BILL ANALYSIS Ó
ACR 174
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Jim Frazier, Chair
ACR 174
(Bigelow) - As Introduced April 21, 2016
SUBJECT: Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Highway
SUMMARY: Designates a portion of State Highway 41 from the
Mariposa-Madera County line to the entrance of Yosemite National
Park as the "Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Highway." Specifically,
this resolution:
1)Designates the portion of State Highway Route 41 from post
mile 1.841 at the Mariposa - Madera County line to post mile
4.918 at the entrance to Yosemite National Park as the
"Buffalo Soldiers Memorial Highway."
2)Requests that the Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
determine the costs of erecting appropriate signs, which would
include this special designation, consistent with the signing
requirements for the state highway system, and upon receiving
donations from non-state sources covering the cost, to erect
those signs.
EXISTING LAW: Assigns Caltrans the responsibility of operating
and maintaining state highways including the installation and
maintenance of highway signs.
ACR 174
Page 2
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown, but the measure requests that Caltrans
only erect the appropriate signage upon receiving donations from
non-state sources covering the cost.
COMMENTS: The author seeks to honor the Buffalo Soldiers and
their historic connection and legacy with our National Parks,
specifically Yosemite National Park by designating a portion of
State Highway 41 to the entrance of Yosemite as the "Buffalo
Soldiers Memorial Highway."
In 1866, the United States Congress created six segregated
regiments that were ultimately consolidated into four African
American regiments: the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and
25th Infantry. The United States Army served as the official
administrator of Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks between
1891 and 1913. In that capacity, it helped create a model for
park management as we know it today. Approximately 500 Buffalo
Soldiers, mainly from the 24th Infantry and 9th Cavalry, served
in Yosemite National Park and Sequoia National Park. Their
duties ranged from evicting poachers and timber thieves to
extinguishing forest fires. They also oversaw the construction
of roads, trails, and other infrastructure.
The author notes that the presence of these troops invigorated
the local economy and the soldiers acting as official stewards
of park lands brought a sense of law and order to the mountain
wilderness. Among their many other accomplishments, the troops
assigned to Yosemite National Park oversaw the building of an
ACR 174
Page 3
arboretum near the south fork of the Merced River in 1904. One
scholar considered the area to contain the first marked nature
trail in the National Park System.
According to the author, as the nation celebrates the centennial
of the National Park System this year, this resolution would not
only honor the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers in connection to
our parks, but forever build a bridge for all future generations
to understand that these incredible treasures belong to each and
every one of us.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Melissa White / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
ACR 174
Page 4