[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5149 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5149

 To maintain the rural heritage of the Eastern Sierra and enhance the 
    region's tourism economy by designating certain public lands as 
wilderness and certain rivers as wild and scenic rivers in the State of 
                  California, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2006

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To maintain the rural heritage of the Eastern Sierra and enhance the 
    region's tourism economy by designating certain public lands as 
wilderness and certain rivers as wild and scenic rivers 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 ``Eastern Sierra Rural Heritage and 
Economic Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY.

     In this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means--
            (1) with respect to land under the jurisdiction of the 
        Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Agriculture; and
            (2) with respect to land under the jurisdiction of the 
        Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the Interior.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS.

    In accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) the 
following areas in the State of California are designated as wilderness 
areas and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System:
            (1) Hoover wilderness addition.--
                    (A) Designation.--Certain land in the Humboldt-
                Toiyabe National Forest, comprising approximately 
                39,680 acres, as generally depicted as Area C on the 
                map entitled ``Hoover Proposed Wilderness Addition'' 
                and dated August 8, 2005, is incorporated in, and shall 
                be deemed to be a part of the Hoover Wilderness as 
                designated by Public Law 88-577.
                    (B) Operation and maintenance of piute cabin.--The 
                designation under subparagraph (A) shall not preclude 
                operation and maintenance of the existing historic 
                Piute Cabin, located in the western portion of the 
                Hoover Wilderness Addition, in the same manner and 
                degree in which operation and maintenance of such cabin 
                were occurring as of the date of introduction of this 
                Act.
                    (C) No restriction on certain activities.--The 
                designation under subparagraph (A) is not intended to 
                restrict the ongoing activities of the adjacent United 
                States Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center on 
                lands outside the wilderness under agreement with the 
                Secretary.
            (2) Emigrant wilderness addition.--Certain land in the 
        Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, comprising approximately 640 
        acres, as generally depicted as Area D on the map entitled 
        ``Hoover Proposed Wilderness Addition'' and dated August 8, 
        2005, is incorporated in, and which shall be deemed to be a 
        part of the Emigrant Wilderness as designated by Public Law 88-
        577.

SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS.

    (a) Management.--Subject to valid existing rights, each area 
designated as wilderness by this Act shall be administered by the 
Secretary in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 
seq.) except that--
            (1) any reference in that Act to the effective date shall 
        be considered to be a reference to the date of the enactment of 
        this Act; and
            (2) any reference in that Act to the Secretary of 
        Agriculture shall be considered to be a reference to the 
        Secretary that has jurisdiction over the wilderness.
    (b) Map and Description.--
            (1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall file a map and 
        legal description of each wilderness area designated by this 
        Act with--
                    (A) the Committee on Resources of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
                of the Senate.
            (2) Force of law.--A map and legal description filed under 
        paragraph (1) shall have the same force and effect as if 
        included in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct 
        errors in the map and legal description.
            (3) Public availability.--Each map and legal description 
        filed under paragraph (1) shall be filed and made available for 
        public inspection in the appropriate office of the Secretary.
    (c) Incorporation of Acquired Land and Interests.--Any land within 
the boundary of a wilderness area designated by this Act that is 
acquired by the United States shall--
            (1) become part of the wilderness area in which the land is 
        located; and
            (2) be managed in accordance with this Act, the Wilderness 
        Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and any other applicable law.
    (d) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid rights in existence on the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Federal land designated as wilderness 
by this Act is withdrawn from all forms of--
            (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land 
        laws;
            (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
            (3) disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and 
        geothermal leasing or mineral materials.
    (e) Fire, Insect, and Disease Management Activities.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may take such measures in 
        the wilderness areas designated by this act as are necessary 
        for the control and prevention of fire, insects, and diseases, 
        in accordance with--
                    (A) section 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act (16 
                U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)); and
                    (B) House Report No. 98-40 of the 98th Congress.
            (2) Review.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall review existing 
        policies applicable to the wilderness areas designated by this 
        Act to ensure that authorized approval procedures for any fire 
        management measures allow a timely and efficient response to 
        fire emergencies in the wilderness areas.
    (f) Snow Sensors and Stream Gauges.--If the Secretary determines 
that hydrologic, meteorologic, or climatological instrumentation is 
appropriate to further the scientific, educational, and conservation 
purposes of the wilderness areas designated by this Act, nothing in the 
Act shall prevent the installation and maintenance of the 
instrumentation within the wilderness areas.
    (g) Military Activities.--Nothing in this Act precludes low-level 
overflights of military aircraft, the designation of new units of 
special airspace, or the use or establishment of military flight 
training routes over wilderness areas designated by this Act.
    (h) Livestock.--Grazing of livestock and the maintenance of 
existing facilities related to grazing in the wilderness areas 
designated by this Act, established before the date of the enactment of 
this Act shall be permitted to continue in accordance with--
            (1) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 
        1133(d)(4)); and
            (2) the guidelines set forth in Appendix A of the report of 
        the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives accompanying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress 
        (H. Rept. 101-405).
    (i) Fish and Wildlife Management.--
            (1) In general.--In furtherance of the purposes of the 
        Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the Secretary may 
        carry out management activities to maintain or restore 
        populations and habitats for fish and wildlife in wilderness 
        areas designated by this Act if such activities are--
                    (A) consistent with applicable wilderness 
                management plans; and
                    (B) carried out in accordance with applicable 
                guidelines and policies.
            (2) State jurisdiction.--Nothing in this Act affects the 
        jurisdiction of the State of California with respect to fish 
        and wildlife on public land.
    (j) Adjacent Management.--
            (1) In general.--Nothing in this Act creates protective 
        perimeters or buffer zones around the wilderness areas 
        designated by this Act.
            (2) Non-wilderness activities.--The fact that non-
        wilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard from areas 
        within a wilderness area designated by this Act shall not 
        preclude the conduct of those activities or uses outside the 
        boundary of the wilderness area.

SEC. 5. WILD AND SCENIC RIVER DESIGNATION.

    (a) Designation of the Amargosa Wild and Scenic River, 
California.--Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 
1274(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(167) Amargosa river, california.--The following segments 
        of the Amargosa River in the State of California, to be 
        administered by the Secretary of Interior:
                    ``(A) The approximately 4.03 miles of the Amargosa 
                River from the northern boundary of section 7 T21N R7E 
                to 100 feet upstream of the Tecopa Hot Springs road 
                crossing, as a scenic river.
                    ``(B) The approximately 6.69 miles of the Amargosa 
                River from 100 feet downstream of the Tecopa Hot 
                Springs Road crossing to 100 feet upstream of the Old 
                Spanish Trail Highway crossing near Tecopa, as a scenic 
                river.
                    ``(C) The approximately 7.82 miles of the Amargosa 
                River from the northern boundary of section 16 T20N R7E 
                to the boundary of the Kingston Range Wilderness 
                excluding the Sperry Wash OHV corridor in section 10 
                T19N R7E, as a wild river.
                    ``(D) The approximately 5.41 miles of the Amargosa 
                River from the boundary of the Kingston Range 
                Wilderness in section 10 T19N R7E to the southern 
                boundary of section 31 T19N R7E, as a recreational 
                river.''.

SEC. 6. APPROPRIATIONS FOR WINTER MANAGEMENT OF THE HUMBOLDT-TOIYABE 
              NATIONAL FOREST.

     There is authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 annually to the 
Secretary of Agriculture for management and enforcement of snowmobile 
use in areas adjacent to the Hoover Wilderness Addition in the 
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.
                                 <all>