[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 452 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 452

   To ensure public access to Federal land and to the airspace over 
                             Federal land.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 23, 2009

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To ensure public access to Federal land and to the airspace over 
                             Federal land.

    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 ``Backcountry Landing Strip Access 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that aircraft landing strips--
            (1) serve an essential safety function as emergency landing 
        areas;
            (2) serve as trailhead access points for--
                    (A) outdoor enthusiasts and their activities, 
                including hiking, fishing, and hunting;
                    (B) land management activities, including forest 
                management and firefighting; and
                    (C) inholdings, including mining, ranching, 
                scientific research, and tourism;
            (3) provide access to national parks, national forests, 
        wilderness areas, and other Federal land for people who would 
        otherwise be physically unable to enjoy such places;
            (4) support the economies of the surrounding communities by 
        providing efficient access for visitors seeking recreational 
        activities; and
            (5) serve an essential role in search and rescue, forest 
        and ecological management, research, wildlife management, 
        aerial mapping, firefighting, and disaster relief.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
            (2) Aircraft landing strip.--The term ``aircraft landing 
        strip'' means an established aircraft landing strip located on 
        Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of the 
        Secretary that is for aircraft landing and departure 
        activities.
            (3) Permanently close.--The term ``permanently close'' 
        means any closure lasting more than 30 consecutive days in any 
        calendar year.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means--
                    (A) with respect to land under the jurisdiction of 
                the Department of the Interior, the Secretary of the 
                Interior; and
                    (B) with respect to land under the jurisdiction of 
                the Department of Agriculture, the Secretary of 
                Agriculture.

SEC. 4. PROCEDURE FOR CONSIDERATION OF ACTIONS AFFECTING CERTAIN 
              AIRCRAFT LANDING STRIPS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall not take any action that would 
permanently close, restrict, or render or declare as unserviceable any 
aircraft landing strip unless--
            (1) the action has been approved by the head of the 
        aviation department of the State in which the aircraft landing 
        strip is located;
            (2) the Secretary publishes notice of the proposed action 
        in the Federal Register, including notice that the action would 
        permanently close, restrict, or render or declare as 
        unserviceable the aircraft landing strip;
            (3) the Secretary provides for a 90-day public comment 
        period beginning on the date on which the notice under 
        paragraph (2) is published; and
            (4) the Secretary and the head of the aviation department 
        of the State in which the affected aircraft landing strip is 
        located have taken into consideration any comments received 
        during the comment period described in paragraph (3).
    (b) Policies.--
            (1) Backcountry aviation policies.--Not later than 2 years 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
        the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly--
                    (A) establish a national policy for governing 
                backcountry aviation issues relating to the management 
                of Federal land under the jurisdiction of the 
                Department of the Interior and the Department of 
                Agriculture; and
                    (B) require officials with jurisdiction over the 
                land described in subparagraph (A) to adhere to the 
                policy established pursuant to such subparagraph.
            (2) Requirements.--Any policy affecting air access to an 
        aircraft landing strip, including the policy established under 
        paragraph (1), shall not take effect unless the policy--
                    (A) acknowledges that the Administrator has the 
                sole authority to control aviation and airspace over 
                the United States; and
                    (B) was developed after seeking and considering 
                comments from State governments and the public.
    (c) Maintenance of Airstrips.--
            (1) In general.--To ensure that aircraft landing strips are 
        maintained in a manner that is consistent with the resource 
        values of any adjacent area, the Secretary shall consult with--
                    (A) the head of the aviation department of each 
                State in which an aircraft landing strip is located; 
                and
                    (B) any other interested parties.
            (2) Cooperative agreements.--The Secretary may enter into 
        cooperative agreements with interested parties for the 
        maintenance of aircraft landing strips.
            (3) Maintenance standards.--State aircraft landing strip 
        maintenance standards shall be used as the minimum standard 
        when such standards are available.
    (d) Exchanges or Acquisitions.--
            (1) Conditions.--If the Federal Government acquires private 
        or public property on which an aircraft landing strip is 
        located, the acquisition may not require--
                    (A) the closure or purposeful neglect of the 
                aircraft landing strip; or
                    (B) any other action that would restrict the use of 
                any aircraft landing strip.
            (2) Availability.--Each private or publicly-owned aircraft 
        landing strip acquired by the Federal Government shall be made 
        available to the general public for unrestricted use.
    (e) Effect on Federal Aviation Administration Authority.--Nothing 
in this Act may be construed to affect the authority of the 
Administrator over aviation or airspace.
                                 <all>