[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 1, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3137-S3138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Ms. Butler):
  S. 4227. A bill to amend the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 
to expand the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park; to the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce legislation to 
expand the Joshua Tree National Park by approximately 17,842 acres of 
public lands.
  In 2016, the National Park Service, in cooperation with the Bureau of 
Land Management, prepared the Eagle Mountain Boundary Study for an area 
Mountains, located in Riverside County, CA. The purpose of the study 
and environmental assessment was to consider whether to expand Joshua 
Tree National Park to include additional lands and to develop 
alternatives for protecting cultural, natural, and scenic resources 
related to the purpose of the national park.
  NPS' selected alternative recommends expanding the National Park by 
the more than 17,000 acres of federally managed lands covered by my 
legislation. Notably, these lands are adjacent to the national park. 
NPS found

[[Page S3138]]

that doing so could allow for greater protection of existing habitat, 
restoration opportunities, and landscape connectivity for wildlife such 
as bighorn sheep, as well as new visitor opportunities.
  I urge my colleagues to swiftly pass this straightforward boundary 
adjustment as soon as possible.
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