Jared Huffman: “I thank the ranking member for yielding time, and I thank the chairman and the ranking member for supporting this bill.…”

“I thank the ranking member for yielding time, and I thank the chairman and the ranking member for supporting this bill. I appreciate the chance to just take a moment to talk a little more about the importance of this bill to my district. The Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area is in northern California, part of it in my district and part of it in Mr. LaMalfa's district. It spans 246,000 acres and includes the Shasta, Trinity, Lewiston, and Whiskeytown lakes. It is a recreation paradise. Every year, more than 3\1/2\ million people visit this area for all manner of outdoor activities, such as fishing, camping, horseback riding, swimming, paddling, backpacking, and more. The area is a fundamental part of our regions' identity and our economy. It is one of our most popular tourist attractions, and it is obviously a very vital economic driver. The U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service manage the Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area and support a large variety of these recreation opportunities and improvement projects, such as boat ramp upgrades, public service announcements about boating and water safety, enhancing accessibility to the lakes for those with disabilities, floating restrooms, and interpretive and educational programs. The marina fees that they use to complete this work also support fire prevention patrols and fund 15 permanent staff members and 9 seasonal employees who make it possible for everyone to enjoy the recreation area.…”