[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2941 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2941

 To establish the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area in the State 
                              of Arizona.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 24, 1999

  Mr. Kolbe introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area in the State 
                              of Arizona.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Las Cienegas 
National Conservation Area Establishment Act of 1999''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Establishment of Las Cienegas National Conservation Area.
Sec. 4. Management of conservation area.
Sec. 5. Management plan.
Sec. 6. Acquisition of land and interests in land.
Sec. 7. Coordinated management.
Sec. 8. Withdrawal.
Sec. 9. No buffer zones.
Sec. 10. Water.
Sec. 11. Reporting requirement.
Sec. 12. Enforcement.
Sec. 13. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Conservation area.--The term ``conservation area'' 
        means the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area established 
        pursuant to section 3.
            (2) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means 
        the management plan for the conservation area required under 
        section 5.
            (3) Public land.--The term ``public land'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and 
        Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)).
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF LAS CIENEGAS NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA.

    (a) Establishment; Purposes.--In order to conserve, protect, and 
enhance for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations 
the unique and nationally important aquatic, wildlife, vegetative, 
agricultural, archaeological, paleontological, scientific, cave, 
cultural, historical, recreational, educational, scenic, rangeland, and 
riparian resources and values of the public land described in 
subsection (b) while allowing environmentally responsible and 
sustainable livestock grazing and recreation to continue in appropriate 
areas, there is hereby established the Las Cienegas National 
Conservation Area in the State of Arizona.
    (b) Areas Included.--The conservation area shall consist of public 
land and conservation easements on private land located in portions of 
Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise Counties, Arizona, depicted on the map 
entitled ``Las Cienegas National Conservation Area'', as revised on 
September 22, 1999.
    (c) Map and Legal Description.--As soon as practicable after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress a legal description of the conservation area. In case of a 
conflict between the map referred to in subsection (b) and the legal 
description, the map shall control. The map and legal description shall 
have the same force and effect as if included in this Act. Copies of 
the map and legal description shall be on file and available for public 
inspection in the Office of the Director of the Bureau of Land 
Management, Department of the Interior, and in the appropriate office 
of the Bureau of Land Management in Arizona.
    (d) Technical Corrections.--The Secretary may correct clerical and 
typographic errors in the map and legal description referred to in this 
section.
    (e) Forest Land.--Any land included in the Coronado National Forest 
that is located within the boundaries of the conservation area 
established under this Act shall be considered to be a part of the 
conservation area. The Secretary of Agriculture shall revise the 
boundaries of the Coronado National Forest to reflect the exclusion of 
such lands from the Coronado National Forest.

SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT OF CONSERVATION AREA.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall manage the conservation area 
in a manner that conserves, protects, and enhances its resources and 
values, including the resources and values specified in section 3(a), 
pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and other applicable law, including this Act. The 
management of the conservation area shall be consistent with existing 
or future leases and agreements, including memorandums of 
understanding, and shall not diminish the rights of private landowners.
    (b) Authorized Uses.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall allow only such uses 
        of the conservation area as the Secretary finds will further 
        the purposes for which the conservation area is established.
            (2) Motorized vehicles.--Except where needed for 
        administrative purposes or to respond to an emergency, use of 
        motorized vehicles in the conservation area shall be permitted 
        only on roads and trails specifically designated for such use 
        as part of the management plan for the conservation area. 
        Nothing in this Act shall restrict legal access to State trust 
        land, private land, or Federal land within or outside the 
        boundary of the conservation area.
            (3) Military airspace.--Designation of the conservation 
        area shall not impose any altitude, flight, or other airspace 
        restrictions on current or future military operations or 
        missions at a minimum from zero to 30,000 feet, as was approved 
        by the Federal Aviation Administration prior to the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
            (4) Easements.--The Secretary shall maintain existing legal 
        access of any private or public utility in an existing easement 
        to any inholding, unless written permission is obtained by the 
        property owner of that inholding.
    (c) Hunting.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 
        shall permit hunting within the conservation area in accordance 
        with the laws of the State of Arizona.
            (2) Time and place regulations.--After consultation with 
        the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the Secretary may issue 
        regulations designating zones within the conservation area 
        where, and establishing time periods when, hunting shall not be 
        permitted for reasons of public safety, administration, 
        resource protection, or public use and enjoyment.
    (d) Preventive Measures.--Nothing in the Act shall preclude such 
measures as the Secretary determines necessary to prevent devastating 
fire or infestation of insects or disease within the conservation area 
under existing law.

SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

    (a) Plan Required.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop and implement a 
comprehensive management plan, based on the last land use management 
plan proposed by the Sonoita Valley Planning Partnership for the 
Empire-Cienega Resource Conservation Area prior to the date of the 
enactment of this Act, for the long-term management of the conservation 
area in order to fulfill the purposes for which the conservation area 
is established. The management plan shall be developed with full public 
participation and shall include provisions designed to assure 
protection of the resources and values of the conservation area 
(including the resources and values specified in section 3(a)).
    (b) Contents.--The management plan shall include the following:
            (1) An implementation plan for a continuing program of 
        interpretation and public education about the resources and 
        values of the conservation area.
            (2) A proposal for administrative and public facilities to 
        be developed or improved at a level compatible with achieving 
        the resource objectives for the conservation area and with the 
        other proposed management activities to accommodate visitors to 
        the conservation area.
            (3) Cultural resources management strategies for the 
        conservation area, prepared in consultation with appropriate 
        departments of the State of Arizona, with emphasis on the 
        preservation of the resources of the conservation area and the 
        interpretive, educational, and long-term scientific uses of 
        these resources, giving priority to the enforcement of the 
        Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 
        470aa et seq.) and the National Historic Preservation Act (16 
        U.S.C. 470 et seq.) within the conservation area.
            (4) Wildlife management strategies for the conservation 
        area, prepared in consultation with appropriate departments of 
        the State of Arizona and using previous studies of the area.
            (5) Production livestock grazing management strategies, 
        prepared in consultation with appropriate departments of the 
        State of Arizona. The management plan shall be designed to 
        ensure the protection of environmentally responsible and 
        sustainable livestock uses of the land included in the 
        conservation area.
            (6) Recreation management strategies, including motorized 
        and nonmotorized dispersed recreation opportunities for the 
        conservation area, prepared in consultation with appropriate 
        departments of the State of Arizona.
            (7) Cave resources management strategies prepared in 
        compliance with the goals and objectives of the Federal Cave 
        Resources Protection Act of 1988.
    (c) Cooperative Agreements.--In order to better implement the 
management plan, the Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements 
with appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies pursuant to section 
307(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
1737(b)).
    (d) Research Activities.--In order to assist in the development and 
implementation of the management plan, the Secretary may authorize 
appropriate research, including research concerning the environmental, 
biological, hydrological, cultural, agricultural, recreational, and 
other characteristics, resources, and values of the conservation area, 
pursuant to section 307(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1737(a)).

SEC. 6. ACQUISITION OF LAND AND INTERESTS IN LAND.

    (a) State Land.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary is 
        authorized to acquire land or interests in land owned by the 
        State of Arizona or a subdivision thereof and located within 
        the boundaries of the conservation area, by donation, exchange, 
        eminent domain, or, only in the case of conservation easements 
or as provided by paragraph (2)(B), by purchase.
            (2) Eminent domain.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior may 
                acquire all right, title, and interest (including any 
                mineral rights) of the State of Arizona in and to 
                Arizona State land by eminent domain, only with the 
                consent of the State of Arizona.
                    (B) Consideration.--(i) As consideration for the 
                acquisition by the United States of Arizona State land 
                or interest in such land under this paragraph, the 
                Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of 
                Land Management, may pay fair market value for such 
                land or may convey to the State of Arizona all right, 
                title, and interest of the United States, or some 
                lesser interest, in one or more parcels of Federal land 
                (including buildings and other improvements on such 
                land) under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land 
                Management in the State of Arizona.
                    (ii) All Federal agencies are authorized to 
                transfer jurisdiction of Federal land or interest in 
                such land (including buildings and other improvements 
                on such land) to the Bureau of Land Management upon 
                terms and conditions agreed upon by the Federal agency 
                transferring such land or interest in land and the 
                Bureau. Land or interest in land (including buildings 
                and other improvements on such land) transferred to the 
                Bureau under this clause shall be so transferred only--
                            (I) for the purpose of acquiring Arizona 
                        State land or interest in such land within the 
                        boundaries of the conservation area; and
                            (II) in accordance with this section.
                    (iii) The land or interests in land to be conveyed 
                under this paragraph shall be mutually agreed upon by 
                the Secretary of the Interior and the State of Arizona.
                    (iv) The value of the land conveyed out of Federal 
                ownership under this paragraph either shall be equal to 
                the value of the land and mineral interests received by 
                the United States or, if not, shall be equalized by a 
                payment made by the Secretary of the Interior or the 
                State of Arizona, as necessary.
    (b) Private Land.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary is authorized to acquire 
        privately owned land or interests therein within the boundaries 
        of the conservation area by donation, exchange, or, only in the 
        case of conservation easements, by purchase. Exchange under 
        this subsection shall be for land of equal value and shall not 
        reduce the tax base within the State of Arizona.
            (2) Eminent domain prohibited; other acquisition limited.--
        No privately owned land or interests therein may be taken by 
        eminent domain. Except as provided in paragraph (3), no 
        privately owned land or interests therein may be purchased.
            (3) Easements given priority.--In acquiring land or 
        interests in land under this subsection, the Secretary shall 
        give priority to, and whenever possible make such acquisitions 
        in the form of, conservation easements. Such conservation 
        easements may be acquired only with the consent of, and with 
        just compensation made to, the owner of the land or interests 
        in land.
    (c) Jurisdiction.--Non-Federal land within the boundaries of the 
conservation area shall not fall under the jurisdiction of the 
Secretary pursuant to this Act until such land is acquired by the 
United States.

SEC. 7. COORDINATED MANAGEMENT.

    The Secretary shall coordinate the management of the conservation 
area with that of surrounding county, State, and Federal land in such a 
manner as to provide maximum assurance that the purposes of creating 
the conservation area are achieved.

SEC. 8. WITHDRAWAL.

    Except as specifically authorized in this Act, and subject to valid 
existing rights, all public land within the conservation area and all 
land and interests therein which are acquired by the United States 
after the date of the enactment of this Act for inclusion in the 
conservation area are withdrawn as follows:
            (1) From all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal 
        under the public land laws (including amendments thereto).
            (2) From location, entry, and patent under the United 
        States mining laws (including amendments thereto).
            (3) From disposition under all laws (including amendments 
        thereto) pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing.

SEC. 9. NO BUFFER ZONES.

    Congress does not intend for the establishment of the conservation 
area to lead to the creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones 
around the conservation area. The fact that there may be activities or 
uses on land outside the conservation area that would not be permitted 
in the conservation area, even if such activities can be seen, heard, 
or detected from within the conservation area, shall not preclude the 
activities or uses on the land up to the boundary of the conservation 
area to the extent the activities or uses are consistent with other 
applicable law.

SEC. 10. WATER.

    (a) Reservation.--Congress hereby reserves a quantity of water, 
according to the laws and rules of the State of Arizona, sufficient to 
fulfill the purposes, as specified in subsection 3(a), for which the 
conservation area is established. The priority date of this reserved 
right shall be the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Protection of Reservation.--The Secretary and all other 
officers of the United States shall take all steps necessary to protect 
the right reserved by subsection (a), including the filing by the 
Secretary of a claim for the quantification of such right in any 
present or future appropriate stream adjudication in the courts of the 
State of Arizona in which the United States is or may be joined and 
which is conducted in accordance with section 208 of the Act of July 
10, 1952 (43 U.S.C. 666; commonly known as the McCarran Amendment).
    (c) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed 
as a relinquishment or reduction of any water use or rights reserved or 
appropriated by the United States in the State of Arizona on or before 
the date of the enactment of this Act. The Federal rights reserved by 
this section are specific to the conservation area, and nothing in this 
Act related to reserved Federal water rights shall be construed as 
establishing a precedent with regard to any future designations, nor 
shall it constitute an interpretation of any other Act or any 
designation made pursuant thereto.

SEC. 11. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

    Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
and at least at the end of every 10-year period thereafter, the 
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing the 
implementation of this Act, the condition of the resources and values 
of the conservation area, and the progress of the Secretary in 
achieving the purposes for which the conservation area is established.

SEC. 12. ENFORCEMENT.

    Any person who violates any regulation promulgated by the Secretary 
to implement the provisions of this title shall be subject to a fine 
under title 18, United States Code, or imprisonment of not more than 1 
year, or both a fine and imprisonment.

SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

  There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to 
carry out this Act.
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