The Loma Prietan
July/August 2003
The Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Act (HR 1501 and S.738)
by Patricia Jones, San Francisco Bay Chapter Wilderness Subcommittee Chair
Even in the bleak landscape of the current Administration's assault on our national forests and other public lands, we have a great opportunity to save thousands of acres of wildlands in California by granting them "wilderness" status. Once an area is declared wilderness, it "should" not be susceptible to any "changes in interpretation of rules" regarding roads, motorized vehicles, logging, mining or other ways in which the pristine character of the area would be disturbed.
Thanks to companion bills introduced by North Coast U.S. Congressman Mike
Thompson (CA-1) and California Senator Barbara Boxer, we have an excellent chance to protect more than 300,000 acres of wilderness-quality lands and 21 miles of wild rivers in the northwest corner of the state. Entirely within Rep. Thompson's district, the bill would add additional wilderness protection to the existing Trinity Alps, Siskiyou, Snow Mountain and Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel wilderness areas. It would protect new areas with unique ecosystems, including Cache Creek, a primarily oak woodland region north of Lake Berryessa that provides habitat for tule elk and bald eagles. It would also protect 22 miles of the Black Butte River as a Wild and Scenic River.
The largest individual areas included in this Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage bill are the Yuki Proposed Wilderness (almost 52,000 acres in Lake and Mendocino Counties) and the King Range Proposed Wilderness (about 42,000 acres in Humboldt and Mendocino Counties, including the popular Lost Coast Trail). California's Lost Coast is the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in the U.S.
If, however, we hope to have this legislation passed by the end of the current 108th Congress, activists and concerned citizens will need to convince Bay Area Representative Richard Pombo (CA-11), Chair of the House Resources Committee, to allow Mike Thompson's bill through his Committee and onto the House floor for a vote. Due to re-districting, the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club now has parts of its boundaries in Richard Pombo's district. Because these boundaries overlap in Morgan Hill, citizens in this area can be of immense importance by telling Mr. Pombo that wild places in California are important and need protection.
We have every hope that Mr. Thompson's bill will pass through the Resources Committee and become the law of the land. The introduction of his bill follows the successful work by Senator Boxer, Representative Sam Farr (CA-17), and countless activists in Monterey County who were successful in creating almost 60,000 acres of wilderness with the passage of The Big Sur Wilderness and Conservation Act of 2002. This legislation added 37,000 acres of new wilderness to the rugged coastal Ventana Wilderness Area in the Santa Lucia Mountains between the Big Sur Coast and the Salinas Valley.
Other spectacular places protected in this legislation include new Wilderness additions to Pinnacles National Monument (in the boundaries of the Loma Prieta Chapter, with nearly 3,000 acres added to the Northern Boundary of the Park) and Silver Peak Wilderness (south of the Ventana Wilderness).
In addition to the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Act, Sen. Boxer will also re-introduce the statewide California Wild Heritage Act, which would protect 2.5 million acres and 22 rivers throughout California. Senator Boxer first introduced this legislation in the 107th congress on May 11, 2002, and will continue to work diligently with her constituents and colleagues in California to win far-reaching support for this landmark legislation.
Senator Dianne Feinstein has yet to take a firm position on this or any of the Wild Heritage bills. It is hoped that because Rep.
Thompson introduced his Northern California Coastal Wilderness bill for areas only within his district, that as a political courtesy to him and their constituents in the First District that Sen. Feinstein will support (and co-sponsor) Senator Boxer's Senate version of Mike Thompson's bill. For without the visible support of Sen. Feinstein, this legislation will face an uphill battle. As history has shown, without the approval of both senators from a state with proposed wilderness, it has been prohibitively difficult to pass legislation.
For more information on the California Wild Heritage Campaign and information about statewide guided hikes, contact: Dave Westman, Sierra Club, Bay Area California Wild Heritage Campaign Organizer, 510/622-0290 x 220;
e-mail: dave.westman*sierraclub.org (replace * with @).
Website: www.Californiawild.org.
For more information on protecting California forests, contact: Karen Maki, Loma Prieta Forest Protection Committee Chair, 650/366-0577;
e-mail: karenmaki*earthlink.net (replace * with @).
To learn more about wilderness issues, contact: Patricia Jones, SF Bay Chapter Wilderness Committee Chair, 510/548-2204;
e-mail: protectwildplaces*yahoo.com (replace * with @).
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Write a letter to Sen. Feinstein and/or Rep Pombo. Use the sample letter below to base your comments. Mention a specific area that you enjoy visiting, or a particular reason why you support Wilderness. You might mention your business or profession to help personalize the letter. Be sure to include your name and address. The more original a letter is, the better! Use letterhead if you have it.
Letters should be sent to:
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
c/o The California Wild Heritage Campaign
827 Broadway St., Suite 310
Oakland, CA 94607
The Honorable Richard Pombo
c/o The California Wild Heritage Campaign
827 Broadway St., Suite 310
Oakland, CA 94607
Dear Senator Feinstein (or) Rep. Pombo,
Please join Representative Mike Thompson and Senator Barbara Boxer in supporting the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act of 2003.
I strongly support Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River designation for all the areas included in bills HR 1501 and S738. I urge protection for Berryessa Peak and Cache Creek Wild & Scenic River as well. Many of these areas are small jewels of public wild lands that have provided hunting and camping recreation for generations of Californians. Other areas are critical plant and wildlife habitat adjacent to and biologically part of existing Wilderness areas but still unprotected.
The Black Butte River, a major tributary to the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork Eel River, is home to endangered salmon and steelhead and the potential home of a renewed and thriving fishery if protected. Cache Creek is a favorite white water rafting stream and its canyon hosts California's second largest wintering population of bald eagles.
Thank you for your past leadership in protecting California's wild places. I look forward to hearing back from you regarding your position on this issue.
Sincerely,
(Signature, address, date)