[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2888 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2888

To provide for the designation of the Devil's Staircase Wilderness Area 
 in the State of Oregon, to designate segments of Wasson and Franklin 
  Creeks in the State of Oregon as wild or recreation rivers, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 16, 2009

  Mr. DeFazio (for himself, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Wu, and Mr. Schrader) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the designation of the Devil's Staircase Wilderness Area 
 in the State of Oregon, to designate segments of Wasson and Franklin 
  Creeks in the State of Oregon as wild or recreation rivers, 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 ``Devil's Staircase Wilderness Act of 
2009''.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREA, DEVIL'S STAIRCASE WILDERNESS, 
              OREGON.

    (a) Designation.--In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the Federal land in the State of Oregon 
administered by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, 
comprising approximately 29,650 acres, as generally depicted on the map 
titled ``Devil's Staircase Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated June 9, 
2009, are designated as a wilderness area for inclusion in the National 
Wilderness Preservation System and to be known as the ``Devil's 
Staircase Wilderness''.
    (b) Map and Legal Description.--As soon as practicable after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall file with the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a map and legal 
description of wilderness area designated by subsection (a). The map 
and legal description shall have the same force and effect as if 
included in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct clerical 
and typographical errors in the map and description. In the case of any 
discrepancy between the acreage specified in subsection (a) and the 
map, the map shall control. The map and legal description shall be on 
file and available for public inspection in the Office of the Chief of 
the Forest Service.
    (c) Management.--Subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary 
shall manage the wilderness area designated by subsection (a) as 
wilderness.

SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION.

    The Devil's Staircase Wilderness Area shall be administered by the 
Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior--
            (1) so as to maintain and restore the wilderness character 
        and for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation 
        System; and
            (2) in accordance with the Wilderness Act and the Oregon 
        Wilderness Act of 1984, except that, with respect to the 
        wilderness area, any reference in the Wilderness Act to the 
        effective date of that Act shall be deemed to be a reference to 
        the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. INCORPORATION OF ACQUIRED LAND AND INTERESTS.

    Any land within the boundary of the wilderness area designated by 
this Act that is acquired by the United States shall--
            (1) become part of the Devil's Staircase Wilderness Area; 
        and
            (2) be managed in accordance with this Act and any other 
        applicable law.

SEC. 5. FISH AND WILDLIFE.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the 
jurisdiction or responsibilities of the State of Oregon with respect to 
wildlife and fish in the national forests.

SEC. 6. BUFFER ZONES.

    (a) In General.--As provided in the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 
(16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 98-328), Congress does not intend for 
designation of the wilderness area under this Act to lead to the 
creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones around the wilderness 
area.
    (b) Activities or Uses up to Boundaries.--The fact that 
nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard from within a 
wilderness area shall not, of itself, preclude the activities or uses 
up to the boundary of the wilderness area.

SEC. 7. WITHDRAWAL.

    Subject to valid rights in existence on the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Federal land designated as wilderness area 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.

SEC. 8. PROTECTION OF TRIBAL RIGHTS.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to diminish--
            (1) the existing rights of any Indian tribe; or
            (2) tribal rights regarding access to Federal lands for 
        tribal activities, including spiritual, cultural, and 
        traditional food gathering activities.

SEC. 9. WILD AND SCENIC RIVER DESIGNATIONS, WASSON CREEK AND FRANKLIN 
              CREEK, OREGON.

    Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) 
is amended by inserting a new paragraphs:
            ``(__) Franklin creek, oregon.--
                    ``(A) The 4.5-mile segment from the headwaters to 
                the private land boundary in section 8 to be 
                administered by the Secretary of Agriculture as a wild 
                river.
                    ``(B) Notwithstanding section 3(b), the lateral 
                boundaries of the wild river area along Franklin Creek 
                shall include an average of not more than 640 acres per 
                mile measured from the ordinary high water mark on both 
                sides of the river.
            ``(__) Wasson creek, oregon.--
                    ``(A) The 4.2-mile segment from the eastern edge of 
                section 17 downstream to the boundary of sections 11 
                and 12 to be administered by the Secretary of Interior 
                as a wild river.
                    ``(B) The 5.9-mile segment downstream from the 
                boundary of sections 11 and 12 to the private land 
                boundary in section 22 to be administered by the 
                Secretary of Agriculture as a wild river.
                    ``(C) Notwithstanding section 3(b), the lateral 
                boundaries of the wild river area along Wasson Creek 
                shall include an average of not more than 640 acres per 
                mile measured from the ordinary high water mark on both 
                sides of the river.''.
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