Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 878 To provide for restoration, economic development, recreation, and conservation on Federal lands in Northern California, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 5, 2021 Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Ms. CHU, and Mr. CARBAJAL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To provide for restoration, economic development, recreation, and conservation on Federal lands in Northern Cali- fornia, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Work- 5 ing Forests Act’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H878.IH H878 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 878 IH TITLE I—RESTORATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Sec. 101. South Fork Trinity-Mad River Restoration Area. Sec. 102. Redwood National and State Parks restoration. Sec. 103. California Public Lands Remediation Partnership. Sec. 104. Trinity Lake visitor center. Sec. 105. Del Norte County visitor center. Sec. 106. Management plans. Sec. 107. Study; partnerships related to overnight accommodations. TITLE II—RECREATION Sec. 201. Horse Mountain Special Management Area. Sec. 202. Bigfoot National Recreation Trail. Sec. 203. Elk Camp Ridge Recreation Trail. Sec. 204. Trinity Lake Trail. Sec. 205. Trails study. Sec. 206. Construction of mountain bicycling routes. Sec. 207. Partnerships. TITLE III—CONSERVATION Sec. 301. Designation of wilderness. Sec. 302. Administration of wilderness. Sec. 303. Designation of potential wilderness. Sec. 304. Designation of wild and scenic rivers. Sec. 305. Sanhedrin Special Conservation Management Area. TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS Sec. 401. Maps and legal descriptions. Sec. 402. Updates to land and resource management plans. Sec. 403. Pacific Gas and Electric Company Utility facilities and rights-of-way. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 3 means— 4 (A) with respect to land under the jurisdic- 5 tion of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Sec- 6 retary of Agriculture; and 7 (B) with respect to land under the jurisdic- 8 tion of the Secretary of the Interior, the Sec- 9 retary of the Interior. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H878.IH H878 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 878 IH (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 1 of California. 2 TITLE I—RESTORATION AND 3 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 4 SEC. 101. SOUTH FORK TRINITY-MAD RIVER RESTORATION 5 AREA. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) COLLABORATIVELY DEVELOPED.—The term 8 ‘‘collaboratively developed’’ means projects that are 9 developed and implemented through a collaborative 10 process that— 11 (A) includes— 12 (i) appropriate Federal, State, and 13 local agencies; and 14 (ii) multiple interested persons rep- 15 resenting diverse interests; and 16 (B) is transparent and nonexclusive. 17 (2) PLANTATION.—The term ‘‘plantation’’ 18 means a forested area that has been artificially es- 19 tablished by planting or seeding. 20 (3) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 21 means the process of assisting the recovery of an 22 ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or de- 23 stroyed by establishing the composition, structure, 24 pattern, and ecological processes necessary to facili- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H878.IH H878 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 878 IH tate terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem sustainability, 1 resilience, and health under current and future con- 2 ditions. 3 (4) RESTORATION AREA.—The term ‘‘restora- 4 tion area’’ means the South Fork Trinity-Mad River 5 Restoration Area, established by subsection (b). 6 (5) SHADED FUEL BREAK.—The term ‘‘shaded 7 fuel break’’ means a vegetation treatment that effec- 8 tively addresses all project-generated slash and that 9 retains: adequate canopy cover to suppress plant re- 10 growth in the forest understory following treatment; 11 the longest lived trees that provide the most shade 12 over the longest period of time; the healthiest and 13 most vigorous trees with the greatest potential for 14 crown-growth in plantations and in natural stands 15 adjacent to plantations; and all mature hardwoods, 16 when practicable. 17 (6) STEWARDSHIP CONTRACT.—The term 18 ‘‘stewardship contract’’ means an agreement or con- 19 tract entered into under section 604 of the Healthy 20 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c). 21 (7) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term 22 ‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning given 23 the term by section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res- 24 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H878.IH H878 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 878 IH (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to valid existing 1 rights, there is established the South Fork Trinity-Mad 2 River Restoration Area, comprising approximately 3 871,414 acres of Federal land administered by the Forest 4 Service and Bureau of Land Management, as generally de- 5 picted on the map entitled ‘‘South Fork Trinity-Mad River 6 Restoration Area’’ and dated May 15, 2020, to be known 7 as the South Fork Trinity-Mad River Restoration Area. 8 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the restoration area 9 are to— 10 (1) establish, restore, and maintain fire-resilient 11 forest structures containing late successional forest 12 structure characterized by large trees and multisto- 13 ried canopies, as ecologically appropriate; 14 (2) protect late successional reserves; 15 (3) enhance the restoration of Federal lands 16 within the restoration area; 17 (4) reduce the threat posed by wildfires to com- 18 munities within the restoration area; 19 (5) protect and restore aquatic habitat and 20 anadromous fisheries; 21 (6) protect the quality of water within the res- 22 toration area; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H878.IH H878 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 878 IH (7) allow visitors to enjoy the scenic, rec- 1 reational, natural, cultural, and wildlife values of the 2 restoration area. 3 (d) MANAGEMENT.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage 5 the restoration area— 6 (A) in a manner consistent with the pur- 7 poses described in subsection (c); 8 (B) in a manner that— 9 (i) in the case of the Forest Service, 10 prioritizes restoration of the restoration 11 area over other nonemergency vegetation 12 management projects on the portions of 13 the Six Rivers and Shasta-Trinity National 14 Forests in Humboldt and Trinity Counties; 15 and 16 (ii) in the case of the United States 17 Fish and Wildlife Service, establishes with 18 the Forest Service an agreement for co- 19 operation to ensure timely completion of 20 consultation required by section 7 of the 21 Endangered Species Act (15 U.S.C. 1536) 22 on restoration projects within the restora- 23 tion area and agreement to maintain and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H878.IH H878 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 878 IH exchange information on planning sched- 1 ules and priorities on a regular basis; 2 (C) in accordance with— 3 (i) the laws (including regulations) 4 and rules applicable to the National Forest 5 System for land managed by the Forest 6 Service; 7 (ii) the Federal Land Policy and Man- 8 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 9 seq.) for land managed by the Bureau of 10 Land Management; 11 (iii) this Act; and 12 (iv) any other applicable law (includ- 13 ing regulations); and 14 (D) in a manner consistent with congres- 15 sional intent that consultation for restoration 16 projects within the restoration area is com- 17 pleted in a timely and efficient manner. 18 (2) CONFLICT OF LAWS.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The establishment of 20 the restoration area shall not change the man- 21 agement status of any land or water that is 22 designated wilderness or as a wild and scenic 23 river, including lands and waters designated by 24 this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H878.IH H878 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 878 IH (B) RESOLUTION OF CONFLICT.—If there 1 is a conflict between the laws applicable to the 2 areas described in subparagraph (A) and this 3 section, the more restrictive provision shall con- 4 trol. 5 (3) USES.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 7 only allow uses of the restoration area that the 8 Secretary determines would further the pur- 9 poses described in subsection (c). 10 (B) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall 11 prioritize restoration activities within the res- 12 toration area. 13 (C) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section 14 shall limit the Secretary’s ability to plan, ap- 15 prove, or prioritize activities outside of the res- 16 toration area. 17 (4) WILDLAND FIRE.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section 19 prohibits the Secretary, in cooperation with 20 other Federal, State, and local agencies, as ap- 21 propriate, from conducting wildland fire oper- 22 ations in the restoration area, consistent with 23 the purposes of this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H878.IH H878 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 878 IH (B) PRIORITY.—The Secretary may use 1 prescribed burning and managed wildland fire 2 to the fullest extent practicable to achieve the 3 purposes of this section. 4 (5) ROAD DECOMMISSIONING.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—To the extent prac- 6 ticable, the Secretary shall decommission 7 unneeded National Forest System roads identi- 8 fied for decommissioning and unauthorized 9 roads identified for decommissioning within the 10 restoration area— 11 (i) subject to appropriations; 12 (ii) consistent with the analysis re- 13 quired by subparts A and B of part 212 of 14 title 36, Code of Federal Regulations; and 15 (iii) in accordance with existing law. 16 (B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—In mak- 17 ing determinations regarding road decommis- 18 sioning under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 19 shall consult with— 20 (i) appropriate State, Tribal, and local 21 governmental entities; and 22 (ii) members of the public. 23 (C) DEFINITION.—As used in subpara- 24 graph (A), the term ‘‘decommission’’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H878.IH H878 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 878 IH (i) to reestablish vegetation on a road; 1 and 2 (ii) to restore any natural drainage, 3 watershed function, or other ecological 4 processes that are disrupted or adversely 5 impacted by the road by removing or 6 hydrologically disconnecting the road 7 prism. 8 (6) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 10 graphs (B), (C), and (D), the Secretary may 11 conduct vegetation management projects in the 12 restoration area only where necessary to— 13 (i) maintain or restore the character- 14 istics of ecosystem composition and struc- 15 ture; 16 (ii) reduce wildfire risk to commu- 17 nities by promoting forests that are fire re- 18 silient; 19 (iii) improve the habitat of threatened, 20 endangered, or sensitive species; 21 (iv) protect or improve water quality; 22 or 23 (v) enhance the restoration of lands 24 within the restoration area. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H878.IH H878 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 878 IH (B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 1 (i) SHADED FUEL BREAKS.—In car- 2 rying out subparagraph (A), the Secretary 3 shall prioritize, as practicable, the estab- 4 lishment of a network of shaded fuel 5 breaks within— 6 (I) the portions of the wildland- 7 urban interface that are within 150 8 feet from private property contiguous 9 to Federal land; 10 (II) 150 feet from any road that 11 is open to motorized vehicles as of the 12 date of enactment of this Act— 13 (aa) except that, where to- 14 pography or other conditions re- 15 quire, the Secretary may estab- 16 lish shaded fuel breaks up to 275 17 feet from a road so long as the 18 combined total width of the 19 shaded fuel breaks for both sides 20 of the road does not exceed 300 21 feet; and 22 (bb) provided that the Sec- 23 retary shall include vegetation 24 treatments within a minimum of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H878.IH H878 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 878 IH 25 feet of the road where prac- 1 ticable, feasible, and appropriate 2 as part of any shaded fuel break; 3 or 4 (III) 150 feet of any plantation. 5 (ii) PLANTATIONS; RIPARIAN RE- 6 SERVES.—The Secretary may undertake 7 vegetation management projects— 8 (I) in areas within the restora- 9 tion area in which fish and wildlife 10 habitat is significantly compromised 11 as a result of past management prac- 12 tices (including plantations); and 13 (II) within designated riparian 14 reserves only where necessary to 15 maintain the integrity of fuel breaks 16 and to enhance fire resilience. 17 (C) COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary shall 18 carry out vegetation management projects with- 19 in the restoration area— 20 (i) in accordance with— 21 (I) this section; and 22 (II) existing law (including regu- 23 lations); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:27 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H878.IH H878 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 878 IH (ii) after providing an opportunity for 1 public comment; and 2 (iii) subject to appropriations. 3 (D) BEST AVAILABLE SCIENCE.—The Sec- 4 retary shall use the best available science in 5 planning and implementing vegetation manage- 6 ment projects within the restoration area. 7 (7) GRAZING.— 8 (A) EXISTING GRAZING.—The grazing of 9 livestock in the restoration area, where estab- 10 lished before the date of enactment of this Act, 11 shall be permitted to continue— 12 (i) subject to— 13 (I) such reasonable regulations, 14 policies, and practices as the Sec- 15 retary considers necessary; and 16 (II) applicable law (including reg- 17 ulations); and 18 (ii) in a manner consistent with th [Text truncated for display. 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