I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3327
To designate certain public lands as wilderness and certain rivers as wild 
and scenic rivers in the northern portion of the State of California, 
to designate Salmon Restoration Areas, to establish the Sacramento 
River National Conservation Area, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 16, 2003
Mr. THOMPSON of California (for himself, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. LANTOS, Ms. HAR-
MAN, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. STARK, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, 
and Ms. LEE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Resources 
A BILL 
To designate certain public lands as wilderness and certain 
rivers as wild and scenic rivers in the northern portion 
of the State of California, to designate Salmon Restora-
tion Areas, to establish the Sacramento River National 
Conservation Area, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Northern California Wild Heritage Act of 2003’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
TITLE I—DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS 
Sec. 101. Designation of wilderness areas on National Forest System lands, 
Bureau of Land Management lands, and National Park System 
lands. 
Sec. 102. Administration of wilderness areas. 
Sec. 103. Designation of Salmon Restoration Areas. 
Sec. 104. Designation of wilderness study areas. 
Sec. 105. Designation of potential wilderness areas. 
TITLE II—WILD AND SCENIC RIVER DESIGNATIONS 
Sec. 201. Designation of wild and scenic rivers. 
Sec. 202. Designation of wild and scenic rivers study area. 
TITLE III—SACRAMENTO RIVER NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA 
Sec. 301. Designation of Sacramento River National Conservation Area. 
Sec. 302. Management of conservation area. 
Sec. 303. Authorization of appropriations. 
TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAMS 
Sec. 401. Wilderness and wild and scenic river tourism development. 
Sec. 402. Wilderness and wild and scenic rivers recreation development. 
Sec. 403. Firefighting. 
Sec. 404. Law enforcement.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The publicly owned lands and rivers of Cali-
fornia are a wildland resource of extraordinary value 
for this and future generations. 
(2) Increasing pressure from California’s rap-
idly growing population threatens to irrevocably 
harm these remaining wild areas and wild rivers. 
(3) Statutory protection is needed for these 
areas to ensure that they remain a part of our nat-
ural heritage and continue to be a source of solitude 
and inspiration for all Americans. 
(4) Continuation of military activities, including 
overflights, military rotary wing environmental train-
ing, military maneuvers, testing and evaluation, and 
other activities without limit to frequency, is not in-
compatible with the protection and proper manage-
ment of the wilderness and wild and scenic river re-
sources designated by this Act. 
(5) Wildfire management activities necessary to 
protect public health and safety and private property 
are fully allowable in wilderness areas, and the Sec-
retary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Inte-
rior may take such measures as they consider nec-
essary to control or prevent fires. 
(6) These lands shall be included in the Na-
tional Wilderness Preservation System and the Na-
tional Wild and Scenic Rivers System, in order to—
(A) preserve the unique wild and natural 
features of these landscapes; 
(B) protect a diverse array of ecosystems, 
plants, animals, geologic structures and hydro-
logic features that represent the natural splen-
dor of California;
(C) protect and preserve historical and cul-
tural archaeological sites associated with an-
cient Indian cultures and the settlement of Cali-
fornia; 
(D) protect and preserve areas that con-
tinue to be used by Indian tribes for spiritual, 
cultural, or subsistence practices; 
(E) protect watersheds, including those 
that play an essential role in providing munic-
ipal and agricultural water and power supplies; 
(F) provide opportunities for compatible 
outdoor recreation, including horseback riding 
on saddle and pack stock, hunting and fishing, 
hiking and camping, whitewater rafting, trail 
running, and excursions led by commercial out-
fitters; 
(G) retain and enhance opportunities for 
scientific research in pristine ecosystems; and 
(H) promote the recovery of threatened 
and endangered species, including salmon and 
steelhead.
TITLE I—DESIGNATION OF 
WILDERNESS AREAS 
SEC. 101. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS ON NA-
TIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS, BUREAU OF 
LAND MANAGEMENT LANDS, AND NATIONAL 
PARK SYSTEM LANDS. 
In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the following public lands in the 
State of California are hereby designated as wilderness, 
and therefore, as components of the National Wilderness 
Preservation System: 
(1) Certain lands in the El Dorado and Hum-
boldt-Toiyabe National Forests, which comprise ap-
proximately 22,360 acres as generally depicted on a 
map entitled ‘‘Caples Creek Wilderness Area—Pro-
posed’’, dated May 2002, to be known as the Caples 
Creek Wilderness. 
(2) Certain lands in the El Dorado and Hum-
boldt-Toiyabe National Forests, which comprise ap-
proximately 19,380 acres as generally depicted on a 
map entitled ‘‘Meiss Meadows Wilderness Area—
Proposed’’, dated May 2002, to be known as the 
Meiss Meadows Wilderness. The designation shall 
not preclude operation and maintenance of the exist-
ing historic Forest Service Meiss Hut in the same