[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 56 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.56
One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and six
An Act
To establish the Rio Grande Natural Area in the State of Colorado, 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 ``Rio Grande Natural Area Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Rio Grande
Natural Area Commission established by section 4(a).
(2) Natural Area.--The term ``Natural Area'' means the Rio
Grande Natural Area established by section 3(a).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF RIO GRANDE NATURAL AREA.
(a) In General.--There is established the Rio Grande Natural Area
in the State of Colorado to conserve, restore, and protect the natural,
historic, cultural, scientific, scenic, wildlife, and recreational
resources of the Natural Area.
(b) Boundaries.--The Natural Area shall include the Rio Grande
River from the southern boundary of the Alamosa National Wildlife
Refuge to the New Mexico State border, extending \1/4\ mile on either
side of the bank of the River.
(c) Map and Legal Description.--
(1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prepare a map and legal
description of the Natural Area.
(2) Effect.--The map and legal description of the Natural Area
shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act,
except that the Secretary may correct any minor errors in the map
and legal description.
(3) Public availability.--The map and legal description of the
Natural Area shall be available for public inspection in the
appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the Rio Grande Natural
Area Commission.
(b) Purpose.--The Commission shall--
(1) advise the Secretary with respect to the Natural Area; and
(2) prepare a management plan relating to non-Federal land in
the Natural Area under section 6(b)(2)(A).
(c) Membership.--The Commission shall be composed of 9 members
appointed by the Secretary, of whom--
(1) 1 member shall represent the Colorado State Director of the
Bureau of Land Management;
(2) 1 member shall be the manager of the Alamosa National
Wildlife Refuge, ex officio;
(3) 3 members shall be appointed based on the recommendation of
the Governor of Colorado, of whom--
(A) 1 member shall represent the Colorado Division of
Wildlife;
(B) 1 member shall represent the Colorado Division of Water
Resources; and
(C) 1 member shall represent the Rio Grande Water
Conservation District; and
(4) 4 members shall--
(A) represent the general public;
(B) be citizens of the local region in which the Natural
Area is established; and
(C) have knowledge and experience in the fields of interest
relating to the preservation, restoration, and use of the
Natural Area.
(d) Terms of Office.--
(1) In general.--Except for the manager of the Alamosa National
Wildlife Refuge, the term of office of a member of the Commission
shall be 5 years.
(2) Reappointment.--A member may be reappointed to the
Commission on completion of the term of office of the member.
(e) Compensation.--A member of the Commission shall serve without
compensation for service on the Commission.
(f) Chairperson.--The Commission shall elect a chairperson of the
Commission.
(g) Meetings.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall meet at least quarterly
at the call of the chairperson.
(2) Public meetings.--A meeting of the Commission shall be open
to the public.
(3) Notice.--Notice of any meeting of the Commission shall be
published in advance of the meeting.
(h) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary and the heads of other
Federal agencies shall, to the maximum extent practicable, provide any
information and technical services requested by the Commission to
assist in carrying out the duties of the Commission.
SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) Hearings.--The Commission may hold such hearings, meet and act
at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such
evidence as the Commission considers advisable to carry out this Act.
(b) Cooperative Agreements.--
(1) In general.--For purposes of carrying out the management
plan on non-Federal land in the Natural Area, the Commission may
enter into a cooperative agreement with the State of Colorado, a
political subdivision of the State, or any person.
(2) Requirements.--A cooperative agreement entered into under
paragraph (1) shall establish procedures for providing notice to
the Commission of any action proposed by the State of Colorado, a
political subdivision of the State, or any person that may affect
the implementation of the management plan on non-Federal land in
the Natural Area.
(3) Effect.--A cooperative agreement entered into under
paragraph (1) shall not enlarge or diminish any right or duty of a
Federal agency under Federal law.
(c) Prohibition of Acquisition of Real Property.--The Commission
may not acquire any real property or interest in real property.
(d) Implementation of Management Plan.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall assist the Secretary in
implementing the management plan by carrying out the activities
described in paragraph (2) to preserve and interpret the natural,
historic, cultural, scientific, scenic, wildlife, and recreational
resources of the Natural Area.
(2) Authorized activities.--In assisting with the
implementation of the management plan under paragraph (1), the
Commission may--
(A) assist the State of Colorado in preserving State land
and wildlife within the Natural Area;
(B) assist the State of Colorado and political subdivisions
of the State in increasing public awareness of, and
appreciation for, the natural, historic, scientific, scenic,
wildlife, and recreational resources in the Natural Area;
(C) encourage political subdivisions of the State of
Colorado to adopt and implement land use policies that are
consistent with--
(i) the management of the Natural Area; and
(ii) the management plan; and
(D) encourage and assist private landowners in the Natural
Area in the implementation of the management plan.
SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN.
(a) In General.--Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary and the Commission, in coordination with
appropriate agencies in the State of Colorado, political subdivisions
of the State, and private landowners in the Natural Area, shall prepare
management plans for the Natural Area as provided in subsection (b).
(b) Duties of Secretary and Commission.--
(1) Secretary.--The Secretary shall prepare a management plan
relating to the management of Federal land in the Natural Area.
(2) Commission.--
(A) In general.--The Commission shall prepare a management
plan relating to the management of the non-Federal land in the
Natural Area.
(B) Approval or disapproval.--
(i) In general.--The Commission shall submit to the
Secretary the management plan prepared under subparagraph
(A) for approval or disapproval.
(ii) Action following disapproval.--If the Secretary
disapproves the management plan submitted under clause (i),
the Secretary shall--
(I) notify the Commission of the reasons for the
disapproval; and
(II) allow the Commission to submit to the
Secretary revisions to the management plan submitted
under clause (i).
(3) Cooperation.--The Secretary and the Commission shall
cooperate to ensure that the management plans relating to the
management of Federal land and non-Federal land are consistent.
(c) Requirements.--The management plans shall--
(1) take into consideration Federal, State, and local plans in
existence on the date of enactment of this Act to present a unified
preservation, restoration, and conservation plan for the Natural
Area;
(2) with respect to Federal land in the Natural Area--
(A) be developed in accordance with section 202 of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1712);
(B) be consistent, to the maximum extent practicable, with
the management plans adopted by the Director of the Bureau of
Land Management for land adjacent to the Natural Area; and
(C) be considered to be an amendment to the San Luis
Resource Management Plan of the Bureau of Land Management; and
(3) include--
(A) an inventory of the resources contained in the Natural
Area (including a list of property in the Natural Area that
should be preserved, restored, managed, developed, maintained,
or acquired to further the purposes of the Natural Area); and
(B) a recommendation of policies for resource management,
including the use of intergovernmental cooperative agreements,
that--
(i) protect the resources of the Natural Area; and
(ii) provide for solitude, quiet use, and pristine
natural values of the Natural Area.
(d) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish notice of the
management plans in the Federal Register.
SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION OF NATURAL AREA.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer the Federal land in
the Natural Area--
(1) in accordance with--
(A) the laws (including regulations) applicable to public
land; and
(B) the management plan; and
(2) in a manner that provides for--
(A) the conservation, restoration, and protection of the
natural, historic, scientific, scenic, wildlife, and
recreational resources of the Natural Area;
(B) the continued use of the Natural Area for purposes of
education, scientific study, and limited public recreation in a
manner that does not substantially impair the purposes for
which the Natural Area is established;
(C) the protection of the wildlife habitat of the Natural
Area;
(D) a prohibition on the construction of water storage
facilities in the Natural Area; and
(E) the reduction in the use of or removal of roads in the
Natural Area and, to the maximum extent practicable, the
reduction in or prohibition against the use of motorized
vehicles in the Natural Area (including the removal of roads
and a prohibition against motorized use on Federal land in the
area on the western side of the Rio Grande River from Lobatos
Bridge south to the New Mexico State line).
(b) Changes in Streamflow.--The Secretary is encouraged to
negotiate with the State of Colorado, the Rio Grande Water Conservation
District, and affected water users in the State to determine if changes
in the streamflow that are beneficial to the Natural Area may be
accommodated.
(c) Private Land.--The management plan prepared under section
6(b)(2)(A) shall apply to private land in the Natural Area only to the
extent that the private landowner agrees in writing to be bound by the
management plan.
(d) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, all Federal land
in the Natural Area is withdrawn from--
(1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the
public land laws;
(2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
(3) disposition under the mineral leasing laws (including
geothermal leasing laws).
(e) Acquisition of Land.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may acquire from willing sellers
by purchase, exchange, or donation land or an interest in land in
the Natural Area.
(2) Administration.--Any land or interest in land acquired
under paragraph (1) shall be administered in accordance with the
management plan and this Act.
(f) Applicable Law.--Section 5(d)(1) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers
Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(d)(1)) shall not apply to the Natural Area.
SEC. 8. EFFECT.
Nothing in this Act--
(1) amends, modifies, or is in conflict with the Rio Grande
Compact, consented to by Congress in the Act of May 31, 1939 (53
Stat. 785, ch. 155);
(2) authorizes the regulation of private land in the Natural
Area;
(3) authorizes the imposition of any mandatory streamflow
requirements;
(4) creates an express or implied Federal reserved water right;
(5) imposes any Federal water quality standard within or
upstream of the Natural Area that is more restrictive than would be
applicable had the Natural Area not been established; or
(6) prevents the State of Colorado from acquiring an instream
flow through the Natural Area under the terms, conditions, and
limitations of State law to assist in protecting the natural
environment to the extent and for the purposes authorized by State
law.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this Act.
SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.
The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 10 years after
the date of enactment of this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.