[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 55 (Thursday, March 29, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4185-S4186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mrs. Boxer):
  S. 1053. A bill to provide for a resource study of the area known as 
the Rim of the Valley Corridor in the State of California to evaluate 
alternatives for protecting resources of the corridor, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce this bill 
today along with Senator Boxer as cosponsor to direct the Secretary of 
the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of expanding the 
Santa Monica National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley 
Corridor.
  The Rim of the Valley Corridor is an example of a highly threatened 
habitat area, the Mediterranean chaparral ecosystem. Connecting to the 
adjacent Los Padres and San Bernardino National Forests, the Corridor 
encircles the San Fernando Valley, La Crescenta, Simi, Conejo, and 
Santa Clarita Valleys, consisting of parts of the Santa Monica 
Mountains, Santa Susanna Mountains, San Gabriel Mountains, Verdugo 
Mountains, and San Rafael Hills.
  There is a great need for expanded parkland in southern California. 
While the Los Angeles metropolitan region has the second-largest urban 
concentration in the United States, the area has one of the lowest 
ratios of park-and-recreation-lands per thousand-population of any 
urban area in the country.
  Since the creation of the Santa Monica Recreation Area in 1978, 
Federal, State, and local authorities have worked successfully together 
to create and maintain the highly successful Santa Monica Mountains 
National Recreation Area, hemmed in on all sides by development.
  With the passage of this legislation, Congress will hold true to its 
original commitment to preserve the scenic, natural, and historic 
setting of the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area.
  With the inclusion of the Rim of the Valley Corridor in the Santa 
Monica Mountains Recreation Area, greater ecological health and 
diversity will be promoted, particularly for larger animals like 
mountain lions, bobcats, and the golden eagle. By creating a single 
contiguous Rim of the Valley Trail, people will enjoy greater access to 
existing trails in the Recreational Area.
  Within a National Recreation Area, the National Park Service is 
prohibited from exercising the powers of eminent domain, and private 
property may be purchased from voluntary sellers only.
  The bill includes a provision directing the Department of the 
Interior to analyze any effects that a proposed expansion of the Santa 
Monica Mountains National Recreation Area will have on private land 
within or bordering the area. Any such effects will be thoroughly 
considered as the study moves forward.
  After the study called for in this bill is complete, the Secretary of 
the Interior and Congress will be in a key position to determine 
whether all or portions of the Rim of the Valley Corridor warrant 
inclusion in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
  This bill enjoys strong support from local and State officials and I 
hope that it will have as much strong bipartisan support this Congress, 
as it did last Congress. Congressman Adam Schiff plans to introduce 
companion legislation for this bill in the House and I applaud his 
commitment to this issue.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and I ask unanimous 
consent that the text of this proposed legislation be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1053

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Rim of the Valley Corridor 
     Study Act''.

     SEC. 2. RESOURCE STUDY OF RIM OF THE VALLEY CORRIDOR, 
                   CALIFORNIA.

       (a) Study Required.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
     conduct a resource study of

[[Page S4186]]

     the lands, waters, and interests of the area known as the Rim 
     of the Valley Corridor in the State of California to evaluate 
     a range of alternatives for protecting resources of the 
     corridor, including the alternative of establishing all or a 
     portion of the corridor as a unit of the Santa Monica 
     Mountains National Recreation Area. The Rim of the Valley 
     Corridor generally includes the mountains encircling the San 
     Fernando, La Crescenta, Santa Clarita, Simi, and Conejo 
     Valleys in California.
       (b) Study Topics.--In conducting the study, the Secretary 
     shall seek to achieve the following objectives:
       (1) Protecting wildlife populations in the Santa Monica 
     Mountains National Recreation Area by preserving habitat 
     linkages and wildlife movement corridors between large blocks 
     of habitat in adjoining regional open space.
       (2) Establishing connections along the State-designated Rim 
     of the Valley Trail System, with the aim of creating a single 
     contiguous Rim of the Valley Trail and encompassing major 
     feeder trails connecting adjoining communities and regional 
     transit to the trail system.
       (3) Preserving recreational opportunities and facilitating 
     access to open space for a variety of recreational users.
       (4) Protecting rare, threatened, or endangered plant and 
     animal species, and rare or unusual plant communities and 
     habitats.
       (5) Protecting historically significant landscapes, 
     districts, sites, and structures.
       (6) Respecting the needs of communities within, or in the 
     vicinity of, the Rim of the Valley Corridor.
       (c) Private Property.--As part of the study, the Secretary 
     shall analyze the potential impact that establishment of all 
     or a portion of the Rim of the Valley Corridor as a unit of 
     the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is likely 
     to have on land within or bordering the area that is 
     privately owned at the time the study is conducted. The 
     report required by subsection (g) shall discuss the concerns 
     of private landowners within the existing boundaries of the 
     Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
       (d) Cost Effectiveness.--As part of evaluating each 
     alternative considered under the study, the Secretary shall 
     estimate the impact of implementing the alternative on 
     staffing and other potential costs to Federal, State, and 
     local agencies and other organizations.
       (e) Consultation.--The Secretary shall conduct the study in 
     consultation with appropriate Federal, State, county, and 
     local government entities.
       (f) Study Criteria.--In addition to the special 
     considerations specified in this section, the Secretary shall 
     conduct the study using the criteria prescribed for the study 
     of areas for potential inclusion in the National Park System 
     in section 8(c) of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c)).
       (g) Transmission of Study.--Within three years after funds 
     are first made available for the study, the Secretary shall 
     transmit a report containing the results of the study to the 
     Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and 
     to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
     Representatives.
                                 ______