CA Inventory to Look at State's "Wild Side"
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Sacramento, CA - It's time to take an inventory of California's "wild side." That's the goal of a state assembly bill now working its way through the state capitol in Sacramento. It asks for an inventory of state lands and an assessment of which areas should be protected as wilderness.
Jim Metropulos, senior advocate with Sierra Club California, says the state recently has acquired lots of park lands.
"The state is currently managing thousands of acres that have not been evaluated for their wilderness potential. We would like to see that move forward."
Metropulos says some possible designations include Cache Creek Wilderness in Lake County, Henry W. Coe State Park in Santa Clara County and Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve in Sonoma County.
The California wilderness system already protects 500,000 acres, Metropulos says, and he thinks it's in the best interest of the entire state to set additional areas aside, too.
"Wilderness provides outdoor recreation opportunities for millions of Californians and habitat for endangered species. Those areas also protect drinking water for local communities."
Opponents of extending wilderness designation say it "locks up" public land, prohibits resource extraction and limits some types of recreation.
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