16 U.S.C. § 410aaa–21: Findings

Summary

Congress finds Joshua Tree should be enlarged into a full National Park and its wilderness areas should get legal protection. President Franklin Roosevelt made Joshua Tree a national monument in 1936 to protect historical and scientific sites; it is now a major Park Service unit visited by millions. Changes to the monument’s boundaries in 1950 and 1961 left nearby federal lands unprotected, and those adjoining lands of national‑park quality, plus the park’s nondesignated wilderness, should be added and designated under the Wilderness Act.

Title 16, §410aaa–21

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Congress finds that—

(1)a proclamation by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1936 established Joshua Tree National Monument to protect various objects of historical and scientific interest;

(2)Joshua Tree National Monument today is recognized as a major unit of the National Park System, having extraordinary values enjoyed by millions of visitors;

(3)the monument boundaries as modified in 1950 and 1961 exclude and thereby expose to incompatible development and inconsistent management, contiguous Federal lands of essential and superlative natural, ecological, archeological, paleontological, cultural, historical, and wilderness values;

(4)Joshua Tree National Monument should be enlarged by the addition of contiguous Federal lands of national park caliber, and afforded full recognition and statutory protection as a National Park; and

(5)the nondesignated wilderness within Joshua Tree should receive statutory protection by designation pursuant to the Wilderness Act [16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.].

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Wilderness Act, referred to in par. (5), is Pub. L. 88–577, Sept. 3, 1964, 78 Stat. 890, which is classified generally to chapter 23 (§ 1131 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1131 of this title and Tables.

§410aaa–21 Findings