[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 56 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 56

To establish the Rio Grande Natural Area in the State of Colorado, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 24, 2005

Mr. Allard (for himself and Mr. Salazar) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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.
                                 <all>