1.Short title and table of
contents
(a)This Act may be cited
as the Berryessa Snow Mountain
National Conservation Area Act
.
(b)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Establishment of Berryessa Snow Mountain National
Conservation Area, California.
Sec. 4. Access and buffer zones.
Sec. 5. Management of Federal lands in conservation
area.
Sec. 6. Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area
Advisory Council.
Sec. 7. Water.
2.In this Act:
(1)The term advisory council means the
Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area Advisory Council.
(2)The term conservation area means the Berryessa
Snow Mountain National Conservation Area.
(3)The
term Secretary means—
(A)the Secretary of
Agriculture, with respect to those conservation area lands under the
jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture; and
(B)the Secretary of the Interior, with respect
to those conservation area lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the
Interior.
(4)The term Secretaries mean the
Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior acting
jointly.
(5)The
term State means the State of California.
(6)The term motor vehicle use maps means the
maps produced by the Forest Service titled Motor Vehicle Use Map,
Mendocino National Forest, SOUTH MAP, California, 2008
and Motor
Vehicle Use Map, Mendocino National Forest, SOUTH CENTRAL MAP, California,
2008
and any amendments to those maps.
3.Establishment of
Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area, California
(a)Subject to valid existing rights, there is
hereby established the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area in
the State.
(b)The purpose of the Berryessa Snow Mountain
National Conservation Area is to conserve, protect, and enhance for the benefit
and enjoyment of present and future generations the ecological, scenic,
wildlife, recreational, cultural, historical, natural, educational, and
scientific resources of the lands included in the conservation area.
(c)The conservation
area consists of approximately 319,300 acres of Federal land and interests in
Federal land within Napa, Lake, Mendocino, and Yolo Counties, California, as
depicted on the map entitled Berryessa Snow Mountain National
Conservation Area
and dated May 2, 2012.
(d)Legal
descriptions; corrections of errors
(1)As soon as practical after the date of
enactment of this Act, but in no event later than two years after such date,
the Secretaries shall prepare final maps and legal descriptions of the
conservation area.
(2)As soon as practicable after the
preparation of the maps and legal descriptions under paragraph (1), the
Secretaries shall submit the maps and legal descriptions to the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
(3)The maps and
legal descriptions prepared under paragraph (1) shall be available for public
inspection at appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management and Forest
Service.
(4)The maps and legal descriptions of the conservation area
shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that
the Secretaries may correct clerical and typographical errors in the maps and
legal descriptions.
4.
(a)The Secretary shall continue to provide
private landowners adequate access to inholdings in the conservation
area.
(b)
(1)Nothing in this Act
creates a protective perimeter of buffer zone around the conservation
area.
(2)Activities
outside of conservation areaThe fact that any activities or uses
outside of areas designated by this Act can be seen or heard within the
conservation area shall not preclude the activities or uses outside of the
conservation area.
5.Management of
Federal lands in conservation area
(a)
(1)The Secretary shall
manage the conservation area in a manner that conserves, protects, and enhances
the natural resources and values of the conservation area, in accordance
with—
(A)this Act;
(B)the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) for lands managed by
the Bureau of Land Management;
(C)the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et
seq.);
(D)the Act of June 17, 1902 (commonly known as
the Reclamation Act of 1902; 32 Stat. 388) and Acts amendatory thereof and
supplemental thereto;
(E)other laws
(including regulations) applicable to the National Forest System for land
managed by the Forest Service; and
(F)other applicable
law (including regulations).
(2)If there is a
conflict between a provision of this Act and a provision of one of the other
laws specified in paragraph (1), the more restrictive provision shall
control.
(b)The Secretary shall allow only such uses of
the conservation area as the Secretary determines would further the purposes
for which the conservation area is established.
(c)Nothing in this Act
shall be construed to enlarge or diminish the rights of any Indian
tribe.
(d)The Secretary shall continue to authorize,
maintain, and enhance the recreational use of the conservation area, including
hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, hang gliding, sightseeing, nature study,
horseback riding, mountain biking, rafting, motorized recreation on authorized
routes, and other recreational activities, so long as such recreational use is
consistent with the purposes of the conservation area, this section, other
applicable law (including regulations), and applicable management plans.
(e)
(1)Within three years
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall develop a
comprehensive plan for the protection and management of the Federal lands
included within the conservation area that fulfills the purposes for which the
conservation area is established. In implementing the management plan and in
considering any recommendations from the advisory council, the Secretaries
shall consult on a regular basis.
(2)The
management plan shall—
(A)describe the
appropriate uses and management of the conservation area;
(B)be developed with
extensive public input;
(C)take into
consideration any information developed in studies of the land within the
conservation area;
(D)assess the impacts
of climate change on the conservation area and establish policies and
procedures to ensure the preservation of wildlife corridors and facilitate
species migration;
(E)include a comprehensive weed management
strategy (including use of grazing where appropriate) to guide noxious weed
control efforts and activities;
(F)identify and
prioritize habitat restoration opportunities and strategies within the
conservation area;
(G)identify
opportunities to enhance recreational opportunities throughout the conservation
area;
(H)identify areas
outside of designated wilderness where non-motorized recreation will be
emphasized;
(I)identify
opportunities to improve fish passage and habitat quality for native fish
species;
(J)include a plan to
address the public safety and environmental clean-up issues associated with
illegal marijuana production within the conservation area;
(K)identify
opportunities to promote voluntary cooperative conservation projects with
State, local, and private interests; and
(L)take into consideration existing land uses
(including grazing) on the Federal lands within the conservation area.
(3)In developing the management plan, and to the extent
consistent with this section, the Secretary may incorporate any provision from
a resource management plan, land and resource management plan, or any other
plan applicable to the conservation area.
(4)In carrying out this Act, the Secretary may make
grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements with, State, tribal, and local
governmental entities and private entities to conduct research, develop
scientific analyses, and carry out any other initiative relating to the
restoration or conservation of the conservation area.
(f)Nothing in this Act affects the jurisdiction of the
State with respect to fish and wildlife located on public land in the State,
except that the Secretary, after consultation with the California Department of
Fish and Game, may designate zones in the conservation area where, and periods
when, hunting shall not be allowed for reasons of public safety,
administration, or public use and enjoyment.
(g)
(1)Except where needed
for administrative purposes or to respond to an emergency, the use of motorized
vehicles on lands within the conservation area shall be permitted only on
designated roads and trails.
(2)In developing the
management plan required by this section, and to the extent consistent with
this section, the Secretary, for lands under jurisdiction of Forest Service,
shall incorporate the motor vehicle use maps. In developing the management plan
(and making any subsequent amendment to the management plan), the Secretary
shall explicitly analyze and document—
(A)each instance in which the requirements of
this section or other applicable law makes it necessary to alter the motor
vehicle use maps; and
(B)the manner in which the motor vehicle use
maps are consistent with the requirements of this section.
(h)Incorporation of
acquired lands and interests
(1)The
Secretary may acquire non-Federal land within the boundaries of the
conservation area only through exchange, donation, or purchase from a willing
seller.
(2)Any
land or interest in land that is located within the conservation area that is
acquired by the United States shall—
(A)become part of the
conservation area; and
(B)be managed in
accordance with this Act.
(i)Subject
to valid existing rights, all Federal land within the conservation area is
withdrawn from—
(1)entry,
appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws;
(2)location, entry,
and patent under the mining laws; and
(3)leasing or
disposition under all laws relating to—
(A)minerals;
and
(B)operation of the
mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws.
(j)
(1)The Secretary shall permit grazing within
the conservation area—
(A)where established
before the date of enactment of this Act; or
(B)through the
issuance of annual permits for non-commercial grazing for the purposes of
control of noxious weeds within the conservation area.
(2)Grazing
permitted under paragraph (1) shall be—
(A)subject to all
applicable laws (including regulations); and
(B)consistent with
the purposes of the conservation area.
(k)Nothing in this section prohibits the Secretary, in
cooperation with other Federal, State, and local agencies, as appropriate, from
conducting wildland fire operations in the conservation area, consistent with
the purposes of the conservation area.
(l)Subject to any terms and conditions
determined to be necessary by the Secretary, nothing in this Act precludes
horseback riding in, or the entry of recreational or commercial saddle or pack
stock into, the conservation area where such use is consistent with the
purposes of the conservation area and other applicable law (including
regulations).
6.Berryessa Snow
Mountain National Conservation Area Advisory Council
(a)Not
less than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries
shall establish an advisory council, to be known as the Berryessa Snow
Mountain National Conservation Area Advisory Council
.
(b)The
advisory council shall advise the Secretaries with respect to the preparation
and implementation of the management plan for the conservation area.
(c)The advisory council shall be subject to—
(1)the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.);
(2)the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and
(3)all other
applicable law.
(d)The
advisory council shall include 11 members, to be appointed by the Secretaries,
of whom, to the extent practicable—
(1)one member shall
be appointed after considering the recommendations of the Lake County Board of
Supervisors;
(2)one member shall
be appointed after considering the recommendations of the Napa County Board of
Supervisors;
(3)one member shall
be appointed after considering the recommendations of the Yolo County Board of
Supervisors;
(4)one member shall
be appointed after considering the recommendations of the Mendocino County
Board of Supervisors;
(5)one member shall
be appointed after considering the recommendations of the head of the
California Resources Agency;
(6)one member shall
be appointed to represent Native American Tribes;
(7)five members shall
reside in, or within reasonable proximity to, Yolo County, Napa County,
Mendocino County, or Lake County, California, with backgrounds that
reflect—
(A)the purposes for
which the conservation area was established; and
(B)the interest of
the stakeholders that are affected by the planning and management of the
conservation area.
(e)The
Secretaries shall ensure that the membership of the advisory council is fairly
balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be
performed by the advisory council.
(f)
(1)Members of the advisory council shall be appointed for
terms of 3 years, except that, of the members first appointed, 4 of the members
shall be appointed for a term of 1 year and 4 of the members shall be appointed
for a term of 2 years.
(2)A
member may be reappointed to serve on the advisory council upon the expiration
of the member’s current term.
(3)A
vacancy on the advisory council shall be filled in the same manner as the
original appointment.
(g)A
quorum shall be six members of the advisory council. The operations of the
advisory council shall not be impaired by the fact that a member has not yet
been appointed as long as a quorum has been attained.
(h)Chairperson and
proceduresThe advisory council shall elect a chairperson and
establish such rules and procedures as it deems necessary or desirable.
(i)Service without
compensationMembers of the advisory council shall serve without
pay.
(j)The
advisory committee shall cease to exist—
(1)on the date that
is five years after the date on which the management plan is officially adopted
by the Secretaries; or
(2)on such later date
as the Secretaries consider appropriate.
7.Nothing in this Act—
(1)affects the use or
allocation, in existence on the date of enactment of this Act, of any water,
water right, or interest in water;
(2)affects any vested
absolute or decreed conditional water right in existence on the date of
enactment of this Act, including any water right held by the United
States;
(3)affects any
interstate water compact in existence on the date of enactment of this
Act;
(4)authorizes or
imposes any new reserved Federal water rights;
(5)relinquishes or
reduces any water rights reserved or appropriated by the United States in the
State on or before the date of enactment of this Act;
(6)impairs the ability of the Bureau of
Reclamation and its managing partners to operate, maintain, or manage
Monticello Dam, Lake Berryessa, and other Solano Project facilities in
accordance with the purposes of such project; or
(7)modifies, changes,
or supersedes any water contract or agreements approved or administered by the
Bureau of Reclamation or Solano County Water Agency or Solano Irrigation
District.