[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 556 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 556

     To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
Agriculture to jointly conduct a study of certain land adjacent to the 
        Walnut Canyon National Monument in the State of Arizona.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2005

  Mr. McCain introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
Agriculture to jointly conduct a study of certain land adjacent to the 
        Walnut Canyon National Monument 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Walnut Canyon Study Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the Coconino National Forest was established in the 
        State of Arizona on July 2, 1908;
            (2) the Walnut Canyon National Monument in the State of 
        Arizona was originally designated as a national monument by 
        Presidential proclamation on November 30, 1915, to protect 
        Sinaguan cliff dwellings;
            (3) since the original designation, the Monument boundaries 
        have been expanded to include 3,580 acres;
            (4) National Forest System land and State trust land in the 
        study area contain significant cultural and natural resources;
            (5) the Coconino National Forest Land and Resources 
        Management Plan of 1987 identified National Forest System land 
        in the study area as land for nondevelopment or disposal under 
        the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et 
        seq.);
            (6) State trust land in the study area has been temporarily 
        removed from consideration for development by State agencies 
        with jurisdiction over the State trust land;
            (7) the communities in the vicinity of the land in the 
        study area support maintaining public uses of the land 
        surrounding the Monument while protecting the resources of the 
        land;
            (8) several interest groups have proposed expanding the 
        Monument and designating the expanded area as a national park 
        or national preserve;
            (9) the city of Flagstaff and Coconino County, Arizona, 
        have passed resolutions supporting further review and study of, 
        and the development of management options for, the study area; 
        and
            (10) to determine the appropriate management of the 
        adjacent land, interested parties have requested a study to 
        help identify management options.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to authorize a study of the study area to evaluate 
        public uses and resource values; and
            (2) to obtain recommendations for management options for 
        maintenance of the public uses and protection of resources of 
        the study area.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled ``Walnut 
        Canyon Proposed Study Area'' and dated July 17, 2003.
            (2) Monument.--The term ``Monument'' means the Walnut 
        Canyon National Monument in the State of Arizona.
            (3) Resolution.--The term ``resolution'' means the Coconino 
        County Board of Supervisors resolution numbered 2002-65 and the 
        Flagstaff City Council resolution numbered 2002-92 adopted on 
        December 17, 2002.
            (4) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the 
        Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, 
        acting jointly.
            (5) Study area.--The term ``study area'' means the area 
        identified on the map as ``Walnut Canyon Proposed Study Area'', 
        consisting of 30,818 acres, of which--
                    (A) 24,987 acres is Federal land in Coconino 
                National Forest;
                    (B) 2,037 acres is State land;
                    (C) 214 acres is private land; and
                    (D) 3,580 acres is the Monument.

SEC. 4. STUDY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretaries shall conduct a study of the study 
area.
    (b) Requirements.--The study shall evaluate--
            (1) the significance of the public values (including the 
        public values identified in exhibit C of the resolution) and 
        resources of the study area as the public values and resources 
        pertain to--
                    (A) the management objectives of the Forest 
                Service; and
                    (B) the management objectives of the National Park 
                Service;
            (2) the opportunities for maintaining existing public uses 
        (including the public uses identified in exhibit D of the 
        resolution); and
            (3) a range of options for managing and conserving 
        resources by the National Park Service or the Forest Service, 
        or by both agencies acting jointly, including the suitability 
        and feasibility of--
                    (A) a boundary adjustment to the Monument;
                    (B) designation of the study area as a national 
                park or preserve;
                    (C) maintaining the study area as managed by the 
                Forest Service; and
                    (D) any other designation or management option that 
                will accomplish both the protection of resources and 
                the maintenance of public use and access for the study 
                area.
    (c) Consultation.--In conducting the study, the Secretaries shall--
            (1) contract with a third-party consultant with experience 
        in park and land use planning to prepare a draft study; and
            (2) collaborate with the persons identified in subsection 
        (d) in developing a scope of work for the draft study under the 
        guidance of the third-party consultant.
    (d) Review; Recommendations.--The Secretaries, the Forest 
Supervisor of the Coconino National Forest, the Superintendent of the 
Flagstaff Area National Monuments, the Flagstaff City Council, and the 
Coconino County Board of Supervisors shall--
            (1) review the draft study prepared by the third-party 
        consultant; and
            (2) provide to the third-party consultant comments on and 
        recommendations for the draft study.
    (e) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit to Congress a report that--
            (1) describes the findings and conclusions of the study 
        conducted under this section, including the recommendations of 
        the persons identified in subsection (d); and
            (2) makes a recommendation for the future management of the 
        study area.
    (f) Effect.--Nothing in this Act affects the management of the land 
depicted on the map.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act.
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