[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2488 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2488

 To designate certain lands in the Pilot Range in the State of Utah as 
                  wilderness, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 12, 2001

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To designate certain lands in the Pilot Range in the State of Utah 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. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS.

    (a) Designation.--In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), certain Federal lands in Box Elder 
County, Utah, which comprise approximately 37,066 acres, as generally 
depicted on a map entitled ``Pilot Range Wilderness'' and dated ____, 
are hereby designated as wilderness and, therefore, as components of 
the National Wilderness Preservation System, and shall be known as the 
Pilot Range Wilderness.
    (b) Map and Description.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior (in this Act 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall file a map and legal 
description of the Pilot Range Wilderness with the Committee on 
Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources of the Senate. Such 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 map 
and legal description. 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, and the office of the State Director of 
the Bureau of Land Management in the State of Utah, Department of the 
Interior.

SEC. 2. ADMINISTRATION OF PILOT RANGE WILDERNESS.

    (a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights and this Act, the 
Pilot Range Wilderness shall be administered by the Secretary in 
accordance with the provisions of the Wilderness Act, except that any 
reference in such provisions to the effective date of the Wilderness 
Act (or any similar reference) shall be deemed to be a reference to the 
effective date of this Act.
    (b) Incorporation of Acquired Lands and Interests.--Any privately 
owned lands or interest in lands within or adjacent to the boundaries 
of the Pilot Range Wilderness that are acquired by the United States 
after the date of the enactment of this Act shall be added to and 
administered as part of the Pilot Range Wilderness.
    (c) State Fish and Wildlife.--As provided in section 4(d)(7) of the 
Wilderness Act, nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the 
jurisdiction or responsibilities of the State of Utah with respect to 
wildlife and fish on the public lands located in that State.
    (d) Acquisition of Lands and Interests.--The Secretary may offer to 
acquire from nongovernmental entities lands and interest in lands 
located within or adjacent to the Pilot Range Wilderness. Such lands 
may be acquired at fair market value under this subsection by exchange, 
donation, or purchase from willing sellers.
    (e) Wildlife Management.--In furtherance of the purposes and 
principles of the Wilderness Act, management activities to maintain or 
restore fish and wildlife populations and the habitats to support such 
populations may be carried out within the Pilot Range Wilderness where 
consistent with relevant wilderness management plans, in accordance 
with appropriate policies and guidelines such as those set forth in 
appendix B of the Report of the Committee on Interior and Insular 
Affairs to accompany H.R. 2570 of the One Hundred First Congress (H. 
Rept. 101-405).
    (f) National Defense Lands.--
            (1) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
                    (A) The testing and development of military weapons 
                systems and the training of military forces are 
                critical to ensuring the national security of the 
                United States.
                    (B) The Utah Test and Training Range and Dugway 
                Proving Ground are unique and irreplaceable national 
                assets at the core of the Department of Defense's test 
                and training mission.
                    (C) The Pilot Range Wilderness is located near 
                lands withdrawn for military use and beneath special 
                use airspace critical to the support of military test 
                and training missions on the Utah Test and Training 
                Range and Dugway Proving Ground.
                    (D) Continued unrestricted access to the special 
                use airspace and lands which comprise the Utah Test and 
                Training Range and Dugway Proving Ground is a national 
                security priority and is not incompatible with the 
                protection and proper management of the natural, 
                environmental, cultural, and other resources of the 
                Federal lands designated as wilderness by this Act.
            (2) Overflights.--(A) Nothing in this Act, the Wilderness 
        Act, or other land management laws generally applicable to the 
        Pilot Range Wilderness, shall restrict or preclude low-level 
        overflights, low-level military overflights and operations of 
        military aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial military 
        overflights or military overflights and operations that can be 
        seen or heard within those areas. This prohibition shall 
        preclude any restriction to altitude or airspeed, noise level, 
        supersonic flight, route of flight, time of flight, seasonal 
        usage, or numbers of flights of any military aircraft, 
        helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, missiles, aerospace 
        vehicles, and other military weapons systems over the Pilot 
        Range Wilderness. As used in this paragraph, the term ``low-
        level'' includes any flight down to and including 10 feet above 
        ground level.
            (B) Nothing in this Act, the Wilderness Act, or other land 
        management laws generally applicable to the Pilot Range 
        Wilderness, shall restrict or preclude the designation of new 
        units of special use airspace, the expansion of existing units 
        of special use airspace, or the use or establishment of 
        military training routes over the Pilot Range Wilderness.
            (3) Communications and tracking systems.--Nothing in this 
        Act, the Wilderness Act, or other land management laws 
        generally applicable to the Pilot Range Wilderness, shall be 
        construed to require the removal of existing communications, 
        instrumentation, or electronic tracking systems from the Pilot 
        Range Wilderness, or to prevent any required maintenance of 
        such systems, or to prevent the installation of new 
        communication, instrumentation, or other equipment necessary 
        for effective testing and training to meet military 
        requirements so long as the installation and maintenance of 
        such systems do not require construction of any permanent 
        roads.
            (4) Emergency access and response.--Nothing in this Act, 
        the Wilderness Act, or other land management laws generally 
        applicable to the Pilot Range Wilderness, shall restrict or 
        preclude timely access to any area necessary to respond to 
        emergency situations. Immediate access, including access for 
        emergency and rescue vehicles and equipment, shall not be 
        restricted if human life or health may be in jeopardy. The 
        Secretary of the Air Force and the Secretary shall enter into a 
        formal memorandum of understanding within 120 days after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act formalizing procedures for 
        access to those portions of the Pilot Range Wilderness that are 
        located beneath the Utah Test and Training Range airspace which 
        may be necessary to respond to emergency situations, to rescue 
        downed aircrew, to investigate accident locations, to recover 
        military aircraft or other weapons systems, and to restore 
        accident locations. Military operations on the Dugway Proving 
        Ground and within the Utah Test and Training Range shall not be 
        limited or restricted in any way pending completion of the 
        memorandum of understanding.
            (5) Control or restriction of public access.--When required 
        by national security or public safety, public access to the 
        areas of the Pilot Range Wilderness which are beneath the 
        airspace designated as special use airspace may be controlled, 
        restricted, or prohibited entirely. Such controls, 
        restrictions, or prohibitions shall remain in force for the 
        minimum duration necessary. The Secretary of the Air Force 
        shall provide notice of such controls, restrictions, or 
        prohibitions to the Department of the Interior and shall enter 
        into a formal memorandum of understanding with the Secretary 
        within 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act 
        prescribing procedures for implementing such controls, 
        restrictions, or prohibitions. Military operations on the 
        Dugway Proving Ground and within the Utah Test and Training 
        Range shall not be limited or restricted in any way pending 
        completion of the memorandum of understanding.
    (g) Livestock.--Within the Pilot Range Wilderness, the grazing of 
livestock, where established prior to the date of the enactment of this 
Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable 
regulations, policies, and practices as the Secretary deems necessary, 
as long as such regulations, policies, and practices fully conform with 
and implement the intent of Congress regarding grazing in such areas as 
such intent is expressed in the Wilderness Act, section 101(f) of 
Public Law 101-628, and House Report 101-405, Appendix A.
    (h) Water Rights.--Congress finds that there are unique 
circumstances with respect to the water-related resources within the 
Pilot Range Wilderness. The Congress recognizes that there is little or 
no water or water-related resources in those areas which are designated 
as wilderness by this Act. Therefore, nothing in this Act, nor any 
action taken pursuant thereto, shall constitute either an expressed or 
implied reservation of water. Nothing in this Act shall affect any 
valid existing water right, including any Federal reserved water right, 
in effect on the date of enactment of this Act or any water right 
hereinafter approved pursuant to the laws of the State of Utah, and 
nothing in this section shall constitute a precedent for any other 
wilderness designation legislation Congress may enact after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. WILDERNESS RELEASE.

    The Congress hereby finds and directs that Federal lands within the 
Pilot Range in Utah not designated as wilderness by this Act have been 
adequately studied for wilderness designation pursuant to section 
603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, are 
nonsuitable for wilderness designation, and are no longer subject to 
the requirement of section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 pertaining to the management of wilderness study 
areas in a manner that does not impair the suitability of such areas 
for preservation as wilderness. The Secretary shall not continue the 
plan amendment process initiated pursuant to section 202 of the Federal 
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and identified by Federal 
Register notice dated March 18, 1999, page 13439 within the Pilot Range 
in Box Elder County, Utah.

SEC. 4. ADJACENT MANAGEMENT.

    The Congress does not intend for the designation of the Pilot Range 
Wilderness to lead to the creation of protective perimeters or buffer 
zones around any such wilderness. The fact that nonwilderness 
activities or uses can be seen or heard within the Pilot Range 
Wilderness shall not, of itself, preclude such activities or uses up to 
the boundary of that wilderness.

SEC. 5. WITHDRAWAL.

    Subject to valid existing rights, the Federal lands within the 
Pilot Range Wilderness are hereby withdrawn from all forms of entry, 
appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; and from 
location, entry, and patent under the United States mining laws; and 
from disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal 
leasing, and mineral materials, and all amendments thereto.
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