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Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce the Protecting Unique and Beautiful Landscapes by Investing in California, PUBLIC, Lands Act. This comprehensive bill would permanently protect over 900,000 acres of public lands and promote restoration on another 871,000 acres throughout northwest California, the central coast, and Los Angeles County. This bill includes protections for nearly 600,000 acres of new and proposed wilderness and nearly 700 miles of new wild and scenic rivers.

This legislation would preserve our public lands for the benefit of current and future generations and help protect California communities from impacts of the climate crisis. The PUBLIC Lands Act is grounded in the best conservation principles: it expands access to the outdoors for all, addresses disparities in access to nature, supports locally led efforts, and is based in science.

In northwest California, this bill would designate new wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, special management areas, and forest and watershed restoration areas. Importantly, it would increase wildfire resiliency in northwest California, where the impacts of the climate crisis have resulted in more frequent and severe wildfires.

Along the central coast, the bill would designate nearly 250,000 acres of public land in the Los Padres National Forest and Carrizo Plain National Monument as wilderness and study the feasibility of creating a 400-mile long condor national recreation trail, stretching from Los Angeles to Monterey County. The designations in the bill would protect the abundant biodiversity that make the central coast so special.

In Los Angeles County, this bill would designate nearly 30,000 acres of new wilderness, helping provide permanent protections so that future generations can enjoy the limited wild and untouched spaces in Southern California.

The bill would also provide outdoor recreation opportunities for park-poor communities. This bill enjoys the support of hundreds of local municipalities and elected officials, community groups, businesses, and local outfitters. It is the product of significant public engagement in the legislative process spanning decades.

I want to highlight that this legislation protects existing water rights, property rights, and land-use authorities. The bill also does not create any new public lands, rather, it protects existing public lands through wilderness designations in order to keep these lands as pristine as possible.

The science is increasingly clear that we must conserve 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030 as part of ongoing efforts to solve the climate crisis, protect nature, and save America's wildlife. I am proud that the State of California has made significant strides to achieve this goal, and I am determined to do my part to protect our public lands and waters at the Federal level.

I would like to thank my colleagues and conservation champions, Representatives Jared Huffman, Salud Carbajal, and Judy Chu, for championing these bills in the House. I also want to thank Senator Schiff for cosponsoring this bill and working toward our shared goal of promoting restoration, recreation, and conservation throughout California. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass the PUBLIC Lands Act as quickly as possible. ______

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