by Shoshana Hebshi, Redwood Chapter Communications Coordinator
Every swing in one direction brings a counter swing in the other direction. And thankfully for conservationists, our local Congressman, Jared Huffman, has countered the Trump administration’s campaign to destroy public lands with a sweeping bill to conserve and manage Northern California forests and wilderness.
At the end of July Huffman introduced HR 6596, the Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation and Working Forests Act, to protect hundreds of thousands of acres in Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte and Trinity counties.
The bill not only would create new trails and public access into the wilderness, it would coordinate cleanup of illegal marijuana grows on public land and bolster defenses against large wildfires. Huffman, who has worked on the bill since being elected to serve District 2 five years ago, said the bill is a “creative blend of old school wilderness protection with very innovative management strategies and I think should be supportable by a broader constituency than if it were a standard wildernesses bill.”
Highlights of the bill include:
- Protection of 317,000 acres of federal public lands as “wilderness.” Wilderness is the strongest protection available for certain areas of public land available under federal law.
- Designation of 379 miles of new “wild and scenic rivers” and mandates federal agencies to create management plans for 101 miles of existing wild and scenic rivers providing critical habitat for threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead. This would mean there would be no new dams, major water diversions, logging or mining along these waterways.
- Direction for federal agencies to explore ways to improve motorized and non-motorized recreation trail opportunities, including mountain biking, on national forest and adjacent Bureau of Land Management lands in Del Norte, Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino Counties.
- Restoration of public lands affected by illegal trespass marijuana grows.
- Authorization of the construction of two public visitor centers in Trinity and Del Norte counties.
- Conducting a study on the establishment of the “Bigfoot National Recreation Trail” from Crescent City to the southern Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness boundary that will highlight the immense ecological diversity of northwestern California’s ancient forests and other unique landscapes.
- Restoration of about 730,000 acres of forest to reduce danger of wildfires, which would include creation of roadside shaded fuel breaks and projects to thin overcrowded second-growth plantations.
The bill will not expand federal lands, will not limit existing hunting and fishing rights, will not close any legal roads and trails, and will not affect how private property is accessed and used.
Although the Sierra Club has not yet taken a position on this legislation, Redwood Chapter has been watching Huffman’s efforts closely for several years, and will continue to monitor the bill as it evolves. We’re also looking forward to leading Outings into these diverse areas.