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TEMECULA: Wilderness bill advances
By North County Times | ∞
The House passed legislation Monday that would protect forest, chaparral and desert lands in western Riverside County from development and roads by designating more than 190,000 acres as wilderness and 30 miles of streams as "wild and scenic rivers."
The California Desert and Mountain Heritage Act, authored by Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, now goes to the U.S. Senate.
The legislation proposes to expand by 2,000 acres the 16,000-acre Agua Tibia Wilderness southeast of Temecula along the Riverside-San Diego county line. There, groves of pine and fir in north-facing canyons shelter rare California spotted owls.
The measure also would create a 16,000-acre Beauty Mountain Wilderness wrapped around a 5,548-foot peak by the same name off Highway 371 on the Riverside-San Diego county line, and a 7,000-acre Cahuilla Mountain Wilderness near Anza.
Elsewhere, it would expand and create wilderness areas in the San Jacinto Mountains near Idyllwild, in Joshua Tree National Park and in the desert near Palm Springs.
Environmentalists and local outdoor lovers praised the action.
"It is terrific to see a bill that truly balances the diverse needs of our community, protecting our region's open space and preserving our high quality of life," said MaryAnn Plume, Murrieta resident and director of The Colony Home Owner's Association.
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