LAist: Sen. Dianne Feinstein remembered as "the true desert champion"
In the Mojave Desert Land Trust office hangs a letter from Sen. Dianne Feinstein. In it, she recalls driving down Route 66 in the 1960s thinking people took California’s desert areas for granted as it was littered with old cars and discarded mattresses. She looked past the trash and marveled at the flora and fauna.
California Desert Protection Act of 1994
Later, as California’s first woman senator, Feinstein became a champion for preserving the state's desert landscapes. In 1994, she sponsored the California Desert Protection Act that elevated Joshua Tree and Death Valley from monuments to national park status. The act also established more than 1.4 million acres of land as the Mojave National Preserve.
The creation of the national parks opened up Joshua Tree and Death Valley to federal funding and increased staff on the park roster to include biologists, rangers, and Department of Interior staff.
Cody Hanford, the joint executive director of the nonprofit organization Mojave Desert Land Trust, said Feinstein "is the true desert champion, and it started with the original protection."
He added that the act enabled “people all over the country and all over the world [to] appreciate those places and with that appreciation comes that affinity, brings protection and resources.”