[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 132 (Wednesday, September 24, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11915-S11916]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Mr. Domenici):
  S. 1649. A bill to designate the Ojito Wilderness Study Area as 
wilderness, to take certain land into trust for the Pueblo of Zia, and 
for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I am proud to introduce the ``Ojito 
Wilderness Act'', a wilderness bill that has broad support in New 
Mexico. This bill designates the State's fourth Bureau of Land 
Management Wilderness area, and its first new wilderness area in more 
than 15 years. Keeping in mind Theodore Roosevelt's statement that 
``there are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, 
that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy, and its charm,'' the Ojito 
can be described as nearly 11,000 acres of dramatic landforms and 
multi-colored rock formations, with sculptured badlands, expansive 
plateaus and mesa tops, a high density of cultural and archaeological 
sites and paleontological resources, and a diverse array of plant and 
animal species. It is an area that is big enough to get lost in, but 
small enough that it will not change the fact that only one percent of 
New Mexico's BLM lands are designated as wilderness. The bill also 
provides for the acquisition of some adjacent public lands by the 
Pueblo of Zia for preservation as public open space. I am pleased that 
the senior Senator from New Mexico, Senator Domenici, is cosponsoring 
this bill and that my distinguished colleague from the Third District 
of New Mexico, Representative Udall, is introducing a companion measure 
in the House of Representatives.
  The support for this proposal truly is impressive. It has been 
formally endorsed by the Governor of New Mexico; the local Sandoval 
County Commission and the neighboring Bernalillo County Commission; the 
Albuquerque City Council; New Mexico House of Representatives Energy 
and Natural Resources Committee Chairman James Roger Madalena; the 
Governors of the Pueblos of Zia, Santa Ana, Santo Domingo, Cochiti, 
Tesuque, San Ildefonso, Pojoaque, Nambe, Santa Clara, San Juan, Sandia, 
Laguna, Acoma, Isleta, Picuris, and Taos; the National Congress of 
American Indians; the Hopi Tribe; The Wilderness Society; the New 
Mexico Wilderness Alliance; the Coalition for New Mexico Wilderness, on 
behalf of more than 375 businesses and organizations; the Rio Grande 
Chapter of the Sierra Club; the National Parks and Conservation 
Association; the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau; 1000 
Friends of New Mexico; and numerous individuals.
  The designation of the Ojito Wilderness was recommended by Secretary 
of the Interior Manuel Lujan, Jr,.--a former New Mexico Congressman of 
20 years--in 1991. Secretary Lujan found the Ojito to have ``high 
quality wilderness values'' with ``outstanding opportunities for 
solitude and primitive and unconfined recreation,'' as well as 
``outstanding photographic and sightseeing opportunities.'' The ``close 
proximity to the Albuquerque and Santa Fe population centers, cultural 
and paleontological special features, and the lack of resource 
conflicts'' made the recommendation particularly strong. President 
George H.W. Bush concurred in the recommendation and forwarded it to 
Congress for designation. This bill adopts the boundaries recommended 
at that time, so there should be no question or dispute that all of the 
lands proposed for wilderness in this bill fully qualify for wilderness 
status under the Wilderness Act.
  This bill also takes advantage of a unique opportunity to benefit 
both the Pueblo and the public by authorizing the Pueblo to acquire 
some public lands that are sandwiched between the Zia Reservation and 
the Ojito Wilderness Study Area. The general public will benefit from 
the assurance that these lands will be protected for the future, 
forming a protective buffer around the Ojito Wilderness and providing 
additional opportunities for primitive public recreation. This bill 
secures continued public access to this open space for recreational, 
scenic, paleontological, scientific, educational, and conservation 
uses.
  While these lands are--and will remain--important to the public, they 
have special importance to the Pueblo and its people. These lands are 
part of the Pueblo's aboriginal land base, and they harbor many 
cultural, religious, historical, and archaeological sites of great 
import to the Pueblo. By acquiring these lands, the Pueblo will finally 
unite the two non-contiguous parts of its Reservation. The Pueblo may 
continue to graze its cattle on these lands, but it is prohibited from 
using the lands for housing, gaming, mining, or other commercial 
enterprises.
  The Pueblo will purchase these lands for fair market value, which 
will, of course, take into consideration the restrictions and 
prohibitions on various uses, the requirement that the natural 
characteristics of the land be preserved in perpetuity, and the 
guarantee that public access be maintained. Existing rights are 
protected, so, for example, the main access road will remain a county 
road and the existing pipelines

[[Page S11916]]

and transmission line will be unaffected. The Pueblo also has agreed to 
recognize the grazing privileges of a neighboring ranch that has the 
only other outstanding grazing permit on the lands to be transferred, 
and it is working on memorializing that agreement.
  The New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands, Patrick H. Lyons, 
supports this transfer. In a letter endorsing the proposal, he told the 
Pueblo that it ``makes sense from a management perspective, and I 
applaud your efforts to address this matter in a cooperative manner. 
Once transferred, I am confident that the Pueblo of Zia will manage its 
acquisition with the same sensitivity with which it manages all its 
lands.'' I agree, and this bill authorizes the Pueblo to manage this 
land pursuant to regulations that are approved by the Secretary of the 
Interior.
  I am particularly pleased to introduce this legislation in 
celebration of the upcoming 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act of 
1964 and the eightieth anniversary of the Nation's first 
administratively-designated wilderness. This celebration is 
particularly meaningful to my State of New Mexico, for it is both the 
proud birthplace of wilderness and the home to two of its fathers: Aldo 
Leopold, who worked from Albuquerque for 15 years to create in 1924 the 
Gila wilderness near my home in southern New Mexico, and New Mexico 
Senator Clinton Anderson, who was instrumental in codifying Aldo 
Leopold's wilderness and ethic 40 years later.
  Forty years later still, the Ojito provides a unique wilderness area 
that is important not only to its local stewards, but also to the 
nearby residents of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, as well as visitors from 
across the country. It is an outdoor geology laboratory, offering a 
spectacular and unique opportunity to view from a single location the 
juxtaposition of the southwestern margin of the Rocky Mountains, the 
Colorado Plateau, and the Rio Grande Rift, along with the volcanic 
necks of the Rio Puerco Fault. Its rugged terrain offers a rewarding 
challenge to hikers, backpackers, and photographers. It shelters 
ancient Puebloan ruins and an endemic endangered plant, solitude and 
inspiration.
  The words of Aldo Leopold and Senator Clinton Anderson are fitting 
for the Ojito, for it is ``what the land was, what it is, and what it 
ought to be''; let this ``Ojito Wilderness Act'' be ``a demonstration 
by our people that we can put aside a portion of this which we have as 
a tribute to the Maker and say this we will leave as we found it.''
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1649

       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 ``Ojito Wilderness Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) the Ojito Wilderness Study Area, located in Sandoval 
     County, New Mexico, contains dramatic landforms and rock 
     structures, multicolored badlands, expansive plateaus and 
     mesa tops, and a high density of cultural and archaeological 
     sites, paleontological resources, and diverse plant and 
     animal species;
       (2) the Bureau of Land Management evaluated the Ojito area 
     and found that the area has sufficient land area and natural 
     characteristics to qualify for full wilderness status and 
     protection;
       (3) in 1992, President George H.W. Bush concurred with the 
     recommendation of Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan, 
     Jr., that Congress designate the Ojito Wilderness based on 
     the high quality wilderness values, close proximity to the 
     Albuquerque and Santa Fe population centers, cultural and 
     paleontological special features, and the lack of resource 
     conflicts in the area;
       (4) the Pueblo of Zia has worked in cooperation with other 
     interested parties to reach an agreement under which the 
     Pueblo would acquire public land adjacent to the Zia 
     Reservation and the Ojito Wilderness Study Area that would--
       (A) enhance the protections for the land in the Ojito area; 
     and
       (B) ensure that the land will remain open to the public for 
     recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, 
     paleontological, and conservation uses; and
       (5) the transfer of certain parcels of public land to the 
     Pueblo of Zia and the designation of the Ojito Wilderness as 
     a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System--
       (A) is in the best interest of people of the State of New 
     Mexico and people from other States;
       (B) would preserve and maintain the Ojito as an enduring 
     resource of wilderness; and
       (C) would provide for the management and promotion of the 
     wilderness character and various resources of the Ojito area 
     for wildlife habitat protection, scenic and historic 
     preservation, scientific research and education, primitive 
     recreation, solitude, and inspiration for present and future 
     generations of the people of the United States.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Pueblo.--The term ``Pueblo'' means the Pueblo of Zia.
       (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (3) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of New 
     Mexico.
       (4) Trust area map.--The term ``Trust Area map'' means the 
     map entitled ``Lands Transferred to Pueblo of Zia--
     Proposed'', numbered ____, and dated ____________