THE NORTHCOAST ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER SUPPORTS INTRODUCTION OF HUFFMAN/HARRIS BILL TO RESTORE AND PROTECT NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA PUBLIC LANDS AND RIVERS
The ‘‘Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act’’ is good for local economies, and improves forest health and wildfire resiliency
April 11, 2019: On Wednesday, April 10th, Congressman Jared Huffman and US Senator from California, Kamala Harris, reintroduced ‘‘Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act’’ in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The Northcoast Environmental Center (NEC) is grateful to Congressman Huffman and Senator Harris for their support in Northwest California on behalf of environmental protection, recreation economy and safety measures for fire-prone communities near our forests. The NEC has worked closely with local stakeholders, community leaders and a coalition of local and national environmental organizations to help identify opportunities to protect our public lands, strengthen our local recreation economy and help address fire concerns from our communities located near forests. If enacted, the bills would:
- Protect over 300,000 acres of federal public lands in perpetuity from road-building and other development
- Protect over 370 miles of some of our wildest remaining rivers from new dams and water diversions
- Promote forest restoration and fuel-reduction work across 700,000 acres of public land. This will help to improve the ecological health of forests that were clear-cut in the past while reducing fire-danger along roads (where most fires start) and near communities by providing potential control points
- Authorize the construction of over 295 miles of new trails open to horses, hikers and mountain bikes
- Begin to help fully restore the thousands of sites on public lands affected by illegal cannabis cultivation
As Jennifer Johnson, owner of Adventures Edge in Arcata and Eureka said in support of the bill: “Because of my role as a local business owner and parent, I see the many benefits of these protected places because of the money they bring to our community and the physical well-being of those who access and enjoy these places. “
“The Northcoast Environmental Center is proud to support the ‘‘Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act’’ reintroduced into Congress this week by both Representative Jared Huffman and Senator Kamala Harris,” states Larry Glass, Executive Director for the Northcoast Environmental Center. “The NEC and our member groups have been a strong local voice for sustainable management and protection of our public lands and rivers while recognizing the importance of our resources to our local economy. We only have a few opportunities in our lifetimes to have such a large positive impact on what we leave for future generations. This is one of those times.”
Information and Updates on this bill can be found here: https://mountainsandrivers.org/
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The Northcoast Environmental Center, since 1971, is a coalition of environmental groups and activists from Northwest California that promotes understanding of the relations between people and the biosphere and to conserve, protect, and celebrate terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems of northern California and southern Oregon. https://www.yournec.org/
