Press Releases

Rep. Salud Carbajal’s Central Coast Heritage Protection Act, H.R. 2199, had its first hearing in the House Natural Resources Committee today—moving the bill one step closer to passage.

The Central Coast Heritage Protection Act seeks to designate nearly 250,000 acres of land within Los Padres National Forest and Carrizo Plain National Monument as protected wilderness areas. The bill also creates a 400-mile long Condor National Recreation trail that will stretch from Los Angeles to Monterey County.

“Protecting our public lands and outdoor economy is especially important as the current administration continues to take action to open up public lands and national monuments to oil interests,” said Rep. Carbajal in the hearing today. “As policymakers, we have a responsibility to protect these special places for future generations...We must push this measure across the finish line.”

Today’s hearing featured testimony from prominent local and national environmental experts, including a representative of Los Padres ForestWatch, who discussed the importance of protected public land access for youth, low-income and Latino communities.

“My exposure to these wild places as a child was largely due to geographical access and low economic barriers. This is the case for many of the communities up and down the Central Coast,” said Graciela Cabello, Director of youth and community engagement at Los Padres ForestWatch. “We are all future ancestors, and we have a historic opportunity to protect this special place for all people and leave a legacy for future generations. I strongly encourage the committee to support H.R. 2199.”

California’s outdoor recreation economy employs over 650,000 people and is worth about $92 billion. The Los Padres National Forest provides habitat for around 468 species of unique wildlife, including the endangered California condor and the southern steelhead, while the Carrizo Plain National Monument contains one of the highest concentrations of protected species in the continental U.S. Under the Central Coast Heritage Protection Act, these lands will receive wilderness designation—one of the highest forms of government protection for public lands.

Watch the full Central Coast Heritage Protection Act hearing here.