[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 1, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S3137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PADILLA:
  S. 4222. A bill to adjust the boundary of the Mojave National 
Preserve in the State of California to include the land within the 
Castle Mountains National Monument; to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce Mojave National 
Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act.
  The Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act is a commonsense 
bill that would expand the Mojave National Preserve to include the land 
within the Castle Mountains National Monument.
  The Mojave National Preserve, located in Southern California in the 
Mojave Desert, was established by the 1994 California Desert Protection 
Act, which was one of the late Senator Feinstein's signature 
achievements. Today, the Mojave National Preserve is one of the largest 
national preserves within the continental United States and plays an 
important role in safeguarding a diverse group of ecological habitats, 
mountains, and canyons in the region.
  The adjacent Castle Mountains National Monument is surrounded on 
three sides by the Mojave National Preserve and is also home to 
important historic resources along with resident populations of and 
migratory corridors for desert bighorn sheep, quail, chukar, rabbit, 
mule deer, and other big game. Expanding the Mojave National Preserve 
to encompass Castle Mountains will simplify management of this vast 
desert landscape.
  I am proud to work with a broad range of stakeholders to introduce 
this commonsense legislation to expand the Mojave National Preserve. 
Doing so would allow the National Park Service to further the 
conservation values and permanent protections in the Mojave Desert 
while boosting public access and outdoor recreation to the area.
  I look forward to working with our colleagues to pass the Mojave 
National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act as quickly as possible.
                                 ______