House Natural Resources Committee Holds Hearing on Huffman’s Trinity County Land Exchange Bill
WASHINGTON—Today, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation held a hearing on Congressman Jared Huffman’s Trinity Land Exchange Act (H.R. 3326), which would help Trinity County’s economy by facilitating a land exchange between the Trinity Public Utilities District, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The bill would swap federal land adjacent to the Weaverville Airport for county land along the Trinity River. This hearing is the last step before a full committee vote on H.R. 3326.
Huffman invited Paul Hauser, General Manager of the Trinity Public Utilities District, to testify before the committee. Hauser is the fourth of Huffman’s constituents to testify before the Natural Resources Committee in the 113th Congress.
Trinity County has very little land suitable for economic development—approximately 80% of its land is held by the federal government—and much of it is difficult to access due to terrain or location. This land exchange, introduced jointly with Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who represented Trinity County during his time as a California State Senator, would grant Trinity County a much-needed parcel accessible by highway and uniquely suited for economic development, allow improved public access to a Wild and Scenic River, and provide a fair return for federal taxpayers.
“I’m glad that the Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on our important bipartisan bill to help Trinity County’s economy and further our shared priorities of economic development and environmental protection in Northern California,” Congressman Huffman said. “Partnerships with land management agencies are critical for Trinity County’s economic development, and I’m glad Trinity County has been able to develop a win-win plan with the federal agencies that meets the needs of all parties.”
Hauser testified:
“Trinity County is one of the poorest counties in the state of California. Though Trinity County is large, the federal government owns more than 80% of the county’s land. While in past decades Trinity County saw much economic activity from mining and timber harvesting, these two industries have virtually shut down within the county. With almost no economic activity taking place on 80% of our land area, the economy is severely strained. Our schools and local government are in a mode of perpetual cuts as they try to meet the needs of residents with continually declining revenue sources.
“With so much county land owned by the federal government and the extreme topography so common in the area there is very little developable land available. TPUD is actively pursuing economic development activities, but this difficult task is made nearly impossible when you have no place to site a new business or homes for the new employees to live. The Trinity County Land Exchange Act of 2013 would facilitate a federal land transfer between the United States Forest Service (USFS), the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and TPUD that would provide our community with acreage to facilitate much needed economic development,” Hauser testified.
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