John Muir National Historic Site Expansion Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her kind comments.

What a pleasure it is to be here on the House floor to continue to honor and respect a great American and a great Californian, his adopted State.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 1289, the John Muir National Historic Site Expansion Act.

This bipartisan legislation will expand the Martinez, California, historic site in my district as it celebrates the life and legacy of John Muir.

Muir was a lifelong conservationist and leading advocate of the National Park Service and a cofounder of the Sierra Club. He worked to establish and protect national parks, including Yosemite, Sequoia, the Grand Canyon, and Mt. Rainier.

The John Muir National Historic Site, which includes the home where he lived, covers 330 acres in Contra Costa County, where Muir championed the revolutionary idea that wild spaces should be set aside for all Americans to enjoy.

This bill would add 44 acres of donated land from a nonprofit trust, improving access to the park and its scenic trails, including those on Mount Wanda, named after Muir's eldest daughter.

The trail systems are accessible for hikers and bikers, including critical connections to the 550-mile Bay Area Ridge Trail.

As Muir once said:

Every American needs beauty as well as bread, places to live in ..... where nature may heal and cheer and give enough strength to body and soul alike.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my predecessor, Congressman George Miller, who has been a champion of this bill and who introduced it in an earlier session.

I would also like to thank Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bishop, Ranking Member Grijalva, as well as Subcommittee Chairman McClintock and Ranking Member Tsongas, for their leadership in bringing H.R. 1289 to the floor today.

I am also grateful for the support of 31 of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle who cosponsored the bill as well as Senators Boxer and Feinstein for sponsoring this legislation in the Senate.

I would also like to thank the John Muir Land Trust for its hard work and dedication to preserving and protecting this valuable parkland and shoreline in the Bay Area for future generations.

As our Nation prepares to celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service, this legislation will help preserve the trails and lands that surround the long-time home of the man known as the father of the National Park Service.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bipartisan legislation, the John Muir National Historic Site Expansion Act.

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