[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1272 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1272

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 16, 2009

Mr. Wyden (for himself and Mr. Merkley) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           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. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled ``Devil's 
        Staircase Wilderness Proposal'' and dated June 10, 2009.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means--
                    (A) with respect to land under the jurisdiction of 
                the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 
                Agriculture; and
                    (B) with respect to land under the jurisdiction of 
                the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the 
                Interior.
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Oregon.
            (4) Wilderness.--The term ``Wilderness'' means the Devil's 
        Staircase Wilderness designated by section 3(a).

SEC. 3. DEVIL'S STAIRCASE WILDERNESS, OREGON.

    (a) Designation.--In accordance with, and in furtherance of the 
purposes of, the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the Federal 
land in the State administered by the Chief of the Forest Service and 
the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, comprising approximately 
29,650 acres, as generally depicted on the map, is designated as 
wilderness and as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation 
System, to be known as the ``Devil's Staircase Wilderness''.
    (b) Map; Legal Description.--
            (1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
        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 the Wilderness.
            (2) Force of law.--The map and legal description filed 
        under paragraph (1) shall have the same force and effect as if 
        included in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct 
        errors in the map and legal description.
            (3) Availability.--The map and legal description filed 
        under paragraph (1) shall be on file and available for public 
        inspection in--
                    (A) the Office of the Chief of the Forest Service; 
                and
                    (B) the Office of the Director of the Bureau of 
                Land Management.
            (4) Conflict between map and legal description.--In the 
        case of a conflict between the map and the legal description 
        filed under paragraph (1), the map shall control.
    (c) Administration.--The Secretary shall administer the 
Wilderness--
            (1) in a manner that maintains and restore the wilderness 
        character of the Wilderness; and
            (2) in accordance with--
                    (A) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), 
                except that any reference in that Act to the effective 
                date shall be considered to be a reference to the date 
                of enactment of this Act; and
                    (B) the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 (16 U.S.C. 
                1132 note; Public Law 98-328).
    (d) Incorporation of Acquired Land and Interests.--Any land within 
the boundary of the Wilderness that is acquired by the United States 
shall--
            (1) become part of the Wilderness; and
            (2) be managed in accordance with--
                    (A) this section; and
                    (B) any other applicable laws.
    (e) Fish and Wildlife.--Nothing in this section affects the 
jurisdiction or responsibilities of the State with respect to wildlife 
and fish in units of the National Forest System in the State.
    (f) Adjacent Management.--
            (1) In general.--Nothing in this section creates any 
        protective perimeter or buffer zone around the Wilderness.
            (2) Activities outside wilderness.--The fact that a 
        nonwilderness activity or use on land outside the Wilderness 
        can be seen or heard within the Wilderness shall not preclude 
        the activity or use outside the boundary of the Wilderness.
    (g) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid rights in existence on the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Federal land within the Wilderness 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 relating to mineral and 
        geothermal leasing or mineral materials.
    (h) Protection of Tribal Rights.--Nothing in this section 
diminishes--
            (1) any rights of an Indian tribe in existence on the date 
        of enactment of this Act; or
            (2) any tribal rights regarding access to the Wilderness 
        for tribal activities, including spiritual, cultural, and 
        traditional food gathering activities.

SEC. 4. 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 adding at the end the following:
            ``(208) Franklin creek, oregon.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The 4.5-mile segment of Franklin 
                Creek, Oregon, from the headwaters of the Creek to the 
                private land boundary in sec. 8, T. 22 S., R. 10 W., to 
                be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture as a 
                wild river.
                    ``(B) Lateral boundaries.--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 Creek.
            ``(209) Wasson creek, oregon.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The following segments of Wasson 
                Creek, Oregon:
                            ``(i) The 4.2-mile segment from the eastern 
                        edge of sec. 17, T. 21 S., R. 9 W., downstream 
                        to the boundary of sec. 11 and 12, T. 21 S., R. 
                        10 W., to be administered by the Secretary of 
                        Interior as a wild river.
                            ``(ii) The 5.9-mile segment downstream from 
                        the boundary of sec. 11 and 12 to the private 
                        land boundary in sec. 22, T. 21 S., R. 10 W., 
                        to be administered by the Secretary of 
                        Agriculture as a wild river.
                    ``(B) Lateral boundaries.--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 Creek.''.
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