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Lay of the Land

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Going, Going, Golden?

In the past 20 years California has lost 675,000 acres of wildlands to such activities as logging and mining, and Barbara Boxer isn’t happy about it. The Democratic senator has introduced a bill to defend 2.5 million acres of public land and the remaining free-flowing portions of 22 rivers in the Golden State. "It is crucial that we protect these places before it is too late," she says. Beneficiaries would include the White Mountains of southeastern California with their ancient bristlecone pines, verdant Feather River Falls in the northern Sierra, and the rugged King Range along the north coast. The lands would be declared wilderness and the waterways added to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The Sierra Club is helping organize public support for the proposal, described in detail at www.californiawild.org.