senator Padilla. "The committee took an important step today to create a safer, more sustainable California by unanimously voting to support my legislation. I urge my colleagues to move these and other widely supported priorities forward in a negotiated public lands package before the end of this year."

ENR has previously advanced several other bills Padilla introduced to protect California public lands, including his PUBLIC Lands Act that would protect over 600,000 acres of public lands in California.

The bills led by Padilla that passed out of ENR Committee today include:

Joshua Tree National Park Expansion Act

Padilla's legislation would expand Joshua Tree National Park by approximately 20,149 acres by amending the late Senator Dianne Feinstein's 1994 California Desert Protection Act, which originally established the park. The expansion was recommended by the National Park Service.

Senator Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) is cosponsoring the legislation. Full text of the bill is available here.

Joshua Tree Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center Bill

Padilla's legislation would rename the Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park as the Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center. The Cottonwood Visitor Center is located in the southern part of Joshua Tree National Park, just seven miles north of Interstate 10, and serves as the first contact station for the millions of visitors entering the park from the Interstate each year. The visitor center is the gateway to many hiking trails, including the Cottonwood Springs area.

Senator Butler and Representative Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.-25) are co-leading the legislation. Full text of the bill is available here.

Scarper Ridge Golden Gate National Recreation Area Boundary Adjustment Act

Padilla's legislation would allow the National Park Service to acquire the 896-acre Scarper Ridge property in San Mateo County adjacent to Rancho Corral De Tierra, a 3,858-acre site which is already managed by the Park Service. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area consists of more than 80,000 acres of diverse properties managed by the National Park Service across three Bay Area counties that includes historic sites, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and open space for outdoor recreation.

Representative Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.-16) is leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Full text of the bill is available here.

RESERVE Federal Land Act

Padilla's Review and Evaluation of Strategies for Equal Reservations for Visitor Experiences (RESERVE) Federal Land Act would expand access to nature for Americans, improve the visitor reservation process and experience on federal lands, including national parks, and enhance fee transparency.

The bill would direct the National Academy of Sciences to study reservation systems across federal lands, including campsites, hiking permits, climbing passes, and other outdoor recreation activities. The report would be due in 18 months and would cover reservation system design, system user demographics, and data availability and accessibility. The study would also investigate the fee structure and transparency of Recreation.gov, the government's centralized travel planning platform and reservation system for 14 federal agencies.

Full text of the bill is available here.

Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act

Padilla's legislation would expand the Mojave National Preserve, established by the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, by approximately 20,000 acres to encompass the existing Castle Mountains National Monument. Doing so would allow the National Park Service to more effectively safeguard land within the Mojave Desert and better conserve and protect the Castle Mountains.

Full text of the bill is available here.

Lower Colorado River Multispecies Conservation Program Funding Increase

Padilla's bipartisan legislation would increase the funding available for species conservation by creating an interest-bearing account for funds that the Colorado River Lower Basin states and the federal government contribute to the Lower Colorado River Multispecies Conservation Program (LCR MSCP). Currently, the Bureau of Reclamation holds the funding that states contribute in an account that does not collect interest.

The LCR MSCP, formally established in 2005, aims to establish over 8,000 acres of native riparian and aquatic habitat from Lake Mead to the Mexican border. However, the value of the program's $626 million budget for its 50-year term has eroded over time as inflation has increased project costs. The lack of reinvestment due to the fact that the account is not able to collect interest effectively costs the LCR MSCP at least $2 million annually that could be used to fund future program work.

Representatives Ken Calvert (R-Calif.-41) and Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.-31) are leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Full text of the introduced bill is available here.

San Joaquin River Restoration Program Funding Cap Increase

To further support the ongoing implementation of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program (SJRRP), Padilla's bipartisan legislation would raise the cap on federal appropriations for the program by $500 million while increasing the authorization of appropriations for Friant Division canal improvements. The SJRRP is a comprehensive, long-term effort in the Central Valley to restore flows to the San Joaquin River from Friant Dam to the confluence of the Merced River and restore a self-sustaining Chinook salmon fishery in the river, while reducing or avoiding adverse water supply impacts from restoration flows.

The legislation is cosponsored by Senator John Hoeven (R-N.D.). Full text of the bill is available here.

Sacramento RIVER Act

Padilla's bipartisan legislation would support ecosystem restoration, drought resiliency, and water conservation in the Sacramento River watershed. This bill would authorize the Interior Department to create a federal leadership committee to strengthen federal coordination of ecosystem restoration among regional, local, and national stakeholders in the Sacramento River Basin, ensuring alignment on strategy, vision, and execution of habitat restoration projects to support a wide array of at-risk species.

Representative Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.-01) is leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Full text of the bill is available here.

National Prescribed Fire Act

The National Prescribed Fire Act, led by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and co-led by Senator Padilla, would support pre-fire season prescribed burns as an essential, science-based strategy to save lives and property. The bill would invest in hazardous fuels management to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires by increasing the pace and scale of prescribed burns during cooler, wetter months. The legislation would create a technically skilled prescribed fire workforce and streamline smoke regulations during winter months to reduce catastrophic fires and smoke in the summer.

Representatives Kim Schrier (D-Wash.-08) and David Valadao (R-Calif.-22) are leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Full text of the bill is available here.

Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act

The Fire Safe Electrical Corridors Act, co-led by Senator Padilla, would allow the U.S. Forest Service to approve the removal of hazardous trees near power lines on federal forest lands without requiring a timber sale, thereby easing the removal of hazardous trees and reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire. Three of the largest and most destructive wildfires in California history - the 2017 Thomas Fire, the 2018 Camp Fire, and the 2021 Dixie Fire - were started by electrical equipment.

The legislation advanced today as part of the Promoting Effective Forest Management Act of 2023 led by Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). Full text of the bill is available here.

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