Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 312.
Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act
This bill sets forth provisions concerning the restoration, economic development, and conservation of, and recreational access to, certain public lands in Northern California.
The bill establishes
the South Fork Trinity-Mad River Restoration Area,
the California Public Lands Remediation Partnership,
the Trinity Lake and Del Norte County visitor centers,
the Horse Mountain Special Management Area,
the Elk Camp Ridge National Recreation Trail, and
the Sanhedrin Special Conservation Management Area.
The bill designates
specified federal lands as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System,
the North Fork Wilderness as the North Fork Eel River Wilderness,
specified federal lands as potential wilderness areas, and
specified segments of certain rivers and creeks and of a specified river estuary as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
Also, the bill
authorizes the utilization of certain forest residues for research and development of bio-based products that result in net carbon sequestration;
authorizes initiatives to restore degraded redwood forest ecosystems in the Redwood National Forest and state parks;
requires studies concerning certain visitor accommodations near Redwood National and State Parks;
requires a study of establishing a nonmotorized Bigfoot National Recreation Trail;
requires a study concerning a recreational trail around Trinity Lake;
requires studies concerning recreational trails in the Six Rivers, Shasta-Trinity, and Mendocino National Forests;
requires a study concerning recreational trails for mountain bicycling and other nonmotorized uses in the Smith River National Recreation Area;
authorizes partnerships for trail and campground maintenance, public education, visitor contacts, and visitor center staffing on federal lands in Mendocino, Humboldt, Trinity, and Del Norte Counties; and
adjusts the boundaries of the Elkhorn Ridge Wilderness.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House" stage on February 4, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 4, 2020: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 312.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Jared Huffman (D-CA) introduced it on April 10, 2019, and 23 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 23 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 10, 2019, 2710 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2410 days ago, on February 4, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers