The Act also required the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability of lands within and outside the boundaries of the park as a reservation for the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe.
Mining claims were governed by the National Park System laws, and grazing was permitted to continue at no more than the then-current level.
The Act authorized Congress to appropriate to the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, for the fiscal year 1995-1999 period, sums not to exceed $36,000,000 more than that provided in fiscal year 1994 for additional administrative and construction costs, and $300,000,000 for land acquisition costs... Congress found that federally owned desert lands of southern California constitute a public wildland resource of extraordinary and inestimable value for current and future generations; these desert wildlands have unique scenic, historical, archeological, environmental, ecological, wildlife, cultural, scientific, educational and recreational values; the California desert public land resources are threatened by adverse pressures which impair their public and natural values; the California desert is a cohesive unit posing difficult resource protection and management challenges; statutory land unit designations are necessary to protect these lands.
Congress declared as its policy that appropriate public lands in the California desert must be included within the National Park System and the National Wilderness Preservation System in order to preserve the unrivaled scenic, geologic and wildlife values of these lands; perpetuate their significant and diverse ecosystems; protect and preserve their historical and cultural values; provide opportunities for compatible outdoor public recreation, protect and interpret ecological and geological features, maintain wilderness resource values, and promote public understanding and appreciation; retain and enhance opportunities for scientific research in undisturbed ecosystems.
Senator from California and who opposed the bill, lost his election to challenger Dianne Feinstein (D–CA) that same year.
[6] Several studies, lobbying efforts, and over 50 revisions to the bill authored by Senator Cranston followed before it finally became law in 1994.