Designation of the Stornetta Outstanding Natural Area

(a)

In General

In order to protect, conserve, and enhance for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations the unique and nationally important historical, natural, cultural, scientific, educational, scenic, and recreational values of certain lands in and around the Stornetta Public Lands, in Mendocino County, California, while allowing certain recreational and research activities to continue, there is established, subject to valid existing rights, the Stornetta Outstanding Natural Area. (b)

Map

The Outstanding Natural Area shall consist of the lands generally depicted as the Stornetta Outstanding Natural Area on the map titled Stornetta Outstanding Natural Area and dated December 3, 2009. The map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the Office of the Director, Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of the Interior, and the State office of the Bureau of Land Management in the State of California. (c)

Basis of Management

The Secretary shall manage the Outstanding Natural Area as part of the National Landscape Conservation System to protect the resources of the area, and shall allow only those uses that further the purposes for the establishment of the Outstanding Natural Area, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), and other applicable laws. (d)

Withdrawal

Subject to valid existing rights, the Federal lands and interests in lands included within the Outstanding Natural Area are hereby withdrawn from— (1)all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; (2)location, entry, and patent under the public land mining laws; and (3)operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws and the mineral materials laws.

Management of the Stornetta Outstanding Natural Area

(a)

In General

The Secretary shall manage the Outstanding Natural Area in a manner that conserves, protects, and enhances the unique and nationally important historical, natural, cultural, scientific, educational, scenic, and recreational values of that area, consistent with the requirements section of 2(c). (b)

Uses

Subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary shall only allow such uses of the Outstanding Natural Area as the Secretary finds are likely to further the purposes for which the Outstanding Natural Area is established as set forth in section 2(a). (c)

Management Plan

Not later than 3 years after funds are made available for this purpose, the Secretary shall complete a comprehensive management plan consistent with the requirements of section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) to provide long-term management guidance for the public lands within the Outstanding Natural Area and fulfill the purposes for which it is established, as set forth in section 2(a). The management plan shall be developed in consultation with appropriate Federal, State, and local government agencies, with full public participation, and shall include— (1)provisions designed to ensure the protection of the resources and values described in section 2(a); (2)a proposal for minimal administrative and public facilities to be developed or improved at a level compatible with achieving the resources objectives for the Outstanding Natural Area as described in subsection (a) and with other proposed management activities to accommodate visitors and researchers to the Outstanding Natural Area; and (3)cultural resources management strategies for the Outstanding Natural Area, prepared in consultation with appropriate departments of the State of California, with emphasis on the preservation of the resources of the Outstanding Natural Area and the interpretive, education, and long-term scientific uses of the resources, giving priority to the enforcement of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.) and the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) within the Outstanding Natural Area. (d)

Cooperative Agreements

In order to better implement the management plan and to continue the successful partnerships with local communities, the California Coastal National Monument and Manchester State Park, administered by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with the appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies pursuant to section 307(b) of the Federal Land Management Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1737(b)). (e)

Research Activities

In order to continue the successful partnership with research organizations and agencies and to assist in the development and implementation of the management plan, the Secretary may authorize within the Outstanding Natural Area appropriate research activities for the purposes identified in section 2(a) and pursuant to section 307(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1737(a)). (f)

Acquisition

State and privately held lands or interests in lands adjacent to the Outstanding Natural Area and identified as appropriate for acquisition in the management plan may be acquired by the Secretary as part of the Outstanding Natural Area only by— (1)donation; (2)exchange with a willing party; or (3)purchase from a willing seller. (g)

Additions to the Outstanding Natural Area

Any lands or interest in lands adjacent to the Outstanding Natural Area acquired by the United States after the date of the enactment of this Act shall be added to and administered as part of the Outstanding Natural Area. (h)

Overflights

Nothing in this Act or the management plan shall be construed to— (1)restrict or preclude overflights, including low-level overflights, military, commercial, and general aviation overflights that can be seen or heard within the Outstanding Natural Area; (2)restrict or preclude the designation or creation of new units of special use airspace or the establishment of military flight training routes over the Outstanding Natural Area; or (3)modify regulations governing low-level overflights above the adjacent Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. (i)

Law Enforcement Activities

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude or otherwise affect coastal border security operations or other law enforcement activities by the Coast Guard or other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, or any other Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies within the Outstanding Natural Area. (j)

Native American Uses and Interests

In recognition of the past use of the Outstanding Natural Area by Indians and Indian tribes for traditional cultural and religious purposes, the Secretary shall ensure reasonable access to the Outstanding Natural Area by Indians and Indian tribes for such traditional cultural and religious purposes. In implementing this section, the Secretary, upon the request of a federally recognized Indian tribe or Indian religious community, may temporarily close to the general public use of one or more specific portions of the Outstanding Natural Area in order to protect the privacy of traditional cultural and religious activities in such areas by the federally recognized Indian tribe or Indian religious community. Any such closure shall be made to affect the smallest practicable area for the minimum period necessary for such purposes. Such access shall be consistent with the purpose and intent of Public Law 95–341 (42 U.S.C. 1996 et seq.; commonly referred to as the American Indian Religious Freedom Act). (k)

No Buffer Zones

The designation of the Outstanding Natural Area is not intended to lead to the creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones around the area. The fact that activities outside the Outstanding Natural Area and not consistent with the purposes of this Act can be seen or heard within the Outstanding Natural Area shall not, of itself, preclude such activities or uses up to the boundary of the Outstanding Natural Area.