Congressman Lowenthal’s bill to protect public lands clears key House Committee
Legislation drafted by Congressman Lowenthal (CA-47) and Congressman Jody Hice (GA-10) that will clean-up old dangerous and dirty abandoned hardrock mines and oil and gas wells across the county, as well as protect fish and wildlife habitat, cultural and historic resources, and increase recreational opportunities on our public lands, successfully passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday.
"Currently there are thousands of abandoned hardrock mines across the West that urgently need to be cleaned-up, and while our bipartisan bill won't fix all of them, it is a major step in the right direction. Just as importantly, our legislation will help protect BLM's treasured National Conservation Lands and vital fish and wildlife habitat on BLM public lands," Congressman Lowenthal said.
The legislation, H.R. 3844 as amended, will create a Bureau of Land Management Foundation that will accept private donations that will be used to support selected mission areas of the BLM: wild free-roaming horses and burros, fish and wildlife and their habitats, National Conservation Lands, recreation resources, and cultural and historic resources. Donors to the foundation will also be able to restrict their contributions to either the cleanup of abandoned mine lands, orphaned oil and gas well sites, public lands impacted by mineral development, or one of the other five mission areas listed above.