The Region - News from Feb. 10, 1986

Legislation to place 9.4 million acres of Southern California desert under the protection of the federal park system has been introduced by Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.). Cranston’s California Desert Protection Act would cover more than 14,000 square miles of federal lands in four counties. The bill would create a new Mojave National Park of more than 2 million acres and would add millions of acres to existing national parks at Death Valley and Joshua Tree. Another 4.5 million acres under the control of the Bureau of Land Management would be designated as protected wilderness. Cranston said creation of the new parklands would not cost any money because the land is already under the control of federal agencies. Cranston, bidding for reelection to a fourth term this year, developed the bill with a consortium of environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, the California Desert Protection League and the Wilderness Society.