Proposal: Add tens of thousands of acres to national parks in Southern California

The word is Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and others are working on a major land bill that could add tens of thousands of acres to the Mojave National Preserve and Death Valley National Park.

One proposal calls for nearly 30,000 acres of the Castle Mountains area of the California desert to be added to the Mojave National Preserve.

The land is surrounded on three sides by the preserve already and supporters don't want it to be developed for energy production. There are reportedly already applications for solar and wind power generation there.

Another area of about 31,000 acres between Death Valley National Park and Fort Irwin, known as the "Bowling Alley," could be added to the park.

There's also a proposal to add nearly 6,400 acres to the northwest end of Death Valley park. It is the site of Crater Mine and was reportedly excluded from inclusion in a 1994 desert protection law because of the mining claims there.

The bill hasn't yet been introduced and the proposals could change.