[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2284 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2284

To redesignate the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument as a 
 national park, to establish the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National 
Conservation Area, to establish the Curecanti National Recreation Area, 
  to include the Gunnison River in the Nation's Wild and Scenic River 
                    System, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 14 (legislative day, July 11), 1994

 Mr. Campbell introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To redesignate the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument as a 
 national park, to establish the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National 
Conservation Area, to establish the Curecanti National Recreation Area, 
  to include the Gunnison River in the Nation's Wild and Scenic River 
                    System, 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 ``Black Canyon National Conservation 
Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. REDESIGNATION OF THE NATIONAL MONUMENT AS A NATIONAL PARK.

    (a) Redesignation.--The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National 
Monument is hereby redesignated as the Black Canyon of the Gunnison 
National Park.
    (b) Area Included.--The national park shall consist of the existing 
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument. Any funds available for 
the purposes of the monument shall be made available for the purposes 
of the park. All valid existing rights within the monument shall be 
included in the national park.
    (c) Administration.--The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter 
referred to as the Secretary) shall administer the Black Canyon of the 
Gunnison National Park in accordance with this Act and with the 
provisions of law generally applicable to units of the National Park 
System including but not limited to the Act entitled ``An Act to 
establish a National Park Service, and for other purposes'', approved 
August 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1-4), and the Act of August 
21, 1935 (49 Stat. 666; 16 U.S.C. 461-467). The Secretary shall 
continue to manage the existing Black Canyon of the Gunnison National 
Monument pursuant to Presidential Proclamations No. 2033 dated March 2, 
1933, No. 2286 dated May 16, 1938, and No. 2372 dated October 28, 1939; 
the Act of October 20, 1976 (90 Stat. 2892, Public Law 94-567); and the 
Act of July 13, 1984 (90 Stat. 397, Public Law 98-357).
    (d) Water Rights.--Any reservation of water or water rights arising 
from the designation of the national park shall not expand or otherwise 
conflict with in any manner the decreed amounts or uses of the existing 
reserved water right for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National 
Monument. Any reservation of water or water rights for the national 
park shall be completely coincident with the existing reserved water 
right for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument and be a 
mere extension of the Monument's existing reserved water right through 
the national park except, that no date of reservation or appropriation 
for the national park may be claimed which precedes the date of 
enactment of this Act. Any reservation of water or water rights for the 
conservation area shall be deemed to be fully satisfied by deliveries 
under the water service contract described in section 8(c) herein in 
any year.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL 
              CONSERVATION AREA.

    (a) Establishment.--In order to protect that area in Colorado 
containing the Gunnison Gorge and other unique and nationally important 
recreational, geologic, ecologic, scenic, educational, and scientific 
resources of the public lands (as such term is defined in section 
103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and Managment Act of 1976) in and 
around the lower Gunnison Gorge for the benefit and enjoyment of future 
generations, there is hereby established the Gunnison Gorge National 
Conservation Area (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 
``conservation area'').
    (b) Area Included.--The conservation area shall consist of 
approximately 64,139 acres as generally depicted on the map entitled 
``Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area'' dated 1993.
    (c) Map and Description.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall file a map and boundary 
description of the conservation area designated under this section with 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States 
Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States 
House of Representatives. The map and description 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 boundary 
description. The map and boundary description shall be on file and 
available for public inspection in the offices of the Director and 
Colorado State Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Department of 
the Interior.
    (d) Administration.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of 
the Bureau of Land Management, shall manage the conservation area to 
protect its resources in accordance with this Act, the Federal Land 
Management and Policy Act of 1976, and other applicable provisions of 
law.
    (e) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, all federal 
lands within the conservation area and all lands and interests therein 
which are hereafter acquired by the United States are hereby, withdrawn 
from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public 
land laws and from location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, 
and from operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws 
and all amendments thereto.
    (f) Hunting, Trapping and Fishing.--To the extent compatible with 
the purposes for which the conservation area is established, the 
Secretary shall permit hunting, trapping, and fishing within the 
conservation area in accordance with applicable laws and regulations of 
the United States and the State of Colorado; except that the Secretary, 
after consultation with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, may issue 
regulations designating zones where and establishing periods when no 
hunting or trapping shall be permitted for reasons of public safety, 
administration, or public use and enjoyment.
    (g) Grazing.--To the extent compatible with the purposes for which 
the conservation area is established, the grazing of livestock in the 
conservation area, where established prior to the date of the enactment 
of this Act, may be permitted to continue 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, and other laws applicable to such use of the 
public lands.
    (h) Water Rights.--Any reservation of water or water rights arising 
from the designation of the conservation area shall not expand or 
otherwise conflict with in any manner the decreed amounts or uses of 
the existing reserved water right for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison 
National Monument. Any reservation of water or water rights for the 
conservation area shall be completely coincident with the existing 
reserved water right for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National 
Monument and be a mere extension of the Monument's existing reserved 
water right through the conservation area; except, that no date of 
reservation or appropriation for the conservation area may be claimed 
which precedes the date of enactment of this Act. Any reservation of 
water or water rights for the conservation area shall be deemed to be 
fully satisfied by deliveries under the water service contract 
described in section 8(c) herein in any year.
    (i) Motorized Vehicles.--To the extent compatible with the purposes 
for which the conservation area is established, the use of motorized 
vehicles in the conservation area shall be allowed, but only on routes 
specifically designated for such use as part of the management plan 
prepared pursuant to this Act, except where needed for administrative 
or emergency purposes.
    (j) Visitor Use.--Visitor use of the conservation area shall be 
permitted to the extent compatible with the purposes for which the 
conservation area is established. The Secretary shall have the power to 
implement such reasonable limits to such use of the conservation area 
as he finds appropriate for the protection of the resources of the 
conservation area, including requiring permits for public use, or 
closing portions of the conservation area to public use.
    (k) Enforcement.--Any person who violates the provisions of this 
section or any regulation promulgated by the Secretary to implement 
this section shall be subject to a fine of up to $10,000 or 
imprisonment of up to one year, or both.

SEC. 4. DESIGNATING THE GUNNISON RIVER AS A WILD AND SCENIC RIVER.

    (a) Designation.--Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 
(16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by adding the following new paragraph at 
the end:
    ``( ) Gunnison, Colorado.--The Gunnison River from the upstream 
boundary of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument 
downstream to the confluence of the Smith Fork, to be administered by 
the Secretary of the Interior.''.
    (b) Water Development.--For the purposes of the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act, the storage, diversion and consumptive use of the water of 
the Gunnison River by projects located entirely downstream of the river 
segment designated by subsection (a) as a component of the National 
Wild and Scenic River System, shall not be considered to have an 
adverse effect on the values for which the segment is so designated.
    (c) Water Rights.--Any reservation of water or water rights arising 
from the designation of the Wild and Scenic River shall not expand or 
otherwise conflict with-in any manner the decreed amounts or uses of 
the existing reserved water right for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison 
National Monument. Any reservation of water or water rights for the 
Wild and Scenic River shall be completely coincident with the existing 
reserved water right for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National 
Monument and be a mere extension of the Monument's existing reserved 
water right through the designated wild and scenic reach; except, that 
no date of reservation or appropriation for the Wild and Scenic River 
may be claimed which precedes the date of enactment of this Act. Any 
reservation of water or water rights for the Wild and Scenic River 
shall be deemed to be fully satisfied by deliveries under the water 
service contract described in section 8(b) herein in any year.

SEC. 5. GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN AND VISITOR CENTER.

    (a) Plan.--Within three full fiscal years following the fiscal year 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop and transmit to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States 
Senate and to the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States 
House of Representatives a comprehensive plan for the long-range 
protection and management of the conservation area. The plan shall 
describe the appropriate uses and management of the conservation area 
consistent with the purposes of this Act. The plan shall incorporate 
appropriate decisions contained in the Uncompahgre Basin Resource 
Management Plan (completed in September 1988), the Gunnison Gorge 
Recreation Area Management Plan (completed on July 24, 1985 and 
supplemented on July 21, 1988). The plan shall also incorporate 
wildlife habitat management plans that have been prepared for the lands 
within or adjacent to the conservation area, and shall be prepared in 
close consultation with appropriate agencies of the State of Colorado 
and shall utilize information developed in previous studies of the 
lands within or adjacent to the conservation area.
    (b) Visitors Center.--The Secretary is authorized and to the extent 
appropriated funds are made available directed to establish a visitors 
center to provide information and interpretation of both the Black 
Canyon National Park and the conservation area.
    (c) Management of Acquired Lands.--Any lands or interests within or 
contiguous to the boundaries of the conservation area which after the 
date of enactment of this Act may be acquired by the United States 
shall be incorporated into the conservation area, and shall be managed 
in accordance with all the provisions of this Act and other laws 
applicable to the conservation area.
    (d) Limitations.--No federally owned lands located within the 
boundaries of the conservation area shall be transferred out of Federal 
ownership, or be placed in trust by exchange or otherwise. Any lands 
within such boundaries which as of the date of enactment of this Act 
are managed pursuant to section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782) shall continue to be so managed 
until Congress determines otherwise.

SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CURECANTI NATIONAL RECREATION AREA.

    (a) In General.--In order to provide for the public use and 
enjoyment of the lands withdrawn or acquired for and the water areas 
created by the Wayne N. Aspinall Unit of the Colorado River Storage 
Project, there is established as a unit of the National Park System the 
Curecanti National Recreation Area (hereafter in this Act referred to 
as the ``recreation area'').
    (b) Area Included.--The recreation area shall be comprised of the 
lands, waters and interests therein within the area generally depicted 
on the map entitled ``Boundary Map, Curecanti National Recreation 
Area,'' numbered    , and dated    . The map shall be on file and 
available for public inspection in the offices of the Director of the 
National Park Service, Department of the Interior, the office of the 
Rocky Mountain Region, National Park Service, and the office of the 
Superintendent, Curecanti National Recreation Area, Colorado. The 
Secretary may make minor revisions in the boundary of the recreation 
area by publication in the Federal Register of a revised map or other 
boundary description.
    (c) Withdrawal and Transfer of Administrative Jurisdiction.--
            (1) Subject to valid existing rights, all Federal lands and 
        interests within the national recreation area are withdrawn 
        from disposition under the public land laws, from location, 
        entry, and patent under the mining laws of the United States, 
        from the operation of the mineral leasing laws of the United 
        States, and from operation of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970.
            (2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), administrative 
        jurisdiction of such lands is transferred to the National Park 
        Service.
            (3) The establishment of the recreation area under 
        subsection (a) shall not adversely affect the validity of 
        withdrawals made before the date of enactment of this Act for 
        reclamation or power purposes. Operation of improvements on and 
        the management of the lands occupied by dams, structures, or 
        other facilities appurtenant to the Colorado River Storage 
        Project (42 U.S.C. 620 et seq.) shall be the responsibility of 
        the Bureau of Reclamation. Such lands shall be delineated 
        through a joint agreement between the Bureau of Reclamation, 
        the National Park Service, and all associated entities. Should 
        the agencies feel it desirable, additional agreements may 
        address sharing of jurisdiction and authorities on the 
        delineated lands. All lands within the recreation area which 
        have been withdrawn or acquired by the United States for 
        reclamation purposes shall remain subject to the purposes and 
        uses established under the Colorado River Storage Project Act 
        of 1956 (42 U.S.C. 620 et seq.). The Secretary may exclude any 
        area from the recreation area for reclamation or power purposes 
        upon determining that it is in the national interest to do so.
    (d) Adjustment of Boundary of Gunnison National Forest.--The 
exterior boundary of the Gunnison National Forest is modified to 
reflect the transfer of jurisdiction under subsection (c), as generally 
depicted on the map referred to in subsection (b).

SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION OF THE CURECANTI NATIONAL RECREATION AREA.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer, protect, and 
develop the recreation area in accordance with this Act and with the 
provisions of law generally applicable to units of the national park 
system, including the Act entitled ``An Act to establish a National 
Park Service, and for other purposes'', approved August 25, 1916 (16 
U.S.C. 1-4).
    (b) Recreational Activities.--In carrying out this Act, in addition 
to other related activities that may be permitted pursuant to this Act, 
the Secretary shall provide for general recreation uses, including (but 
not limited to) swimming, fishing, boating, hiking, horseback riding, 
camping, and picnicking; grazing and the harvesting of hay; the 
maintenance of roads, stock driveways, and utility rights-of-way; off-
road vehicle use below high water levels on designated trails and in 
designated areas; snowmobile use below high water levels, on frozen 
lake surfaces, and on related designated access routes; and other such 
uses as the Secretary may deem appropriate.
    (c) Hunting, Fishing, and Trapping.--The Secretary shall permit 
hunting, fishing, noncommercial taking of fresh-water crustaceans, and 
trapping on the lands and waters under the Secretary's jurisdiction 
within the recreation area in accordance with applicable laws and 
regulations of the United States and the State of Colorado. The 
Secretary, after consultation with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, 
may issue regulations designating zones where and establishing periods 
when such activities will not be permitted for reasons of public 
safety, administration, fish and wildlife management, or public use and 
enjoyment.
    (d) Acquisition and Disposal of Land.--
            (1) The Secretary may acquire land or interests in land 
        within, or adjacent to, the boundaries of the recreation area 
        by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds or 
        exchange.
            (2) The Secretary shall sell or exchange such interests as 
        he or she may have in real property and improvements in parcels 
        of 10 acres or less which are encroached upon, as of the date 
        of enactment of this Act, by improvements occupied or used 
        under claim or color of title by persons to whom no advance 
        notice was given that the improvements encroached or would 
        encroach upon such parcels, and who in good faith relied upon 
        an erroneous survey, title search, or other land description 
        indicating that there was not such encroachment to such persons 
        so encroaching. Such lands so conveyed shall be removed from 
        the recreation area.
            (3) No such tract shall be sold or exchanged for less than 
        its appraised fair market value, except that the purchaser 
        shall not be required to pay for any value the purchaser or the 
        purchasers predecessors in interest have added to the land. 
        Nothing in this Act shall relieve any person from liability to 
        the United States for unauthorized use of the land prior to 
        conveyance of title by the United States.
            (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, proceeds of 
        any such conveyance shall be available to offset the 
        administrative expenses thereof.
            (5) The authority granted by this section shall expire at 
        the end of the 10-year period beginning on the date of 
        enactment of this Act or the completion of an approved boundary 
        survey, whichever is later. Sales for which an application has 
        been made in accordance with this section prior to the 
        expiration of such 10-year period may be consummated after the 
        10-year period. Any encroachments not resolved within this 10-
        year period may be considered trespass and the Secretary will 
        take such action as is appropriate.
    (e) Conveyance of Riverway Tract.--
            (1) The Secretary shall convey to the city of Gunnison, 
        Colorado, or to such other public agency as the Secretary deems 
        appropriate, for an amount not to exceed fair market appraised 
        value, the land known as the Riverway Tract in section 8, 
        township 49 north, range 1 west, New Mexico principal meridian.
            (2) Such conveyance shall be for recreational purposes 
        only, shall be subject to such assurances as the Secretary may 
        require, and shall be in accord with the provisions of the 
        Recreation and Public Purposes Act (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.).
    (f) Water Rights.--The water requirements of the Curecanti National 
Recreation Area shall be satisfied solely by the exercise, in 
accordance with existing law and Section 8 of this Act, of water rights 
associated with the Wayne N. Aspinall Unit.

SEC. 8. OPERATION OF FEDERAL WATER PROJECTS.

    (a) Operation of the Wayne N. Aspinall Unit.--The Secretary is 
authorized until such time as the contract referenced in section (b) is 
executed, to operate the Wayne N. Aspinall Unit (Unit) of the Colorado 
River Storage Project in a manner which complies with the requirements 
of subsection (c) and enhances flow conditions for existing water 
users, the national park, national conservation area and Wild and 
Scenic River designated by this Act. In determining such operations, 
the Secretary shall take into consideration existing water rights 
associated with the Unit, authorized project purposes and any Unit 
contracts; and shall consult with the Bureau of Reclamation, the 
National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and 
Wildlife Service, the Western Area Power Administration, the State of 
Colorado, local water users agencies, contractors who purchase of 
federal power from the Unit, and such other entities as the Secretary 
may deem appropriate.
    (b) Operation of the Taylor Park Reservoir.--The Secretary shall 
operate the facilities of the Unit and the Uncompahgre project in a 
manner consistent with the Taylor Park Reservoir Operation and Storage 
Exchange Agreement dated August 28, 1975, by and between the United 
States of America, the Colorado River Water Conservation District, the 
Upper Gunnison Water Conservation District, and the Uncompahgre Valley 
Water Users Association, as amended.
    (c) Water Service Contract.--The Secretary shall execute a water 
service contract described in the notice to the Federal Register of 
Wednesday, May 8, 1992, (Vol. 57, No. 88) providing for the delivery of 
water to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and 
Conservation Area. The water service contract shall fully satisfy and 
fulfill the purposes of Sections 2, 3 and 4 of this Act.
    (d) Compliance With Existing Law.--The Secretary shall implement 
this Act in a manner fully consistent with and subject to the Colorado 
River Compact, the upper Colorado River Basin Compact, the Water Treaty 
of 1944 with Mexico, the Boulder Canyon Project Act, and the Boulder 
County Project Adjustment Act. The Secretary shall operate the Wayne N. 
Aspinall Unit for the purposes specified in this Act and in the 
Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956, the Colorado River Project 
Act, and any other applicable Federal reclamation law or decree that 
governs the allocation, appropriation, development and exportation of 
the waters of the Colorado River Basin; provided that nothing in this 
section shall be construed to affect in any way--
            (1) the allocations of water secured to the Colorado River 
        Basin States by any compact or decree, or
            (2) any Federal environmental law, including the Endangered 
        Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
    (e) The Secretary is prohibited from using funds from the sale of 
electric power and energy to carry out the purposes of this Act. If the 
Secretary finds that in any year that the enactment of this Act does 
cause a reduction in net offsetting receipts generated by all the 
provisions of this Act, these costs shall be nonreimbursable.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act.
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S 2284 IS----2