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






                                                 Union Calendar No. 164
107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2488

                          [Report No. 107-269]

 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

                            November 5, 2001

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
 [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 
                               12, 2001]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 23,021 acres, as generally 
depicted on a map entitled ``Pilot Range Wilderness'' and dated October 
1, 2001, 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 abutting 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 abutting 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) In general.--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. There shall be 
                no restrictions or preclusions 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) Modification in use.--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) Memorandum of understanding.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the 
                date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 
                Air Force and the Secretary shall enter into a formal 
                memorandum of understanding to establish the procedures 
                and guidelines for the use of the Pilot Range 
                Wilderness, including the following:
                            (i) Procedures and guidelines to ensure 
                        immediate access which may be necessary to 
                        respond to emergency situations, including the 
                        search, rescue, and recovery of personnel and 
                        the recovery and investigation of military 
                        aircraft or other weapons systems.
                            (ii) Procedures and guidelines to determine 
                        the control, restriction, or prohibition of 
                        public access when necessary for purposes of 
                        national security or public safety.
                            (iii) Procedures and guidelines to provide 
                        for the installation of temporary 
                        communications, instrumentation, or other 
                        equipment necessary for effective testing and 
                        training to meet military requirements.
                    (B) Interim operations.--Military operations in the 
                Dugway Proving Ground and in the Utah Test and Training 
                Range shall not be limited or restricted in any way 
                pending the completion of the memorandum of 
                understanding required by subparagraph (A).
    (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.--Nothing in this Act, the Wilderness Act, or any 
action taken pursuant thereto shall constitute an express or implied 
reservation of surface or groundwater by any person, including the 
United States. Nothing in this Act affects any valid existing water 
rights in existence before the date of the enactment of this Act, 
including any water rights held by the United States. If the United 
States determines that additional water resources are needed for the 
purposes of this Act, the United States shall work with or through any 
agency that is eligible to hold in-stream flow water rights to acquire 
such rights in accordance with the water laws of the State of Utah.

SEC. 3. WILDERNESS RELEASE.

    Lands that are within the Pilot Range in Utah not designated as 
wilderness by this Act are no longer subject to the plan amendment 
process initiated by the Secretary and identified by the Federal 
Register Notice dated March 18, 1999, page 13499.

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.




                                                 Union Calendar No. 164

107th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 2488

                          [Report No. 107-269]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                            November 5, 2001

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed