Senator Alex Padilla brings sweeping California conservation legislation to the Senate
San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, CA
Wondercamp
Echoing House bills, Senate PUBLIC Lands Act would provide greater, more equitable access to nature and protect critical natural resources
In the first months of his Senate tenure, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) introduced the PUBLIC Lands Act (short for Protecting Unique and Beautiful Landscapes by Investing in California Lands Act) which will expand access to nature for Californians who need it most, connect communities across the the state with public lands, ensure clean and safe drinking water, improve wildfire protections for towns and cities, and promote the outdoor recreation economy.
The following statement is from Daniel Rossman, California Deputy Director, The Wilderness Society:
“With the introduction of this bill so early in his tenure, Senator Padilla is demonstrating a deep commitment to ensuring our public lands are a positive force for fighting climate change and creating equitable communities. The PUBLIC Lands Act protects key landscapes across the state that provide nature-based solutions to the climate crisis and its impacts, increase opportunities for more people to get outdoors, create recreation jobs that power the economy and begin to reverse the rapid loss of nature that continues to put us all at risk.”
Sen. Padilla’s legislation builds on a suite of bills led by Representatives Judy Chu (CA-27), Salud Carbajal (CA-24) and Jared Huffman (CA-02) that passed the House in February as part of the Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act. The three House bills embodied in the PUBLIC Lands Act – The San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act (Chu), Central Coast Heritage Protection Act (Carbajal) and Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation and Working Forest Act (Huffman) – were crafted after listening to the concerns of constituents, including local elected leaders, veterans, small business owners, faith leaders and the many people who value California’s public lands and open spaces.
Sen. Padilla held a press conference to announce the introduction of the PUBLIC Lands Act. A two-part recording of the event is available on the senator's Facebook page: Part 1, Part 2.
CONTACT
- Daniel Rossman, California Deputy Director, drossman@tws.org, 310-415-6238
- Kerry Leslie, Senior Communications Manager, kerry_leslie@tws.org, 415-398-1484
