Courtney Bourgoin, courtney.bourgoin@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC-- Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the Protecting America’s Wilderness Act (PAW)-- a bill to protect more than 1.3 million acres of Wilderness and thousands of miles of Wild and Scenic rivers. Efforts will conserve critical habitat, create greater access to the outdoors and protect threatened lands in California, Colorado, and Washington.
PAW includes four key initiatives centered on protection for California landscapes and increased access to the outdoors: the Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act introduced by Rep. Huffman, the Central Coast Heritage Act introduced by Rep. Carbajal, the San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection introduced by Rep. Chu, and the Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act introduced by Rep. Schiff. The bills would boost recreation opportunities in the state and preserve hundreds of thousands of acres of California wilderness, among other conservation initiatives to protect forests, habitats, and Wild and Scenic rivers. Read more about each of the bills.
Watch a livestream of the vote, and read the full legislation here.
Ahead of the vote, representatives of the Sierra Club in California released the following statements:
“The Protecting America’s Wilderness Act marks a monumental move to protect public lands, waters and wildlife in California. Passing this important legislation will improve Californians' access to the outdoors, benefit our local economies, our clean air and water, and play a crucial role in fighting the climate crisis,” said Jenny Binstock, Senior Campaign Representative for the Sierra Club’s Our Wild America campaign.
“The San Gabriel Mountains are one of the few places Angelenos have where we can truly enjoy all the benefits nature has to offer. This legislation will ensure that our public lands are conserved and that all people, especially underserved communities, can enjoy greater access to the outdoors. Access to the outdoors is essential to building healthy communities,”said Roberto Morales, Senior Organizing Representative for the Sierra Club’s San Gabriel Mountains campaign.
“We applaud the hard work of Rep. Chu, Rep. Huffman, Rep. Carbajal, Rep. Schiff, and others to advance this critical legislation to the House. It is up to our leaders in the House and Senate to pass this package to protect this threatened land and create opportunities for all Angelenos to enjoy the outdoors,” Morales added.
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.