[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 174 (Friday, December 14, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2302-E2303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             JAMES PEAK WILDERNESS AND PROTECTION AREA ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 11, 2001

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, the House passed this bill 
earlier this week. While it was discussed at some length on the floor, 
and is further explained in the report of the Resources Committee, for 
the benefit of all with an interest in it here is an outline of the 
main provisions of the bill.
  In this outline, I am including the latest acreage numbers by the 
Forest Service, based on more precise estimates they have made while 
developing the official map of the lands affected by the bill. I am 
including these because, of course, where the acreage estimates in the 
bill text are different, it is the map that will control and will show 
exactly what the bill would do.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


                              SHORT TITLE

       Section 1: provides a short title, namely James Peak 
     Wilderness and Protection Area Act.


                               WILDERNESS

       Section 2 amends two previous wilderness Acts; the effect 
     is to (1) designate about 17,000 acres in Boulder, Clear 
     Creek, and Gilpin Counties, Colorado, as the ``James Peak 
     Wilderness''; and (2) enlarge the Indian Peaks Wilderness by 
     addition of three tracts that in total amount to about 3,350 
     acres.


                            PROTECTION AREA

       Section 3 designates about 19,000 acres of national forest 
     land as the ``James Peak Protection Area''. Except as 
     provided in this section, the protection area is to be 
     managed in accordance with the relevant management 
     prescriptions identified in the 1997 revision of the forest 
     plan for the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest. The principal 
     exceptions specified in the section include--
       (1) Withdrawal.--The entire protection area is withdrawn, 
     subject to valid existing rights, from all forms of 
     appropriation or disposal under the public land laws as well 
     as from location, entry, and patent under the mining laws and 
     from operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and 
     geothermal leasing laws;
       (2) Timber harvest.--The entire protection area is closed 
     to timber harvesting except to the extent needed for insect 
     or disease control projects, hazardous fuel reduction or 
     other measures for control of fire, or protection of the 
     public health and safety;
       (3) Retention.--The United States must retain all its 
     right, title, and interest in lands within the boundaries of 
     the protection area, including both those held as of the date 
     of enactment and those acquired thereafter.
       (4) Special interest management.--The ``special interest 
     area'' management prescriptions identified in the forest plan 
     as applicable to certain lands are also made applicable to 
     additional contiguous lands, as indicated on a referenced map 
     of the protection area. Together, these lands add up to about 
     7,000 acres.


                      ROADS, TRAILS, AND VEHICLES

       Section 3 also includes provisions specifically related to 
     use of lands within the protection area by motorized and 
     mechanized vehicles, including--
       (1) Inventory.--Subsection 3(d)(1)(C) provides for a review 
     and inventory of existing roads and trails in a portion of 
     the protection area where use was officially allowed by the 
     Forest Service on September 10, 2001. Lands subject to the 
     ``special interest area'' management prescriptions are 
     excluded from this process. The intention is that in 
     conducting this review and inventory the Forest Service 
     involve the public so that all interested groups and 
     individuals are consulted and included in this process. The 
     review and inventory are to be completed within two years 
     after enactment of the bill, and during that period the 
     Forest Service is authorized to connect existing roads and 
     trails in the area subject to the review and inventory to 
     other existing roads and trails in that area, so long as 
     there is no net gain in the mileage of either roads or trails 
     open to public use in that area. The purpose of this 
     authorization is to enable the Forest Service to provide a 
     more functional and ecologically sound but not more extensive 
     network of transportation routes in this part of the 
     protection area.
       (2) Closure.--Subsection 3(d)(1)(C) also authorizes closure 
     or removal of existing roads or trails anywhere in the 
     protection area that the Forest Service determines to be 
     undesirable, except as specified in subsection 3(d)(2) or 
     subsection 3(e)(3). The intention is that roads and trails 
     closed under this authority will be removed and revegetated 
     in a way that assures their full rehabilitation and restricts 
     them from further use.
       (3) Prohibition on new roads and trails.--Subsection 
     3(d)(1)(D) prohibits establishment of new roads or trails in 
     the protection area, subject to certain specified exceptions, 
     including an allowance for nonpermanent roads and trails that 
     will be retained only for the period needed for temporary 
     management purposes.


                                 WATER

       Subsection 3(d)(e) deals with the relationship between the 
     protection area and water rights.
       It specifies that the bill (1) does not constitute an 
     express or implied reservation of any water or water rights 
     with respect to lands in the protection area; (2) will not 
     affect any existing water rights in Colorado; (3) will not 
     limit, alter, modify, or amend any interstate compacts or 
     equitable apportionment decrees that apportion water among 
     and between Colorado and other states; and (4) does not 
     constitute a precedent with respect to any future protection 
     area designation.
       The subsection also requires the Secretary of Agriculture 
     to follow Colorado law in order to obtain any new water 
     rights with respect to the protection area, and explicitly 
     states (in paragraph (3)) that the bill will have no effect 
     on existing water facilities or infrastructure, or associated 
     water-related property, interests, and uses, in the portion 
     of the protection area not subject to the ``special interest 
     area'' management prescriptions.
       With regard to the provisions related to water facilities 
     or infrastructure, it should be noted that this part of the 
     National Forest has been a municipal watershed for the City 
     and County of Denver and other communities for more than 
     eight decades, without serious adverse effects on the 
     resources and values of these lands. Section 3(e)(3) is 
     included to make clear that nothing in this bill will 
     interfere with the continuation of that use. Toward that end, 
     it specifies that the bill will not interfere with operation 
     and maintenance of water facilities and infrastructure, 
     including, but not limited to, the Moffat Tunnel, the Fraser 
     River Water Collection system or the Englewood water 
     collection system. Nothing in the bill will give the Forest 
     Service any additional rights of oversight, regulation or 
     acquisition in regard to any water facilities located in the 
     protection area. As a result, access to such facilities, as 
     well as any necessary work in connection with them--including 
     construction or repair of roads or other uses of rights-of-
     way--will continue to be subject only to any conditions or 
     restrictions that would have been applicable or could become 
     applicable in the absence of this legislation.


                               INHOLDINGS

       Section 4 addresses non-federal lands located within the 
     protection area. It provides for acquisition of any such 
     lands by the United States by purchase or exchange with the 
     consent of the owner, a report to Congress concerning the 
     status of negotiations toward that end, and for management of 
     any such lands as part of the protection area upon their 
     acquisition by the United States.


                          FALL RIVER TRAILHEAD

       Section 5 directs the Forest Service to locate a new 
     trailhead and appropriate attendant facilities in the Fall 
     River basin area southeast of the James Peak Wilderness Area. 
     The Forest Service is to consult with Clear Creek County, 
     local communities and the interested public on the location 
     and establishment of this trailhead. The purpose of this 
     trailhead is to provide access to this region of the James 
     Peak Wilderness Area while also alleviating impacts to the 
     communities of Alice Township and St. Mary's Glacier from 
     wilderness use and recreation.


                            LOOP TRAIL STUDY

       Section 6 directs the Forest Service to undertake a study 
     to determine whether or not it would be both feasible and 
     desirable to establish within the protection area a loop 
     trail for non-motorized recreational use that would connect 
     the existing ``Rogers Pass'' trail and the existing ``Rollins 
     Pass'' road. This study is to be done in consultation with 
     interest parties, which the Committee intends will result in 
     a thorough public-involvement process. It is important to 
     note that neither this section nor the provisions for review 
     and inventory in section 3(d)(1)(C) presume that mechanized 
     recreation will be permitted on the existing Rogers Pass 
     trail. Instead, ultimate decisions regarding such use and 
     management will be made by the Forest Service consistent with 
     the 1997 Forest Plan and the provisions of the bill.


                            OTHER PROVISIONS

       Subsection 7(a) specifies that the bill's designation of 
     wilderness will not result in the creation of buffer zones 
     outside the boundaries of the wilderness areas.
       Subsection 7(b) provides for technical assistance with 
     respect to repair of the Rollins Pass road, if requested by 
     one or more of the affected counties. The intention is that 
     if the Rollins Pass road is reopened the cut-offs, bypasses 
     and detours that have been created by motorized and 
     mechanized vehicles will be closed so that the impacts caused 
     by these detours are halted and the affected lands can

[[Page E2303]]

     recover and be restored to their natural character.


                          WILDERNESS POTENTIAL

       Subsection 8(a) makes clear that nothing in the bill will 
     preclude or restrict the authority of the Secretary of 
     Agriculture to evaluate the suitability of lands in the 
     protection area for future wilderness designation or to make 
     recommendations to Congress for such designation at any time. 
     Subsection 8(b) specifies that such evaluation of the part of 
     the protection area subject to ``special interest area'' 
     management prescriptions shall be done in connection with the 
     first revision of the relevant forest plan after the date of 
     enactment of the bill.

     

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