[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3604 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3604

To establish the Carrizo Plain National Conservation Area in the State 
                 of California, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 31, 1998

Mrs. Capps (for herself and Mr. Thomas) introduced the following bill; 
            which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish the Carrizo Plain National Conservation Area in the State 
                 of California, 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 ``Carrizo Plain National Conservation 
Area Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The public lands administered by the Bureau of Land 
        Management in the State of California within the Carrizo Plain 
        contain the last remnants of the once vast San Joaquin Valley 
        grasslands that covered a large expanse of central California.
            (2) As a remnant ecosystem, these lands provide the best 
        remaining contiguous habitat for a number of State or federally 
        listed endangered species or threatened species, including the 
        San Joaquin kit fox, the blunt-nosed leopard lizard, the giant 
        kangaroo rat, and the San Joaquin antelope squirrel, and 
        numerous other federally or State listed or sensitive plant and 
        animal species. Many other important species of native wildlife 
        inhabit the area, such as pronghorn antelope and tule elk.
            (3) In addition to its biological diversity, Carrizo Plain 
        contains nationally significant cultural and historical sites 
        which are very important to indigenous peoples in the area for 
        religious and traditional cultural purposes.
            (4) The Carrizo Plain area also contains one of the best 
        and most visible exposures of the geologically unique San 
        Andreas fault, which is the boundary between the Pacific Plate 
        (on the west) which moves northward relative to the North 
        American Plate (on the east) and has and will continue to play 
        a critical role in the evolution and future of California.
            (5) The Carrizo Plain offers unique research, interpretive, 
        and educational opportunities, and significant recreation 
        opportunities for the public.
            (6) Since 1985, the Carrizo Plain has been cooperatively 
        managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the California 
        Department of Fish and Game, and The Nature Conservancy, each 
        of which owns a part of the Carrizo Plain and all of which work 
        closely together in a manner that makes jurisdictional 
        differences among them nearly transparent.
            (7) A cooperative management plan has been prepared for the 
        Carrizo Plain by the Bureau of Land Management, the California 
        Department of Fish and Game, and The Nature Conservancy, with 
        full public involvement, that sets the stage for long-term 
        joint management of the area for public use and enjoyment.
            (8) This management plan is based on the agencies' joint 
        primary mission as set forth in the plan to ``manage the 
        Carrizo Plain . . .  so indigenous species interact within a 
        dynamic and fully functioning ecosystem in perpetuity while 
        conserving unique natural and cultural resources and 
        maintaining opportunities for compatible scientific, cultural, 
        social, and recreational activities''. In this context, and 
        under the basic principles of multiple use and sustained yield, 
        other resource uses, such as livestock grazing and recreation 
        use, are allowed under the management plan in the conservation 
        area if they are managed in a manner compatible with that 
        primary mission.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA.

    (a) Establishment and Purposes.--To preserve the nationally 
significant biological, geological, cultural, and recreation values 
found in the Carrizo Plain, California, as an enduring legacy of our 
heritage, and to secure for future generations the opportunity to 
experience those values in an environment rich in biological diversity 
and natural beauty, the area described in subsection (b) is hereby 
designated as the Carrizo Plain National Conservation Area.
    (b) Area Described.--
            (1) Boundary map.--The area referred to in subsection (a) 
        consists of approximately 250,000 acres of lands and waters, 
        and interests therein, as generally depicted on the map 
        entitled ``Boundary Map, Carrizo Plain National Conservation 
Area'', dated October 1997.
            (2) Legal description.--As soon as practicable after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall file a 
        legal description of the conservation area with the Committee 
        on Resources of the House of Representatives and with the 
        Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. Such 
        legal description shall have the same force and effect as if 
        included in this Act, subject to paragraph (3).
            (3) Revisions and corrections.--The Secretary may--
                    (A) make minor revisions in the boundary of the 
                conservation area; and
                    (B) correct clerical and typographical errors in 
                the map and legal description referred to in paragraphs 
                (1) and (2), respectively.
            (4) Public availability.--The Secretary shall keep the map 
        and legal description referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2), 
        respectively, on file and available for public inspection in 
        the offices of the Director in the District of Columbia and in 
        Sacramento and Bakersfield, California.

SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT OF THE CONSERVATION AREA.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director, shall 
manage the public lands within the conservation area in accordance with 
all applicable laws and the management plan.
    (b) Review and Revision of Management Plan.--The Secretary of the 
Interior, in cooperation with the Director, the California Department 
of Fish and Game, affected landowners, and The Nature Conservancy--
            (1) shall, by not later than 1 year after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, review the management plan referred to 
        in section 9(4) and make such revisions in that plan as are 
        necessary to ensure that it is consistent with the this Act and 
        with the conservation, enhancement, and protection of the 
        conservation area; and
            (2) may from time to time thereafter make such revisions as 
        are necessary to ensure that consistency.
    (c) Gifts.--The Secretary may accept, receive, hold, administer, 
and use any gift, devise, or bequest, absolutely or in trust, of real 
or personal property, including any income from or interest in property 
or any funds, for management of the conservation area for the purposes 
for which the conservation area is established under section 3(a).
    (d) Funding Account.--
            (1) In general.--To fund management activities for the 
        conservation area, there is established in the Treasury a 
        separate account to be known as the Carizzo Plain National 
        Conservation Area Management Fund.
            (2) Contents.--The account shall consist of--
                    (A) amounts received as fees for activities in the 
                conservation area;
                    (B) amounts received by the United States as a 
                gift, devise, or bequest authorized by subsection (c); 
                and
                    (C) amounts appropriated to the account.
            (3) Use.--Amounts in the account shall be available to the 
        Secretary for management of the conservation area pursuant to 
        the purposes for which the conservation is established under 
        section 3(a).

SEC. 5. LAND ACQUISITION.

    (a) Land Acquisition.--The Secretary may acquire nongovernment, 
privately owned lands and interests therein within the conservation 
area by donation, by exchange, or by purchase with the consent of the 
owner thereof.
    (b) Management.--Lands or interests therein within the conservation 
area so acquired by the United States shall, after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, be incorporated into and managed as part of the 
conservation area.

SEC. 6. WITHDRAWAL; MINERAL DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, all Federal 
lands within the conservation area, including all lands or interests 
acquired by the United States after the date of enactment of this Act, 
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 of the United States.
    (b) Mineral Development.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        mineral development may occur in the conservation area pursuant 
        to the Act of February 25, 1920 (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.; 
        popularly known as the Mineral Leasing Act), and laws 
        supplementary thereto, or the Act of July 31, 1947 (30 U.S.C. 
        601 et seq.; popularly known as the Materials Act of 1947), and 
        laws supplementary thereto, only to the extent that development 
        is consistent with the management plan.
            (2) State and private lands and interests not affected.--
        This subsection shall not affect any State or privately owned 
        lands or interests in lands.

SEC. 7. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.

    The Secretary may, consistent with the management plan, enter into 
any cooperative agreements or shared management arrangements with any 
person for the purposes of management, interpretation, and research of 
the conservation area's resources.

SEC. 8. NATIVE AMERICAN USES.

    (a) Native American Uses.--The Secretary shall ensure nonexclusive 
access to and use of the public lands in the conservation area by 
Native Americans for traditional cultural and religious purposes 
consistent with the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (42 U.S.C. 
1996).
    (b) Temporary Closure.--To implement this section, the Secretary 
may from time to time temporarily close to general public use any 
specific areas of public lands in the conservation area in order to 
protect the privacy of Native American religious activities in such 
areas. Any such closure shall be made in such manner as will affect the 
smallest practicable area for the minimum period necessary for such 
purposes.

SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Conservation area.--The term ``conservation area'' 
        means the Carrizo Plain National Conservation Area designated 
        under section 3(a).
            (2) California department of fish and game.--The term 
        ``California Department of Fish and Game'' means the public 
        entity within the State of California's Resources Agency 
        established by the laws of the State of California to 
        administer the fish and wildlife resources in the State on 
        behalf of the people of California.
            (3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Bureau of Land Management.
            (4) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means 
        the management plan developed cooperatively by the Bureau of 
        Land Management, the California Department of Fish and Game, 
        and The Nature Conservancy, entitled ``The Carrizo Plain 
        Natural Area Management Plan'' and dated November 1996, as such 
        plan may be revised by the Secretary under section 4(b).
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (6) The nature conservancy.--The term ``The Nature 
        Conservancy'' means the nonprofit organization established 
        under laws of the State of Virginia and doing business in that 
        name.
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