§ 410aaa–21 — Findings

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.].