[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 236 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.236
One Hundred Third Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the fifth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-three
An Act
To establish the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area
in the
State of Idaho, 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. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management in
the State of Idaho within the Snake River Birds of Prey Area contain
one of the densest known nesting populations of eagles, falcons,
owls, hawks, and other birds of prey (raptors) in North America.
(2) These public lands constitute a valuable national biological
and educational resource since birds of prey are important
components of the ecosystem and indicators of environmental quality,
and contribute significantly to the quality of wildlife and human
communities.
(3) These public lands also contain important historic and
cultural resources (including significant archaeological resources)
as well as other resources and values, all of which should be
protected and appropriately managed.
(4) A military training area within the Snake River Birds of
Prey Area, known as the Orchard Training Area, has been used since
1953 by reserve components of the Armed Forces. Military use of this
area is currently governed by a Memorandum of Understanding between
the Bureau of Land Management and the State of Idaho Military
Division, dated May 1985. Operating under this Memorandum of
Understanding, the Idaho National Guard has provided valuable
assistance to the Bureau of Land Management with respect to fire
control and other aspects of management of the Orchard Training Area
and the other lands in the Snake River Birds of Prey Area. Military
use of the lands within the Orchard Training Area should continue in
accordance with such Memorandum of Understanding (or extension or
renewal thereof), to the extent consistent with section 4(e) of this
Act, because this would be in the best interest of training of the
reserve components (an important aspect of national security) and of
the local economy.
(5) Protection of the conservation area as a home for raptors
can best and should be accomplished by the Secretary of the
Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management, under a
management plan that--
(A) emphasizes management, protection, and rehabilitation of
habitat for these raptors and of other resources and values of
the area;
(B) provides for continued military use, consistent with the
requirements of section 4(e) of this Act, of the Orchard
Training Area by reserve components of the Armed Forces;
(C) addresses the need for public educational and
interpretive opportunities;
(D) allows for diverse appropriate uses of lands in the area
to the extent consistent with the maintenance and enhancement of
raptor populations and habitats and protection and sound
management of other resources and values of the area; and
(E) demonstrates management practices and techniques that
may be useful to other areas of the public lands and elsewhere.
(6) There exists near the conservation area a facility, the
World Center for Birds of Prey operated by The Peregrine Fund, Inc.,
where research, public education, recovery, and reestablishment
operations exist for endangered raptor species. There also exists at
Boise State University a raptor study program which attracts
national and international graduate and undergraduate students.
(7) The Bureau of Land Management and Boise State University,
together with other State, Federal, and private entities, have
formed the Raptor Research and Technical Assistance Center to be
housed at Boise State University, which provides a unique adjunct to
the conservation area for raptor management, recovery, research, and
public visitation, interpretation, and education.
(8) Consistent with requirements of sections 202 and 302 of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712 and
1732), the Secretary has developed a comprehensive management plan
and, based on such plan, has implemented a management program for
the public lands included in the conservation area established by
this Act.
(9) Additional authority and guidance must be provided to assure
that essential raptor habitat remains in public ownership, to
facilitate sound and effective planning and management, to provide
for effective public interpretation and education, to ensure
continued study of the relationship of humans and these raptors, to
preserve the unique and irreplaceable habitat of the conservation
area, and to conserve and properly manage the other natural
resources of the area in concert with maintenance of this habitat.
(10) An ongoing research program funded by the Bureau of Land
Management and the National Guard is intended to provide information
to be used in connection with future decisionmaking concerning
management of all uses, including continued military use, of public
lands within the Snake River Birds of Prey Area.
(11) Public lands in the Snake River Birds of Prey Area have
been used for domestic livestock grazing for more than a century,
with resultant benefits to community stability and contributions to
the local and State economies. It has not been demonstrated that
continuation of this use would be incompatible with appropriate
protection and sound management of raptor habitat and the other
resource values of these lands; therefore, subject to the
determination provided for in section 4(f), it is expected that such
grazing will continue in accordance with applicable regulations of
the Secretary and the management plan for the conservation area.
(12) Hydroelectric facilities for the generation and
transmission of electricity exist within the Snake River Birds of
Prey Area pursuant to a license(s) issued by the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, or its predecessor, the Federal Power
Commission.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act:
(1) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior.
(2) The term ``conservation area'' means the Snake River Birds
of Prey National Conservation Area established by section 3.
(3) The term ``raptor'' or ``raptors'' means individuals or
populations of eagles, falcons, owls, hawks, and other birds of
prey.
(4) The term ``raptor habitat'' includes the habitat of the
raptor prey base as well as the nesting and hunting habitat of
raptors within the conservation area.
(5) The term ``Memorandum of Understanding'' means the
Memorandum of Understanding #ID-237, dated May 1985, between the
State of Idaho Military Division and the Bureau of Land Management.
(6) The term ``Orchard Training Area'' means that area generally
so depicted on the map referred to in section 3(b), and as described
in the Memorandum of Understanding as well as the air space over the
same.
(7) The term ``Impact Area'' means that area which was used for
the firing of live artillery projectiles and is used for live fire
ranges of all types and, therefore, poses a danger to public safety
and which is generally so depicted on the map referred to in section
3(b).
(8) The term ``Artillery Impact Area'' means that area within
the Impact Area into which live projectiles are fired, which is
generally described as that area labeled as such on the map referred
to in section 3(b).
(9) The term ``the plan'' means the comprehensive management
plan developed for the conservation area, dated August 30, 1985,
together with such revisions thereto as may be required in order to
implement this Act.
(10) The term ``hydroelectric facilities'' means all facilities
related to the generation, transmission, and distribution of
hydroelectric power and which are subject to, and authorized by, a
license(s), and any and all amendments thereto, issued by the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA.
(a) Establishment and Purposes.--(1) There is hereby established the
Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (hereafter referred
to as the ``conservation area'').
(2) The purposes for which the conservation area is established, and
shall be managed, are to provide for the conservation, protection, and
enhancement of raptor populations and habitats and the natural and
environmental resources and values associated therewith, and of the
scientific, cultural, and educational resources and values of the public
lands in the conservation area.
(3) Subject to the provisions of subsection (d) of this section and
section 4, uses of the public lands in the conservation area existing on
the date of enactment of this Act shall be allowed to continue.
(b) Area Included.--The conservation area shall consist of
approximately 482,457 acres of federally owned lands and interests
therein managed by the Bureau of Land Management as generally depicted
on the map entitled ``Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation
Area'', dated November 1991.
(c) Map and Legal Description.--As soon as is practicable after
enactment of this Act, the map referred to in subsection (b) and a legal
description of the conservation area shall be filed by the Secretary
with the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. Each
such map shall have the same force and effect as if included in this
Act; except that the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical
errors in such map and legal description. Each such map shall be on file
and available for public inspection in the office of the Director and
the Idaho State Director of the Bureau of Land Management of the
Department of the Interior.
(d) Withdrawals.--Subject to valid existing rights, the Federal
lands within the conservation area are hereby withdrawn from all forms
of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; and
from entry, application, and selection under the Act of March 3, 1877
(Ch. 107, 19 Stat. 377, 43 U.S.C. 321 et seq.; commonly referred to as
the ``Desert Lands Act''), section 4 of the Act of August 18, 1894 (Ch.
301, 28 Stat. 422; 43 U.S.C. 641; commonly referred to as the ``Carey
Act''), the Act of July 3, 1890 (Ch. 656, 26 Stat. 215; commonly
referred to as the ``State of Idaho Admissions Act''), section 2275 of
the Revised Statutes, as amended (43 U.S.C. 851), and section 2276 of
the Revised Statutes, as amended (43 U.S.C. 852). The Secretary shall
return to the applicants any such applications pending on the date of
enactment of this Act, without further action. Subject to valid existing
rights, as of the date of enactment of this Act, lands within the Birds
of Prey Conservation Area are withdrawn from location under the general
mining laws, the operation of the mineral and geothermal leasing laws,
and the mineral material disposal laws, except that mineral materials
subject to disposal may be made available from existing sites to the
extent compatible with the purposes for which the conservation area is
established.
SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT AND USE.
(a) In General.--(1)(A) Within 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall make any revisions in the existing
management plan for the conservation area as necessary to assure its
conformance with this Act, and no later than January 1, 1996, shall
finalize a new management plan for the conservation area.
(B) Thereafter, the Secretary shall review the plan at least once
every 5 years and shall make such revisions as may be necessary or
appropriate.
(C) In reviewing and revising the plan, the Secretary shall provide
for appropriate public participation.
(2) Except as otherwise specifically provided in section 3(d) and
subsections (d), (e), and (f) of this section, the Secretary shall allow
only such uses of lands in the conservation area as the Secretary
determines will further the purposes for which the Conservation Area is
established.
(b) Management Guidance.--After each review pursuant to subsection
(a), the Secretary shall make such revisions as may be needed so that
the plan and management program to implement the plan include, in
addition to any other necessary or appropriate provisions, provisions
for--
(1) protection for the raptor populations and habitats and the
scientific, cultural, and educational resources and values of the
public lands in the conservation area;
(2) identifying levels of continued military use of the Orchard
Training Area compatible with paragraph (1) of this subsection;
(3) public use of the conservation area consistent with the
purposes of this Act;
(4) interpretive and educational opportunities for the public;
(5) a program for continued scientific investigation and study
to provide information to support sound management in accordance
with this Act, to advance knowledge of raptor species and the
resources and values of the conservation area, and to provide a
process for transferring to other areas of the public lands and
elsewhere this knowledge and management experience;
(6) such vegetative enhancement and other measures as may be
necessary to restore or enhance prey habitat;
(7) the identification of levels, types, timing, and terms and
conditions for the allowable nonmilitary uses of lands within the
conservation area that will be compatible with the protection,
maintenance, and enhancement of raptor populations and habitats and
the other purposes for which the conservation area is established;
and
(8) assessing the desirability of imposing appropriate fees for
public uses (including, but not limited to, recreational use) of
lands in the conservation area, which are not now subject to fees,
to be used to further the purposes for which the conservation area
is established.
(c) Visitors Center.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of
the Bureau of Land Management, is authorized to establish, in
cooperation with other public or private entities as the Secretary may
deem appropriate, a visitors center designed to interpret the history
and the geological, ecological, natural, cultural, and other resources
of the conservation area and the biology of the raptors and their
relationships to man.
(d) Visitors Use of Area.--In addition to the Visitors Center, the
Secretary may provide for visitor use of the public lands in the
conservation area to such extent and in such manner as the Secretary
considers consistent with the protection of raptors and raptor habitat,
public safety, and the purposes for which the conservation area is
established. To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall make
available to visitors and other members of the public a map of the
conservation area and such other educational and interpretive materials
as may be appropriate.
(e) National Guard Use of the Area.--(1) Pending completion of the
ongoing research concerning military use of lands in the conservation
area, or until the date 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act,
whichever is the shorter period, the Secretary shall permit continued
military use of those portions of the conservation area known as the
Orchard Training Area in accordance with the Memorandum of
Understanding, to the extent consistent with the use levels identified
pursuant to subsection (b)(2) of this section.
(2) Upon completion of the ongoing research concerning military use
of lands in the conservation area, the Secretary shall review the
management plan and make such additional revisions therein as may be
required to assure that it meets the requirements of this Act.
(3) Upon completion of the ongoing research concerning military use
of lands in the conservation area, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committees on Natural Resources and Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate a report of the results of such research.
(4) Nothing in this Act shall preclude minor adjustment of the
boundaries of the Orchard Training Area in accordance with provisions of
the Memorandum of Understanding.
(5) After completion of the ongoing research concerning military use
of lands in the Orchard Training Area or after the date 5 years after
the date of enactment of this Act, whichever first occurs, the Secretary
shall continue to permit military use of such lands, unless the
Secretary, on the basis of such research, determines such use is not
compatible with the purposes set forth in section 3(a)(2). Any such use
thereafter shall be permitted in accordance with the Memorandum of
Understanding, which may be extended or renewed by the Secretary so long
as such use continues to meet the requirements of subsection (b)(2) of
this section.
(6) In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding, the
Secretary shall require the State of Idaho Military Division to insure
that military units involved maintain a program of decontamination.
(7) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as by itself precluding
the extension or renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding, or the
construction of any improvements or buildings in the Orchard Training
Area so long as the requirements of this subsection are met.
(f) Livestock Grazing.--(1) So long as the Secretary determines that
domestic livestock grazing is compatible with the purposes for which the
conservation area is established, the Secretary shall permit such use of
public lands within the conservation area, to the extent such use of
such lands is compatible with such purposes. Determinations as to
compatibility shall be made in connection with the initial revision of
management plans for the conservation area and in connection with each
plan review required by section 4(a)(1)(B).
(2) Any livestock grazing on public lands within the conservation
area, and activities the Secretary determines necessary to carry out
proper and practical grazing management programs on such lands (such as
animal damage control activities) shall be managed in accordance with
the Act of June 28, 1934 (43 U.S.C. 315 et seq.; commonly referred to as
the ``Taylor Grazing Act''), section 402 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1752), other laws applicable to such
use and programs on the public lands, and the management plan for the
conservation area.
(g) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary is authorized to provide
technical assistance to, and to enter into such cooperative agreements
and contracts with, the State of Idaho and with local governments and
private entities as the Secretary deems necessary or desirable to carry
out the purposes and policies of this Act.
(h) Agricultural Practices.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed
as constituting a grant of authority to the Secretary to restrict
recognized agricultural practices or other activities on private land
adjacent to or within the conservation area boundary.
(i) Hydroelectric Facilities.--Notwithstanding any provision of this
Act, or regulations and management plans undertaken pursuant to its
provisions, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall retain its
current jurisdiction concerning all aspects of the continued and future
operation of hydroelectric facilities, licensed or relicensed under the
Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.), located within the
boundaries of the conservation area.
SEC. 5. ADDITIONS.
(a) Acquisitions.--(1) The Secretary is authorized to acquire lands
and interests therein within the boundaries of the conservation area by
donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, exchange, or
transfer from another Federal agency, except that such lands or
interests owned by the State of Idaho or a political subdivision thereof
may be acquired only by donation or exchange.
(2) Any lands located within the boundaries of the conservation area
that are acquired by the United States on or after the date of enactment
of this Act shall become a part of the conservation area and shall be
subject to this Act.
(b) Purchase of Lands.--In addition to the authority in section
318(d) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1748) and notwithstanding section 7(a) of the Land and Water
Conservation Fund Act of 1964 (16 U.S.C. 4601-9(a)), monies appropriated
from the Land and Water Conservation Fund may be used as authorized in
section 5(b) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1534(b)),
for the purposes of acquiring lands or interests therein within the
conservation area for administration as public lands as a part of the
conservation area.
(c) Land Exchanges.--The Secretary shall, within 4 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, study, identify, and initiate voluntary
land exchanges which would resolve ownership related land use conflicts
within the conservation area.
SEC. 6. OTHER LAWS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
(a) Other Laws.--(1) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
supersede, limit, or otherwise affect administration and enforcement of
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or to limit
the applicability of the National Trails System Act to any lands within
the conservation area.
(2) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act, nothing
in this Act shall be construed as limiting the applicability to lands in
the conservation area of laws applicable to public lands generally,
including but not limited to the National Historic Preservation Act, the
Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, or the Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
(3) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as by itself altering the
status of any lands that on the date of enactment of this Act were not
managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
(4) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as prohibiting the
Secretary from engaging qualified persons to use public lands within the
conservation area for the propagation of plants (including seeds) to be
used for vegetative enhancement of the conservation area in accordance
with the plan and in furtherance of the purposes for which the
conservation area is established.
(b) Release.--The Congress finds and directs that the public lands
within the Snake River Birds of Prey Natural Area established as a
natural area in October 1971 by Public Land Order 5133 have been
adequately studied and found unsuitable for wilderness designation
pursuant to section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976. Such lands are hereby released from further management pursuant to
section 603(c) of such an Act and shall be managed in accordance with
other applicable provisions of law, including this Act.
(c) Existing Administrative Withdrawal Terminated.--Public Land
Orders 5133 dated October 12, 1971, and 5777 dated November 21, 1980,
issued by the Secretary are hereby revoked subject to subsections (d)(3)
and (d)(4).
(d) Water.--(1) The Congress finds that the United States is
currently a party in an adjudication of rights to waters of the Snake
River, including water rights claimed by the United States on the basis
of the reservation of lands for purposes of conservation of fish and
wildlife and that consequently there is no need for this Act to effect a
reservation by the United States of rights with respect to such waters
in order to fulfill the purposes for which the conservation area is
established.
(2) Nothing in this Act or any action taken pursuant thereto shall
constitute either an expressed or implied reservation of water or water
rights for any purpose.
(3) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as effecting a
relinquishment or reduction of any of the water rights held or claimed
by the United States within the State of Idaho or elsewhere on or before
the date of enactment of this Act.
(4) The Secretary and all other officers of the United States shall
take all steps necessary to protect all water rights claimed by the
United States in the Snake River adjudication now pending in the
district court of the State of Idaho in which the United States is
joined under section 208 of the Act of July 10, 1952 (66 Stat. 560; 43
U.S.C. 666; commonly referred to as the ``McCarran Amendment'').
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.