[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 169 (Monday, October 16, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4978-S4979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PADILLA:
  S. 3045. A bill to provide for the transfer of administrative 
jurisdiction

[[Page S4979]]

over certain Federal land in the State of California, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce the Ackerson Meadow 
Land Exchange Act. This legislation will facilitate a simple land 
exchange between the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service 
in the Sierra Nevadas.
  This bill would transfer 160 acres of Stanislaus National Forest land 
to the National Park Service to be managed as part of Yosemite National 
Park Service to be managed as part of the Yosemite National Park and 
transfer 170 acres of National Park land to the Forest Service to 
manage as part of Stanislaus National Forest. The land in the exchange 
is known as Ackerson Meadow.
  Ackerson Meadow is one of the largest midelevation meadows in the 
Sierra Nevada. It is an ecologically and regionally critical wildlife 
corridor, and the scenic meadow is an important habitat for the State 
endangered great grey owl and little willow flycatcher, as well as a 
suite of additional at-risk wildlife species. In 2016, a coalition of 
conservation groups donated Ackerson Meadow to Yosemite National Park; 
however, it is almost completely surrounded by Stanislaus National 
Forest and only partially contiguous to the rest of Yosemite National 
Park.
  The current configuration of land management presents logistical 
challenges to both NPS and Forest Service; therefore, both Agencies, as 
well as local stakeholders, support this land exchange.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this 
straightforward legislation to better manage the land in and around 
Ackerson Meadow.
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