Willits News
Published October 4, 2006

Wilderness bill passes House, senate

By Claudia Reed

"The legislation covers some of the most beautiful and majestic lands in five Northern California counties--Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, and Napa," reads a press release from the California Wild Heritage Campaign (CWHC).

The bill, which will increase protection of the Eel River, declare about 21 miles of the Black Butte River "Wild and Scenic," and designate approximately 51,000 acres as a Recreation Management Area for off-highway vehicles and mountain bikes, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in July and in the Senate on September 29. President George W. Bush is expected to sign it into law in the next few weeks.

The House version of the bill, HR233, was sponsored by District 1 Congressman Mike Thompson; the Senate version, S128, by Senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein. All three sponsors are Democrats but the wilderness legislation received non-partisan support, including that of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. At the county level, 21 of the 24 members of the five boards of supervisors supported the bill.

Passage in the House, however, required a compromise between Thompson and Richard Pombo (R-Dist 11) that cut about 25,000 acres from the 300,000 originally proposed for wilderness status. Most of the reduction was in Del Norte County, where opposition to the bill was strongest.

"The thing that's so gratifying about this bill is so much of our effort (has been) on protecting the Middle Fork of the Eel River since the '70s," said David Drell of the Willits Environmental Center. "This goes a long way toward that goal."

The 117,323 acres of protected wilderness completely within Mendocino County include about 27,036 acres in the Middle Eel River/Yolla Bolly area. The acreage contains up to half of the state's summer steelhead run and the Travelers Home National Recreation Trail.

The 107,043 acres partially in Mendocino County include the recently-named 53,887-acre Yuki region (nearly all in this county), which surrounds much of the remaining Middle Fork Eel River and extends into Lake County.

Also entirely in Mendocino County are: acreage along the south folk of the Eel River, which contains rare plant species and the state's last non-hatchery, long-run Coho salmon population; 21 miles of the Black Butte River, which provides habitat for endangered fish species; and about 8,000 acres in the Elkhorn Ridge area, which contains the South Fork Eel River canyon and forests sheltering endangered species.

Overlapping the Mendocino County border are: The King Range, about 42,585 acres mostly in Humboldt County with the longest stretch of undeveloped beach and coastal bluffs in the United States outside of Alaska; and about 10,571 acres mostly in this county and extending into Lake County containing Sanhedrin Mountain, rare plant species, and old-growth forests.

"In a remarkable show of local support, 21 of the 24 county supervisors in the five counties (affected) are on record in favor of the bill," writes the CWHC. 

In this area, Mendocino County Supervisor Jim Wattenberger joined Willits Mayor Tami Jorgensen, former Mayor Karen Oslund, representatives of the Willits Environmental Center, and other local conservationists in flying to Washington, D.C., to deliver in-person messages of support.

Working from home, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors passed three resolutions endorsing the bill. Supervisor Hal Wagenet championed the wilderness bill during his first campaign for office and continued to work for passage once on the board. The Willits City Council also sent a letter of strong support.

Willits conservationists were among those bringing the matter to the attention of office holders.

"The Environmental Center really took it up itself to reach out to elected officials from all sides of political spectrum," said Drell.

Senator Mike Thompson called passage of the bill historic:

"This landmark vote to secure 273,00 acres of Northern California wilderness will reverberate for generations as millions of Americans have the opportunity to enjoy its unique beauty. America's wilderness represents the things we love about being American--our free spirit, our sense of adventure and our passion for exploring the unknown."

© Copyright 2006 by Willits News