This bill expands the Mojave National Preserve in California by incorporating roughly 20,920 acres of land currently designated as the Castle Mountains National Monument, folding that monument into the larger preserve under National Park Service management. It specifically addresses the Castle Mountain Mine Area, allowing the Bureau of Land Management to keep managing that mining site under existing federal land laws until mining activities cease and reclamation is finished, or until 10 years pass without new commercial mining approvals, at which point jurisdiction shifts to the Park Service. The legislation also requires the Interior Department to work with California state officials to secure water resources, including groundwater, for the newly added land, while protecting any valid existing property or usage rights. Separately, the bill transfers a small parcel of land near an existing road from Park Service to Bureau of Land Management control. This bill primarily affects land management agencies, mining operators in the area, and Californians who use or care about desert conservation lands, with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee reporting an amended version in November 2024.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.