Desert Sun: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, one of the California desert's 'greatest champions,' has died at 90
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a trailblazer for women in politics in California and Washington who spent more than 30 years in the U.S. Senate, has died. She was 90.
Nonprofit conservation group the Mojave Desert Land Trust called Feinstein one of the California desert's "greatest champions," noting her work on protecting some of the most popular public lands in the California desert.
Following an earlier introduction by Senator Alan Cranston that didn't pass, Feinstein introduced the historic California Desert Protection Act that was signed into law in 1994. The legislation conserved nearly 9.2 million acres of public lands and established Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley National Park, and the Mojave National Preserve.
In 2016, Feinstein supported conservation groups in petitioning President Barack Obama to designate the Mojave Trails and Sand to Snow National Monuments, according to the Mojave Desert Land Trust. A few years later, Feinstein co-sponsored the California Desert Protection and Recreation Act, which added 43,000 acres to Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks and designated 375,000 acres of wilderness and more than 70 miles of wild and scenic rivers.
"She will be greatly missed but her legacy lives on in the growing community that is working to preserve the desert for future generations,” said Mojave Desert Land Trust Joint Executive Directors Cody Hanford and Kelly Herbinson in a written statement.