S. 4222Senate118th Congress (2023-2025)In Committee

Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated January 20, 2026 at 4:16 PM UTC

The Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act expands the Mojave National Preserve in California to include about 20,920 acres of land that are currently designated as the Castle Mountains National Monument. The bill changes the preserve’s boundary, places the added land under National Park Service management, and sets rules for transferring a mining‑area jurisdiction and for water resource protection. It affects federal lands, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and any existing rights holders.

Key Provisions

Adjusts the preserve’s boundary to incorporate the Castle Mountains National Monument land as defined by the 2016 presidential proclamation.
The Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, will administer the newly added land as part of the Mojave National Preserve.
For the Castle Mountain Mine Area, the Bureau of Land Management will continue management until the Secretary determines that mining has ended or ten years have passed without commercial mining, after which jurisdiction transfers to the National Park Service.
Requires the Secretary to ensure adequate water resources, including groundwater, for the added land in cooperation with state officials.
States that existing valid rights on the land are not affected by the boundary adjustment.

Legislative Activity

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5 earlier actions

SenateCalendars Latest Action

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 616.

November 21, 2024

View full timeline

SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

May 1, 2024

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S3137)

Energy and Natural Resources Committee

May 1, 2024

SenateCommittee

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held.

National Parks Subcommittee

May 15, 2024

SenateCommittee

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.

Energy and Natural Resources Committee

November 19, 2024

SenateCommittee

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Manchin with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.

Energy and Natural Resources Committee

November 21, 2024

SenateCalendars

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 616.

November 21, 2024

Floor Debate

2 members

What members said about S. 4222 on the floor

2 Democrats

Sen. Alex PadillaD-CA · May 1, 2024

Madam President, I rise to introduce Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act. The Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act is a commonsense bill that would expand the Mojave National…

Madam President, I rise to introduce Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act.

The Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act is a commonsense bill that would expand the Mojave National Preserve to include the land within the Castle Mountains National Monument.

The Mojave National Preserve, located in Southern California in the Mojave Desert, was established by the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, which was one of the late Senator Feinstein's signature achievements. Today, the Mojave National Preserve is one of the largest national preserves within the continental United States and plays an important role in safeguarding a diverse group of ecological habitats, mountains, and canyons in the region.

The adjacent Castle Mountains National Monument is surrounded on three sides by the Mojave National Preserve and is also home to important historic resources along with resident populations of and migratory corridors for desert bighorn sheep, quail, chukar, rabbit, mule deer, and other big game. Expanding the Mojave National Preserve to encompass Castle Mountains will simplify management of this vast desert landscape.

I am proud to work with a broad range of stakeholders to introduce this commonsense legislation to expand the Mojave National Preserve. Doing so would allow the National Park Service to further the conservation values and permanent protections in the Mojave Desert while boosting public access and outdoor recreation to the area.

I look forward to working with our colleagues to pass the Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act as quickly as possible.

Madam President, I rise to introduce legislation to expand the Joshua Tree National Park by approximately 17,842 acres of public lands.

In 2016, the National Park Service, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, prepared the Eagle Mountain Boundary Study for an area Mountains, located in Riverside County, CA. The purpose of the study and environmental assessment was to consider whether to expand Joshua Tree National Park to include additional lands and to develop alternatives for protecting cultural, natural, and scenic resources related to the purpose of the national park.

NPS' selected alternative recommends expanding the National Park by the more than 17,000 acres of federally managed lands covered by my legislation. Notably, these lands are adjacent to the national park. NPS found

that doing so could allow for greater protection of existing habitat, restoration opportunities, and landscape connectivity for wildlife such as bighorn sheep, as well as new visitor opportunities.

I urge my colleagues to swiftly pass this straightforward boundary adjustment as soon as possible.

Madam President, I rise to introduce legislation to rename the visitor center at Joshua Tree National Park in honor of Senator Dianne Feinstein.

This legislation would redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park to the ``Senator Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center.''

Dianne Feinstein was a towering figure not just in modern California politics but in the history of our State and our Nation. Her contributions to our Nation, particularly in environmental conservation, are a reminder of the public power of public service. For Californians, so much of our lands have been preserved thanks to her singular drive and leadership, from the redwoods of the Headwaters and the San Francisco Bay, to Lake Tahoe and, most notably, the California desert.

Senator Feinstein was known as a great protector of the California desert, and some have lovingly referred to her as the ``Queen of the Desert''. Senator Feinstein was the driving force behind the establishment of Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley National Park, the Mojave National Preserve, the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, the Mojave Trails National Monument, the Sand to Snow National Monument, and the Castle Mountains National Monument. In all, it is estimated that Senator Feinstein protected over 3 million acres of the California desert.

In 2019, on the 25th anniversary of the passage of Senator Feinstein's landmark California Desert Protection Act, Senator Feinstein wrote: ``When I think of the California desert, I think of magnificent landscapes and mountain vistas. I think of beautiful species like bighorn sheep, mule deer and desert tortoises. I think of unique vegetation like the beautiful wildflower blooms and iconic Joshua trees. And I think of the long history of local Native American tribes. The California desert is a true American treasure. Our efforts over the past 25 years have resulted in the largest areas of public lands protected in the lower 48 states--that is something truly to celebrate.''

It is only fitting that we celebrate Senator Feinstein's memory by renaming the visitor center at Joshua Tree National Park in her honor. I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact this legislation as soon as possible.

Sen. Charles E. SchumerD-NY · May 1, 2024

Madam President, over the decades, millions of Americans--most often Americans of color--have had their lives derailed and destroyed by our country's failed war on drugs. The consequences of this…

Madam President, over the decades, millions of Americans--most often Americans of color--have had their lives derailed and destroyed by our country's failed war on drugs. The consequences of this harmful campaign linger on to this very day. So I was pleased by yesterday's news that the DEA, under the Biden administration, is preparing to take a truly historic step: rescheduling cannabis from a schedule I substance to a schedule III substance under the Controlled Substances Act.

Reclassifying cannabis is a necessary and long overdue step, but it is not at all the end of the story. It is time for Congress to wake up to the times and do its part by passing the cannabis reform that most Americans have long called for. It is past time for Congress to catch up with public opinion and to catch up with the science.

So, today, I am proud to join with my colleagues Senators Booker and Wyden to reintroduce the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, a comprehensive and necessary update to the Federal Government's approach to cannabis. I am proud to be the first majority leader ever to call for an end to the marijuana prohibition because I have seen both the consequences of outdated drug laws and the benefits of commonsense cannabis regulation at the State level, and it is time for Congress to follow suit.

Support for cannabis reform is growing in the Senate. Our bill now has 18 sponsors, the most ever for this bill. We will keep working to build more support because when liberals and conservatives and activists and entrepreneurs and veterans groups can all come together on one issue, that is a clear sign the momentum is real.

I am very proud of the bill we are releasing today. Our legislation will finally remove marijuana from the Federal list of controlled substances. It will expunge the criminal records of so many Americans with low-level marijuana offenses that haunt them--inhibit them--for decades. And it will help our country close the book, once and for all, on the awful and harmful and failed War on Drugs, which all too often has been nothing more than a war on Americans of color.

In short, our bill is about individual freedom and basic fairness. We cannot tolerate any longer the tragedy of the young person getting arrested because they have a small amount of marijuana in their pocket.

For years, that is all it took--getting caught with a little bit of marijuana--for you to get saddled with a serious criminal record that prevented you from getting a good job, buying a home, getting ahead in life. And, of course, this injustice happens predominantly in Black and Latino communities. That is unfair. It is un-American. And our bill will right this grave wrong.

In place of the War on Drugs, our bill would lay the foundation for something very different: a just and responsible and commonsense approach to cannabis regulation. It would call for new guidelines on how marijuana products are labeled, require new standards to prevent impaired driving, require HHS and NIH to support research into cannabis's health aspects, and more. Our bill, if passed, would close the door on outdated and very harmful modes of thinking at the Federal level, while allowing for reform and sensible regulation to take root.

So, again, I want to thank Senators Booker and Wyden for being terrific partners in putting this bill together. It has been a longstanding effort, one that has required a lot of feedback from the public and a lot of perseverance.

As Senate majority leader, I will continue to push for every chance we get to bring cannabis policy into the 21st century, and passing our bill would be an excellent way to make that happen.

Sen. Alex PadillaD-CA · May 1, 2024

Bill Text

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Reported to SenateIssued November 21, 2024

Calendar No. 616

118th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 4222

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

May 1, 2024

Mr. Padilla introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

November 21, 2024

Reported by Mr. Manchin, with an amendment

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic

A BILL

To adjust the boundary of the Mojave National Preserve in the State of California to include the land within the Castle Mountains National Monument.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act.

Addition of Castle Mountains National Monument land to the Mojave National Preserve, California

(a)

Boundary adjustment

The boundary of the Mojave National Preserve established by section 502 of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 (16 U.S.C. 410aaa–42) (referred to in this Act as the Preserve) is adjusted to include the Federal land described in subsection (b).

(b)

Description of federal land

The Federal land referred to in subsection (a) is the approximately 20,920 acres of land designated as the Castle Mountains National Monument by Presidential Proclamation Number 9394, dated February 12, 2016 (54 U.S.C. 320301 note), as depicted on the map accompanying the proclamation.

(c)

Availability of map

The map referred to in subsection (b) shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service.

(d)

Administration

The Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Director of the National Park Service) shall administer the Federal land added to the Preserve by subsection (a)—

(1)

as part of the Preserve; and

(2)

in accordance with applicable laws (including regulations).

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act.

Addition of Castle Mountains National Monument land to the Mojave National Preserve, California

(a)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Map

The term Map means the map accompanying the Proclamation.

(2)

Preserve

The term Preserve means the Mojave National Preserve.

(3)

Proclamation

The term Proclamation means the Presidential Proclamation 9394, dated February 12, 2016 (54 U.S.C. 320301 note).

(4)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.

(b)

Boundary adjustment

The boundary of the Mojave National Preserve established by section 502 of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 (16 U.S.C. 410aaa–42) is adjusted to include the Federal land described in subsection (c).

(c)

Description of Federal land

The Federal land referred to in subsection (b) is the approximately 20,920 acres of land designated as the Castle Mountains National Monument by the Proclamation, as depicted on the Map.

(d)

Availability of map

The Map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service.

(e)

Administration

(1)

In general

The Secretary shall administer the Federal land added to the Preserve by subsection (b)—

(A)

as part of the Preserve; and

(B)

in accordance with applicable laws (including regulations).

(2)

Castle Mountain Mine Area

(A)

In general

Subject to subparagraph (C), the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, shall continue to manage the Federal land described in subparagraph (B) pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and other applicable laws.

(B)

Description of Federal land

The Federal land referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (C) is the Federal land and interests in the Federal land within the area identified as Castle Mountain Mine Area on the Map.

(C)

Transfer of administrative jurisdiction

(i)

In general

On the date on which the Secretary makes a determination described in clause (ii), the Secretary shall, consistent with applicable laws, transfer administrative jurisdiction over the Federal land described in subparagraph (B) from the Bureau of Land Management to the National Park Service, to be administered as part of the Preserve.

(ii)

Determination described

A determination referred to in clause (i) is a determination by the Secretary that, with respect to the Federal land described in subparagraph (B)—

(I)

all mining and mining-related activities have terminated and reclamation is complete; or

(II)

there has been a 10-year period after the date of issuance of the Proclamation during which no commercial mining activities have occurred pursuant to a Bureau of Land Management-approved plan of operation.

(f)

Water resources

The Secretary, in cooperation with appropriate State officials and subject to applicable Federal and State law, shall ensure the availability of water resources, including groundwater resources, needed for purposes of the Federal land added to the Preserve by subsection (b).

(g)

Valid existing rights

Nothing in this section, including the inclusion of additional Federal land in the Preserve under subsection (b) or (e)(2)(C), affects valid existing rights.

Transfer of administrative jurisdiction

Administrative jurisdiction over the portion of the NE1/4SW1/4 sec. 11, T. 14 N., R. 17 E., of the San Bernardino Meridian, lying easterly of a line 100 feet westerly of the centerline of an existing road that traverses the quarter from northeast to southwest, as generally depicted on the map entitled Mojave National Preserve Proposed Land Transfer, numbered 170/195,273, and dated November 2024, is transferred from the National Park Service to the Bureau of Land Management.

November 21, 2024

Reported with an amendment