Political Aridity Over the Desert

Plans to create a Mojave National Park have become entwined with complex national politics that have nothing to do with preserving the California desert. The House Tuesday voted to downgrade the 1.2-million-acre tract in the Mojave to a national “preserve,” still run by the National Park Service but open to hunters .

Having rebuffed the National Rifle Assn. on the Brady and assault gun bills, many in Congress wanted to avoid another fight with the gun lobby. It was easy for members from Michigan or Georgia to duck on a remote patch of ocotillo, creosote and sand dunes in California.

The vote to amend the California Desert Protection Act was surprising only in its margin, 239-183. The amendment came from Larry LaRocco (D-Ida.), a vassal of the NRA. The base politics of this bipartisan vote were obvious on the House floor, as 20 or so members who had promised to vote “no” slunk in to vote “yes” only after its passage was assured. Another lesson in profiles of courage.

LaRocco, backed by Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), argued that hunting offered rare “quality time” for fathers and sons. This is fatuous. Only 28 deer were taken in the area in 1992 and there are still 10 million acres of public lands open to hunting in the area but outside the proposed park.

This setback potentially affects only a fraction of the 6.3 million acres in the bill, which also creates two other national parks and 74 wilderness areas. But we hope the noxious hunting provision will be deleted when the bill is sent to conference to resolve differences with the Senate version, which provides a full Mojave National Park. Loss of the park status would limit its attractiveness to the public.

Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez), chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, shares the blame, having been outmaneuvered by Lewis, LaRocco and the gun lobby. And the Democratic leadership, careless about what may seem like a local California issue, obviously did not give it high priority.

But the real culprit here is Lewis, leader of a back-stage sabotage. On Tuesday he ate up valuable time on the House floor debating amendments that no one objected to. He is a pragmatic moderate Republican whom we have endorsed for election more than once. We are disappointed in him.