Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act

Summary

Creates a large federal restoration area in northern California and designates multiple new wilderness units, wilderness additions, two special management areas, and new/authorized recreation trails on National Forest and BLM land. It requires joint restoration and fire-management planning, sets planning and mapping timelines, protects certain utility rights-of-way, and preserves Tribal access for traditional and cultural activities. Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to produce restoration and fire-management plans within set deadlines, to complete feasibility and designation steps for specified trails if criteria are met, and to prepare management plans and maps for newly designated areas. The bill withdraws the restoration area from certain land uses (like new mining claims and leasing), maintains existing rights (including grazing and utility rights), and emphasizes collaborative, inclusive planning with State, Tribal, local, and public input.

• Creates the South Fork Trinity–Mad River Restoration Area (~871,414 acres) to focus on forest restoration, aquatic habitat, water quality, and wildfire risk reduction.
• Requires joint restoration and updated fire-management plans from the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior within two years, emphasizing prescribed fire and shaded fuel breaks.
• Designates multiple new wilderness units and wilderness additions across National Forest and BLM lands in California, to be managed under the Wilderness Act.
• Establishes two Special Management Areas (Horse Mountain and Sanhedrin) with 5-year management-plan deadlines and allows a broad range of recreational uses consistent with conservation goals.
• Directs a feasibility study for the Bigfoot National Recreation Trail and provides for designation if statutory criteria are met; creates the Elk Camp Ridge Recreation Trail with private‑landowner consent protections.
• Withdraws the restoration area from certain land uses (new mining location/entry/patent and mineral/geothermal leasing), while preserving valid existing rights such as grazing and utilities.
• Requires mapping, legal descriptions, and incorporation of new designations into land/resource management plans; maps will be publicly available and have legal force.
• Protects Tribal access for traditional and cultural activities and permits limited temporary closures to safeguard those activities.
• Preserves and directs PG&E rights-of-way and upgrades with required access plans to be published within a year; limits private land acquisition without consent.
• Emphasizes collaborative planning with State, Tribal, local governments, adjacent private landowners, NGOs, and the public at multiple decision points.