Legislation

S. 341: San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act

February 14, 2013

STATUS:

  •  February 14, 2013.--Introduced.
  •  April 25, 2013.--Hearing by subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining.
  • June 18, 2013.--Full committee markup; ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
  • September 10, 2013.--Reported to the Senate with amendments. S. Rept. 113-99.
  • September 10, 2013.--Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar [Calendar No. 177].

S.341

San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act (Introduced in Senate - IS)

S 341 IS

113th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 341

To designate certain lands in San Miguel, Ouray, and San Juan Counties, Colorado, as wilderness, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 14, 2013

Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself and Mr. BENNET) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To designate certain lands in San Miguel, Ouray, and San Juan Counties, Colorado, as wilderness, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the `San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act'.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:

      (1) COVERED LAND- The term `covered land' means--

      (A) land designated as wilderness under paragraphs (20) through (22) of section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 103-77; 107 Stat. 756); and

      (B) land in the Special Management Area.

      (2) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Agriculture.

      (3) SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA- The term `Special Management Area' means the Sheep Mountain Special Management Area designated by section 4(a).

      (4) STATE- The term `State' means the State of Colorado.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM.

    Section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 103-77; 107 Stat. 756) is amended by adding at the end the following:

      `(20) LIZARD HEAD WILDERNESS ADDITION- Certain Federal land in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests comprising approximately 3,350 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled `Proposed Wilson, Sunshine, Black Face and San Bernardo Additions to the Lizard Head Wilderness' and dated December 1, 2010, which is incorporated in, and shall be administered as part of, the Lizard Head Wilderness.

      `(21) MOUNT SNEFFELS WILDERNESS ADDITIONS-

      `(A) LIBERTY BELL AND LAST DOLLAR ADDITIONS- Certain Federal land in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests comprising approximately 8,250 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled `Proposed Liberty Bell and Last Dollar Additions to the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness' and dated December 1, 2010, which is incorporated in, and shall be administered as part of, the Mount Sneffels Wilderness.

      `(B) WHITEHOUSE ADDITIONS- Certain Federal land in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests comprising approximately 13,000 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled `Proposed Whitehouse Additions to the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness' and dated December 1, 2010, which is incorporated in, and shall be administered as part of, the Mount Sneffels Wilderness.

      `(22) MCKENNA PEAK WILDERNESS- Certain Federal land in the State of Colorado comprising approximately 8,600 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, as generally depicted on the map entitled `McKenna Peak Wilderness' and dated November 10, 2010, to be known as the `McKenna Peak Wilderness'.'.

SEC. 4. SHEEP MOUNTAIN SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA.

    (a) Designation- Certain Federal land in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison and San Juan National Forests comprising approximately 21,620 acres as generally depicted on the map entitled `Proposed Sheep Mountain Special Management Area' and dated December 2, 2010, is designated as the `Sheep Mountain Special Management Area'.

    (b) Purpose- The purpose of the Special Management Area is to conserve and protect for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations the geological, cultural, archaeological, paleontological, natural, scientific, recreational, wilderness, wildlife, riparian, historical, educational, and scenic resources of the Special Management Area.

    (c) Management-

      (1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall manage the Special Management Area in a manner that--

      (A) conserves, protects, and enhances the resources and values of the Special Management Area described in subsection (b);

      (B) maintains or improves the wilderness character of the Special Management Area and the suitability of the Special Management Area for potential inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System; and

      (C) is in accordance with--

      (i) the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.);

      (ii) this Act; and

      (iii) any other applicable laws.

      (2) PROHIBITIONS- The following shall be prohibited in the Special Management Area:

      (A) Permanent roads.

      (B) Except as necessary to meet the minimum requirements for the administration of the Federal land and to protect public health and safety--

      (i) the use of motor vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transport (other than provided in paragraph (3)); and

      (ii) the establishment of temporary roads.

      (3) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES-

      (A) IN GENERAL- The Secretary may allow any activities (including helicopter access for recreation and maintenance) that have been authorized by permit or license as of the date of enactment of this Act to continue within the Special Management Area, subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may require.

      (B) PERMITTING- The designation of the Special Management Area by subsection (a) shall not affect the issuance of permits relating to the activities covered under subparagraph (A) after the date of enactment of this Act.

    (d) Applicable Law- Water and water rights in the Special Management Area shall be administered in accordance with section 8 of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-77; 107 Stat. 762), except that--

      (1) any reference in that section to `the lands designated as wilderness by this Act', `the Piedra, Roubideau, and Tabeguache areas identified in section 9 of this Act, or the Bowen Gulch Protection Area or the Fossil Ridge Recreation Management Area identified in sections 5 and 6 of this Act', or `the areas described in sections 2, 5, 6, and 9 of this Act' shall be considered to be a reference to the `the Special Management Area'; and

      (2) any reference in that section to `this Act' shall be considered to be a reference to `the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Act'.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

    (a) Authorized Events- The Secretary may continue to authorize the competitive running event permitted since 1992 in the vicinity of the Special Management Area and the Liberty Bell addition to the Mount Sneffels Wilderness designated by section 2(a)(21) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (as added by section 3) in a manner compatible with the preservation of the areas as wilderness.

    (b) Fish and Wildlife- Nothing in this Act affects the jurisdiction or responsibility of the State with respect to fish and wildlife in the State.

    (c) No Buffer Zones-

      (1) IN GENERAL- Nothing in this Act creates a protective perimeter or buffer zone around covered land.

      (2) ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE WILDERNESS- The fact that a nonwilderness activity or use on land outside of the covered land can be seen or heard from within covered land shall not preclude the conduct of the activity or use outside the boundary of the covered land.

    (d) Maps and Legal Descriptions-

      (1) IN GENERAL- As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary or the Secretary of the Interior, as appropriate, shall file a map and a legal description of each wilderness area designated by paragraphs (20) through (22) of section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (as added by section 3) and the Special Management Area with--

      (A) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; and

      (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.

      (2) FORCE OF LAW- Each map and legal description filed under paragraph (1) shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that the Secretary or the Secretary of the Interior, as appropriate, may correct clerical and typographical errors in each map and legal description.

      (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY- Each map and legal description filed under paragraph (1) shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service.

    (e) Acquisition of Land-

      (1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary or the Secretary of the Interior, as appropriate, may acquire any land or interest in land within the boundaries of the Special Management Area or the wilderness designated under paragraphs (20) through (22) of section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (as added by section 3) only through exchange, donation, or purchase from a willing seller.

      (2) MANAGEMENT- Any land or interest in land acquired under paragraph (1) shall be incorporated into, and administered as a part of, the wilderness or Special Management Area in which the land or interest in land is located.

    (f) Grazing- The grazing of livestock on covered land, if established before the date of enactment of this Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable regulations as are considered necessary by the Secretary with jurisdiction over the covered land, in accordance with--

      (1) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)); and

      (2) the guidelines set forth in Appendix A of the report of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives accompanying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress (H. Rept. 101-405) and H.R. 5487 of the 96th Congress (H. Rept. 96-617).

    (g) Withdrawal- Subject to valid rights in existence on the date of enactment of this Act, the covered land and the approximately 6,600 acres generally depicted on the map entitled `Proposed Naturita Canyon Mineral Withdrawal Area' and dated January 26, 2010, is withdrawn from--

      (1) entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws;

      (2) location, entry, and patent under mining laws; and

      (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws.

SEC. 6. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.

    Subtitle E of title II of Public Law 111-11 (16 U.S.C. 460zzz et seq.) is amended--

      (1) by redesignating section 2408 (16 U.S.C. 460zzz-7) as section 2409; and

      (2) by inserting after section 2407 (16 U.S.C. 460zzz-6) the following:

`SEC. 2408. RELEASE.

    `(a) In General- Congress finds that, for the purposes of section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)), the portions of the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Study Area not designated as wilderness by this subtitle have been adequately studied for wilderness designation.

    `(b) Release- Any public land referred to in subsection (a) that is not designated as wilderness by this subtitle--

      `(1) is no longer subject to section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)); and

        `(2) shall be managed in accordance with this subtitle and any other applicable laws.'.