[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 153 Referred in House (RFH)]


109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 153


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2005

                 Referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a resource study of 
 the Rim of the Valley Corridor in the State of California to evaluate 
  alternatives for protecting the resources of the Corridor, 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 ``Rim of the Valley Corridor Study 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Corridor.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``Corridor'' means the 
                land, water, and interests of the area in the State 
                known as the ``Rim of the Valley Corridor''.
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``Corridor'' includes the 
                mountains surrounding the San Fernando, La Crescenta, 
                Santa Clarita, Simi, and Conejo valleys in the State.
            (2) Recreation area.--The term ``Recreation Area'' means 
        the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in the 
        State.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of 
        California.

SEC. 3. RESOURCE STUDY OF THE RIM OF THE VALLEY CORRIDOR, CALIFORNIA.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall conduct a resource study of 
the Corridor to evaluate various alternatives for protecting the 
resources of the Corridor, including designating all or a portion of 
the Corridor as a unit of the Recreation Area.
    (b) Requirements.--In conducting the study under subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall--
            (1) seek to achieve the objectives of--
                    (A) protecting wildlife populations in the 
                Recreation Area by preserving habitat linkages and 
                wildlife movement corridors between large blocks of 
                habitat in adjoining regional open space;
                    (B) establishing connections along the State-
                designated Rim of the Valley Trail System for the 
                purposes of--
                            (i) creating a single contiguous Rim of the 
                        Valley Trail; and
                            (ii) encompassing major feeder trails 
                        connecting adjoining communities and regional 
                        transit to the Rim of the Valley Trail System;
                    (C) preserving recreational opportunities;
                    (D) facilitating access to open space for a variety 
                of recreational users;
                    (E) protecting--
                            (i) rare, threatened, or endangered plant 
                        and animal species; and
                            (ii) rare or unusual plant communities and 
                        habitats;
                    (F) protecting historically significant landscapes, 
                districts, sites, and structures; and
                    (G) respecting the needs of communities in, or in 
                the vicinity of, the Corridor;
            (2) analyze the potential impact of each alternative on 
        staffing and other potential costs to Federal, State, and local 
        agencies and other organizations; and
            (3) analyze the potential impact that designating all or a 
        portion of the Corridor as a unit of the Recreation Area would 
        have on land in or bordering the area that is privately owned 
        as of the date on which the study is conducted.
    (c) Consultation.--In conducting the study, the Secretary shall 
consult with appropriate Federal, State, county, and local government 
entities.
    (d) Applicable Law.--Section 8(c) of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 
1a-5(c)) shall apply to the conduct and completion of the study 
required by subsection (a).

SEC. 4. REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which 
funds are first made available for the study, the Secretary shall 
submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 
and to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives a 
report that describes the results of the study conducted under section 
3.
    (b) Inclusion.--The report submitted under subsection 4(a) shall 
include the concerns of private landowners within the boundaries of the 
Recreation Area.

            Passed the Senate July 26, 2005.

            Attest:

                                             EMILY J. REYNOLDS,

                                                             Secretary.