[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4289 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4289
To designate certain lands in the State of Colorado as components of
the National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 11, 2009
Ms. DeGette introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To designate certain lands in the State of Colorado as components of
the National Wilderness Preservation System, 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 AND DEFINITION.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Colorado
Wilderness Act of 2009''.
(b) Secretary Defined.--As used in this Act, the term ``Secretary''
means the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as
appropriate.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONS TO NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM IN THE
STATE OF COLORADO.
(a) Additions.--The following lands in the State of Colorado
administered by the Bureau of Land Management or the United States
Forest Service are hereby designated as wilderness and, therefore, as
components of the National Wilderness Preservation System:
(1) The following areas managed by the Glenwood Springs
Field Office:
(A) Certain lands which comprise approximately
15,155 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Bull Gulch Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Bull
Gulch Wilderness.
(B) Certain lands which comprise approximately
16,263 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Castle Peak Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Castle
Peak Wilderness.
(C) Certain lands which comprise approximately 316
acres, as generally depicted on a map titled ``Maroon
Bells Snowmass Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Maroon
Bells Wilderness.
(D) Certain lands which comprise approximately
11,701 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Grand Hogback Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Grand
Hogback Wilderness.
(2) The following areas managed by the Glenwood Springs
Field Office or located in the White River National Forest:
(A) Certain lands which comprise approximately
16,427 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Flat Tops Addition Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, and which are hereby incorporated
in and shall be deemed to be a part of the Flat Tops
Wilderness designated by Public Law 94-146.
(B) Certain lands which comprise approximately
25,285 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Thompson Creek Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the
Thompson Creek Wilderness.
(3) The following areas managed by the Grand Junction Field
Office:
(A) Certain lands which comprise approximately
21,110 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Bangs Canyon Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Bangs
Canyon Wilderness.
(B) Certain lands which comprise approximately
25,881 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Demaree Canyon Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Demaree
Canyon Wilderness.
(C) Certain lands which comprise approximately
14,089 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Granite Creek Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Granite
Creek Wilderness.
(D) Certain lands which comprise approximately
30,557 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Little Bookcliffs Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Little
Bookcliffs Wilderness.
(E) Certain lands which comprise approximately
26,914 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``The Palisade Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the
Palisade Wilderness.
(F) Certain lands which comprise approximately
27,569 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``South Shale Ridge Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the South
Shale Ridge Wilderness.
(4) Certain lands managed by the Grand Junction Field
Office or located in the Uncompahgre National Forest, which
comprise approximately 39,392 acres, as generally depicted on a
map titled ``Unaweep Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Unaweep
Wilderness.
(5) Certain lands managed by the Grand Junction Field
Office and San Juan Field Office and in the Manti-LaSal
National Forest which comprise approximately 65,448 acres, as
generally depicted on a map titled ``Sewemup Mesa Proposed
Wilderness Area'', dated September 17, 2007, which shall be
known as the Sewemup Mesa Wilderness.
(6) The following areas managed by Gunnison Field Office:
(A) Certain lands which comprise approximately
3,306 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Powderhorn Additions Proposed Wilderness Area'',
dated September 17, 2007, and which are hereby
incorporated in and shall be deemed to be a part of the
Powderhorn Wilderness designated by Public Law 103-77.
(B) Certain lands which comprise approximately
38,594 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Redcloud Peak Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the
Redcloud Peak Wilderness.
(C) Certain lands which comprise approximately
6,878 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``West Elk Addition Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, and which are hereby incorporated
in and shall be deemed to be a part of the West Elk
Wilderness designated by Public Law 88-577.
(7) Certain lands managed by the Gunnison Field Office or
located in the Gunnison National Forest and Rio Grande National
Forest which comprise approximately 72,397 acres, as generally
depicted on a map titled ``Handies Peak Proposed Wilderness
Area'', dated September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the
Handies Peak Wilderness.
(8) Certain lands managed by the Kremmling Field Office
which comprise approximately 33 acres, as generally depicted on
a map titled ``Platte River Addition Proposed Wilderness
Area'', dated September 17, 2007, and which are hereby
incorporated in and shall be deemed to be part of the Platte
River Wilderness designated by Public Law 98-550.
(9) The following areas managed by the Uncompahgre Field
Office or located in the Uncompahgre National Forest:
(A) Certain lands which comprise approximately
22,604 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Roubideau Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated September
17, 2007, which shall be known as the Roubideau
Wilderness.
(B) Certain lands which comprise approximately
13,288 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Norwood Canyon Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Norwood
Canyon Wilderness.
(10) The following areas managed by the San Juan Field
Office:
(A) Certain lands which comprise approximately
25,947 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Cross Canyon Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Cross
Canyon Wilderness.
(B) Certain lands which comprise approximately
33,467 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``McKenna Peak Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the McKenna
Peak Wilderness.
(C) Certain lands which comprise approximately
14,598 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Weber-Menefee Mountain Proposed Wilderness Area'',
dated September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the
Weber-Menefee Mountain Wilderness.
(11) Certain lands managed by the Uncompahgre and San Juan
Field Offices which comprise approximately 41,133 acres, as
generally depicted on a map titled ``Dolores River Canyon
Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated September 17, 2007, which
shall be known as the Dolores River Canyon Wilderness.
(12) The following areas managed by the Royal Gorge Field
Office:
(A) Certain lands which comprise approximately
17,318 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``McIntyre Hills Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the
McIntyre Wilderness.
(B) Certain lands which comprise approximately
27,888 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Table Mountain Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Table
Mountain Wilderness.
(13) The following areas managed by the Royal Gorge Field
Office or located in the Pike National Forest:
(A) Certain lands which comprise approximately
38,378 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Beaver Creek Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Beaver
Creek Wilderness.
(B) Certain lands which comprise approximately
25,229 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Badger Creek Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Badger
Creek Wilderness.
(C) Certain lands which comprise approximately
20,025 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled
``Browns Canyon Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Browns
Canyon Wilderness.
(14) Certain lands managed by the Royal Gorge Resource Area
or located in the San Isabel National Forest which comprise
approximately 44,372 acres, as generally depicted on a map
titled ``Grape Creek Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Grape Creek
Wilderness.
(15) Certain lands managed by the San Juan Field Office or
located in the San Juan National Forest which comprise
approximately 32,050 acres, as generally depicted on a map
titled ``Snaggletooth Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated
September 17, 2007, which shall be known as the Snaggletooth
Wilderness.
(b) Maps and Descriptions.--As soon as practicable after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall file a map and a
boundary description of each area designated as wilderness by this
section with the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate. Each map and boundary 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 or boundary
description. The maps and boundary descriptions shall be on file and
available for public inspection in the Office of the Director of the
Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, and in the
Office of the Chief of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture,
as appropriate.
(c) State and Private Lands.--Lands within the exterior boundaries
of any wilderness area designated under this section that are owned by
the State of Colorado or by a private entity shall be included within
such wilderness area if such lands are acquired by the United States.
Such lands may be acquired by the United States only as provided in the
Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.).
SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
(a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights, lands designated
as wilderness by this Act shall be managed by the Secretary in
accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this
Act, except that, with respect to any wilderness areas designated by
this Act, any reference in the Wilderness Act to the effective date of
the Wilderness Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the date of
enactment of this Act.
(b) Grazing.--Grazing of livestock in wilderness areas designated
by this Act shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of
section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)), as
further interpreted by section 108 of Public Law 96-560, and the
guidelines set forth in Appendix A of House Report 101-405 of the 101st
Congress.
(c) State Jurisdiction.--As provided in section 4(d)(7) of the
Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)), nothing in this Act shall be
construed as affecting the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the
State of Colorado with respect to wildlife and fish in Colorado.
(d) Water.--
(1) In general.--With respect to each wilderness and
potential wilderness area designated by this Act, the Secretary
shall obtain and exercise any water rights required to fulfill
the purposes of the wilderness in accordance with the following
provisions:
(A) Such water rights shall be appropriated,
adjudicated, changed, and administered pursuant to the
procedural requirements and priority system of the laws
of the State of Colorado.
(B) The purposes and other substantive
characteristics of such water rights shall be
established pursuant to State law, except that the
Secretary is specifically authorized to appropriate
water under this Act exclusively for the purpose of
maintaining groundwater levels, surface water levels,
and streamflows on, across, and under the wilderness in
order to accomplish the purposes of the wilderness and
to protect wilderness uses.
(C) Such water rights shall be established and used
without interfering with any exercise of a water right
in existence on the date of the enactment of this Act
for a non-Federal purpose.
(2) Protecting rights.--The Secretary and all other
officers of the United States shall take steps necessary to
protect the rights established under paragraph (1), including
the filing by the Secretary of a claim for the quantification
of such rights in any present or future appropriate stream
adjudication in the courts of the State of Colorado in which
the United States is or may be joined and which is conducted in
accordance with section 208 of the Department of Justice
Appropriation Act, 1953 (43 U.S.C. 666; commonly known as the
McCarran Amendment).
(3) Relinquishment or reduction.--Nothing in this Act shall
be construed as a relinquishment or reduction of any water
rights reserved or appropriated by the United States in the
State of Colorado on or before the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(4) Water resource facility.--With respect to each
wilderness and potential wilderness area designated by this
Act, notwithstanding any other provision of law, on and after
the date of the enactment of this Act, neither the President
nor any other officer, employee, or agent of the United States
shall fund, assist, authorize, or issue a license or permit for
development of any new irrigation and pumping facility,
reservoir, water conservation work, aqueduct, canal, ditch,
pipeline, well, hydropower project, transmission, other
ancillary facility, or other water diversion, storage, or
carriage structure.
(e) Aerial Navigation Training Exercises.--
(1) In general.--The Colorado Army National Guard, through
the High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site,
may conduct aerial navigation training maneuver exercises over
and upon the lands designated as potential wilderness by this
Act in a manner--
(A) consistent with the memorandum of understanding
dated August 4, 1987, among the Colorado Army National
Guard, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest
Service; and
(B) minimizing the impact to wilderness character,
natural features, and a visitor's sense of solitude.
(2) Review of the memorandum of understanding.--The parties
to the memorandum of understanding referred to in paragraph
(1)(A) shall review the memorandum and associated annual
operating plan not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter so long as the
Colorado Army National Guard conducts activity described in
paragraph (1). The review shall include consideration of
alternative locations for activities identified in the
memorandum of understanding. Such alternative locations must be
over and upon National Forest System lands and lands
administered by the Bureau of Land Management, other than lands
designated as wilderness or as potential wilderness.
(3) Modification of the memorandum of understanding.--The
memorandum of understanding referred to in paragraph (1)(A) may
be modified, subject to the agreement of all parties thereto,
if the Colorado Army National Guard, in consultation with the
Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, identifies an
alternative location as described in paragraph (2) that meets
its aerial training needs.
(f) Potential Wilderness Designations.--
(1) In general.--The following lands are designated as
potential wilderness areas:
(A) Certain lands managed by the Glenwood Springs
Field Office or located in the White River National
Forest which comprise approximately 20,843 acres, as
generally depicted on a map titled ``Deep Creek
Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated September 17, 2007,
which shall be known as the Deep Creek Wilderness.
(B) Certain lands managed by the Glenwood Springs
Field Office which comprise approximately 15,679 acres,
as generally depicted on a map titled ``Pisgah Mountain
Proposed Wilderness Area'', dated September 17, 2007,
which shall be known as the Pisgah Mountain Wilderness.
(2) Designation as wilderness.--Lands described in
paragraph (1) shall be designated as wilderness upon the
Secretary publishing in the Federal Register a notice that all
nonconforming uses of those lands provided for under subsection
(e) that would be prohibited in wilderness by the Wilderness
Act have ceased. Such publication in the Federal Register by
the Secretary and subsequent designation as wilderness shall
occur as the nonconforming use ceases in any of the individual
areas identified and shall not be dependent on cessation of the
nonconforming uses in all the potential wilderness areas
identified.
(3) Management.--Except for activities provided for under
subsection (e), lands described in paragraph (1) shall be
managed by the Secretary in accordance with the Wilderness Act
as wilderness until those lands are designated as wilderness
under this subsection.
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