Prized public lands on California’s North Coast at risk under Senate proposal to sell off up to 3 million public acres

Prized public lands on California’s North Coast are among the 250 million acres across 11 western states that would be eligible for sale, if the bill passes.

Cow Mountain Recreation Area, 52,000 acres of oak and pine forest straddling Mendocino and Lake counties, has something for everyone: fishing, target shooting, 120 miles of trails for ATVs and four-wheeling, and a separate, nonmotorized area for hikers and mountain bikers.

This rugged refuge of federal land in the Mayacamas range, east of Ukiah, was officially conserved as a recreation area in a 2006 wilderness bill whose chief sponsor was Rep. Mike Thompson.

So it’s not surprising that the Democrat from St. Helena is livid and “disgusted” over a budget proposal from Utah’s Republican Sen. Mike Lee that would force the sale of 2 to 3 million acres of federal lands, located in 11 western states, over the next five years.

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By:  Austin Murphy
Source: The Press Democrat

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