North Coast Wilderness Bill Moves Forward

Resources Committee “Green Lights” California Wilderness Bill for
Full House Vote

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act (H.R. 233/S. 128) cleared a major legislative hurdle when the U.S. House Resources Committee voted the bill out of committee and on to the full House.  The bill, sponsored by Rep. Thompson (D-Napa Valley) and California Senators Barbara Boxer (D) and Dianne Feinstein (D) has already passed the U.S. Senate.

The legislation covers some of the most beautiful and majestic lands in five Northern California counties – Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, and Napa – as well as a segment of the Black Butte River.  The bill has garnered a tremendous amount of broad-based constituent support due to the inclusive process the sponsors used in crafting the legislation.  In a remarkable show of local support, 21 of the 24 county supervisors in the five counties encompassed by H.R. 233/S. 128 are on record in favor of the bill.  Both Republicans and Democrats have expressed support for the bill, including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“This is a great day for Eureka and the North Coast.  Permanently protecting our wild places is important for our quality of life,” said Eureka Mayor Peter La Vallee.  “People come to Humboldt County in large part to experience our beautiful public lands, including the proposed King Range and Mount Lassic Wilderness areas.  Eureka is a wonderful place to live, work, and recreate.  Preserving these lands for future generations to enjoy will help bring tourists to the region and maintain those values.  I thank Congressman Thompson and Senators Boxer and Feinstein for their leadership.”

The Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act would designate key landscapes as wilderness and protect segments of the Black Butte River as a wild and scenic river.  Areas of special value include the King Range, which includes the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in the contiguous United States and the Cedar Roughs proposed wilderness, which shelters the largest grove in the world of the rare Sargent cypress.  Endangered and threatened species whose habitats would be protected by the bill include the bald eagle, California brown pelican, steelhead trout, coho salmon, northern spotted owl, and Roosevelt elk.

“Wilderness areas are reservoirs for the wildlife we enjoy hunting and fishing for.  This well-crafted bill helps conserve wilderness and rivers so we can have clean water and pass on our backcountry traditions to our children,” stated Bill Knispel, Lake County resident and Past-President of the Konocoti Rod & Gun Club and the Clearlake Horsemen’s Association.  “The North Coast bill would protect fish and game habitat along the Eel River, in the Skeleton Glade area of Snow Mountain, and in many other critical areas.  Today, I am very happy for outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds – equestrians, hikers, hunters, and anglers.”

During the committee markup session, few changes were made to the North Coast bill.  In all, the bill aims to protect approximately 280,000 acres of wilderness and 21 miles of wild and scenic river on existing federal public lands.

Over the last 20 years, 700,000 acres of potential wilderness has been lost to development and destruction in California.  At that rate, 90% of California’s remaining public wild lands will be lost within the next century if action is not taken to permanently protect them.  For more information on the wild places included in this legislation, please visit www.californiawild.org.

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The California Wild Heritage Campaign (www.californiawild.org) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition of everyday citizens who share a common goal of ensuring the permanent protection of California's remaining wild lands and rivers. We are business-owners, anglers, hunters, vintners, scientists, outdoor enthusiasts, people of faith, conservation groups, and much more.