Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources today passed legislation sponsored by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to provide funding for schools in Yosemite Park and expand lands in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).

“I am pleased that the Energy Committee has passed this legislation to help Yosemite students and expand the Golden Gate National Recreation Area,” Senator Feinstein said.

The Yosemite schools portion of the legislation authorizes the National Park Service to provide supplemental funding for three small schools in Yosemite National Park attended by approximately 130 children of park service employees, which have faced significant hardship in recent years and have had to cut down on educational services and faculty just to stay open.

“This bill will help students who attend Yosemite schools avoid a commute of more than 45 miles to and from school each day,” said Senator Feinstein. “Children should not have to face such an arduous journey to receive an education because they live in remote areas and lack access to larger public schools.”

The GGNRA measure in the legislation would add 4,700 acres of pristine natural land to the GGNRA in San Mateo County including a 4,076 parcel known as the Rancho Corral de Tierra. The mountainous property, which surrounds the coastal towns of Moss Beach and Montara, was previously purchased by the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST). The Trust has agreed to transfer the land to the Federal Government for about half of the purchase cost.

“Adding pristine natural land to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area will protect four major watersheds, preserve the home of numerous threatened, rare and endangered plant and animal species in the region, allow potential access to valuable future trail links to contiguous state and county parks, and establish a dramatic and logical southern entrance to the park,” Senator Feinstein said.

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