BILL ANALYSIS �
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | ACR 143|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: ACR 143
Author: Bigelow (R), et al.
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 6/12/14 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Buffalo Soldiers: Yosemite National Park
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution recognizes the legacy of the Buffalo
Soldiers and honors the important role they played in the
history of our national parks.
ANALYSIS : This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1.African American army regiments that had been dispatched
westward fought in the Indian Wars and these soldiers were
eventually given the name Buffalo Soldiers by the Cheyenne and
other Plains Indians. Although historians have recorded the
service of these Buffalo Soldiers on the western frontier,
their service in some national parks has been nearly
forgotten.
2.The U.S. 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
CONTINUED
ACR 143
Page
2
know it today.
3.Buffalo Soldiers were among the first park rangers and
backcountry rangers patrolling parts of the west.
4.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.
5.Commanding officers of the U.S. Army became acting military
superintendents for these national parks with two troops of
cavalry assigned to each park. Each troop would be made up of
approximately 60 men.
6.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.
7.Among their many accomplishments, the troops assigned to
Yosemite National Park oversaw the building of an 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 U.S.' national park system.
This resolution recognizes the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers
and honors the important role they played in the history of our
national parks.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 6/12/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, V.
ACR 143
Page
3
Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,
Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gorell, Hall, Harkey, Vacancy
RM:k 6/17/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
**** END ****