[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 27, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H7657-H7659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RIO GRANDE NATURAL AREA ACT

  Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 56) to establish the Rio Grande Natural Area in the 
State of Colorado, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                 S. 56

       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 ``Rio Grande Natural Area 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Rio 
     Grande Natural Area Commission established by section 4(a).
       (2) Natural Area.--The term ``Natural Area'' means the Rio 
     Grande Natural Area established by section 3(a).
       (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.

     SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF RIO GRANDE NATURAL AREA.

       (a) In General.--There is established the Rio Grande 
     Natural Area in the State of Colorado to conserve, restore, 
     and protect the natural, historic, cultural, scientific, 
     scenic, wildlife, and recreational resources of the Natural 
     Area.
       (b) Boundaries.--The Natural Area shall include the Rio 
     Grande River from the southern boundary of the Alamosa 
     National Wildlife Refuge to the New Mexico State border, 
     extending \1/4\ mile on either side of the bank of the River.
       (c) Map and Legal Description.--
       (1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prepare a map and 
     legal description of the Natural Area.
       (2) Effect.--The map and legal description of the Natural 
     Area shall have the same force and effect as if included in 
     this Act, except that the Secretary may correct any minor 
     errors in the map and legal description.
       (3) Public availability.--The map and legal description of 
     the Natural Area shall be available for public inspection in 
     the appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management.

     SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMISSION.

       (a) Establishment.--There is established the Rio Grande 
     Natural Area Commission.
       (b) Purpose.--The Commission shall--
       (1) advise the Secretary with respect to the Natural Area; 
     and
       (2) prepare a management plan relating to non-Federal land 
     in the Natural Area under section 6(b)(2)(A).
       (c) Membership.--The Commission shall be composed of 9 
     members appointed by the Secretary, of whom--
       (1) 1 member shall represent the Colorado State Director of 
     the Bureau of Land Management;
       (2) 1 member shall be the manager of the Alamosa National 
     Wildlife Refuge, ex officio;
       (3) 3 members shall be appointed based on the 
     recommendation of the Governor of Colorado, of whom--
       (A) 1 member shall represent the Colorado Division of 
     Wildlife;
       (B) 1 member shall represent the Colorado Division of Water 
     Resources; and
       (C) 1 member shall represent the Rio Grande Water 
     Conservation District; and
       (4) 4 members shall--
       (A) represent the general public;
       (B) be citizens of the local region in which the Natural 
     Area is established; and
       (C) have knowledge and experience in the fields of interest 
     relating to the preservation, restoration, and use of the 
     Natural Area.
       (d) Terms of Office.--
       (1) In general.--Except for the manager of the Alamosa 
     National Wildlife Refuge, the term of office of a member of 
     the Commission shall be 5 years.
       (2) Reappointment.--A member may be reappointed to the 
     Commission on completion of the term of office of the member.
       (e) Compensation.--A member of the Commission shall serve 
     without compensation for service on the Commission.
       (f) Chairperson.--The Commission shall elect a chairperson 
     of the Commission.
       (g) Meetings.--
       (1) In general.--The Commission shall meet at least 
     quarterly at the call of the chairperson.
       (2) Public meetings.--A meeting of the Commission shall be 
     open to the public.
       (3) Notice.--Notice of any meeting of the Commission shall 
     be published in advance of the meeting.
       (h) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary and the heads of 
     other Federal agencies shall, to the maximum extent 
     practicable, provide any information and technical services 
     requested by the Commission to assist in carrying out the 
     duties of the Commission.

     SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

       (a) Hearings.--The Commission may hold such hearings, meet 
     and act at such times and places, take such testimony, and 
     receive such evidence as the Commission considers advisable 
     to carry out this Act.
       (b) Cooperative Agreements.--
       (1) In general.--For purposes of carrying out the 
     management plan on non-Federal land in the Natural Area, the 
     Commission may enter into a cooperative agreement with the 
     State of Colorado, a political subdivision of the State, or 
     any person.
       (2) Requirements.--A cooperative agreement entered into 
     under paragraph (1) shall establish procedures for providing 
     notice to the Commission of any action proposed by

[[Page H7658]]

     the State of Colorado, a political subdivision of the State, 
     or any person that may affect the implementation of the 
     management plan on non-Federal land in the Natural Area.
       (3) Effect.--A cooperative agreement entered into under 
     paragraph (1) shall not enlarge or diminish any right or duty 
     of a Federal agency under Federal law.
       (c) Prohibition of Acquisition of Real Property.--The 
     Commission may not acquire any real property or interest in 
     real property.
       (d) Implementation of Management Plan.--
       (1) In general.--The Commission shall assist the Secretary 
     in implementing the management plan by carrying out the 
     activities described in paragraph (2) to preserve and 
     interpret the natural, historic, cultural, scientific, 
     scenic, wildlife, and recreational resources of the Natural 
     Area.
       (2) Authorized activities.--In assisting with the 
     implementation of the management plan under paragraph (1), 
     the Commission may--
       (A) assist the State of Colorado in preserving State land 
     and wildlife within the Natural Area;
       (B) assist the State of Colorado and political subdivisions 
     of the State in increasing public awareness of, and 
     appreciation for, the natural, historic, scientific, scenic, 
     wildlife, and recreational resources in the Natural Area;
       (C) encourage political subdivisions of the State of 
     Colorado to adopt and implement land use policies that are 
     consistent with--
       (i) the management of the Natural Area; and
       (ii) the management plan; and
       (D) encourage and assist private landowners in the Natural 
     Area in the implementation of the management plan.

     SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 4 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Commission, in 
     coordination with appropriate agencies in the State of 
     Colorado, political subdivisions of the State, and private 
     landowners in the Natural Area, shall prepare management 
     plans for the Natural Area as provided in subsection (b).
       (b) Duties of Secretary and Commission.--
       (1) Secretary.--The Secretary shall prepare a management 
     plan relating to the management of Federal land in the 
     Natural Area.
       (2) Commission.--
       (A) In general.--The Commission shall prepare a management 
     plan relating to the management of the non-Federal land in 
     the Natural Area.
       (B) Approval or disapproval.--
       (i) In general.--The Commission shall submit to the 
     Secretary the management plan prepared under subparagraph (A) 
     for approval or disapproval.
       (ii) Action following disapproval.--If the Secretary 
     disapproves the management plan submitted under clause (i), 
     the Secretary shall--

       (I) notify the Commission of the reasons for the 
     disapproval; and
       (II) allow the Commission to submit to the Secretary 
     revisions to the management plan submitted under clause (i).

       (3) Cooperation.--The Secretary and the Commission shall 
     cooperate to ensure that the management plans relating to the 
     management of Federal land and non-Federal land are 
     consistent.
       (c) Requirements.--The management plans shall--
       (1) take into consideration Federal, State, and local plans 
     in existence on the date of enactment of this Act to present 
     a unified preservation, restoration, and conservation plan 
     for the Natural Area;
       (2) with respect to Federal land in the Natural Area--
       (A) be developed in accordance with section 202 of the 
     Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
     1712);
       (B) be consistent, to the maximum extent practicable, with 
     the management plans adopted by the Director of the Bureau of 
     Land Management for land adjacent to the Natural Area; and
       (C) be considered to be an amendment to the San Luis 
     Resource Management Plan of the Bureau of Land Management; 
     and
       (3) include--
       (A) an inventory of the resources contained in the Natural 
     Area (including a list of property in the Natural Area that 
     should be preserved, restored, managed, developed, 
     maintained, or acquired to further the purposes of the 
     Natural Area); and
       (B) a recommendation of policies for resource management, 
     including the use of intergovernmental cooperative 
     agreements, that--
       (i) protect the resources of the Natural Area; and
       (ii) provide for solitude, quiet use, and pristine natural 
     values of the Natural Area.
       (d) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish notice of the 
     management plans in the Federal Register.

     SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION OF NATURAL AREA.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer the Federal 
     land in the Natural Area--
       (1) in accordance with--
       (A) the laws (including regulations) applicable to public 
     land; and
       (B) the management plan; and
       (2) in a manner that provides for--
       (A) the conservation, restoration, and protection of the 
     natural, historic, scientific, scenic, wildlife, and 
     recreational resources of the Natural Area;
       (B) the continued use of the Natural Area for purposes of 
     education, scientific study, and limited public recreation in 
     a manner that does not substantially impair the purposes for 
     which the Natural Area is established;
       (C) the protection of the wildlife habitat of the Natural 
     Area;
       (D) a prohibition on the construction of water storage 
     facilities in the Natural Area; and
       (E) the reduction in the use of or removal of roads in the 
     Natural Area and, to the maximum extent practicable, the 
     reduction in or prohibition against the use of motorized 
     vehicles in the Natural Area (including the removal of roads 
     and a prohibition against motorized use on Federal land in 
     the area on the western side of the Rio Grande River from 
     Lobatos Bridge south to the New Mexico State line).
       (b) Changes in Streamflow.--The Secretary is encouraged to 
     negotiate with the State of Colorado, the Rio Grande Water 
     Conservation District, and affected water users in the State 
     to determine if changes in the streamflow that are beneficial 
     to the Natural Area may be accommodated.
       (c) Private Land.--The management plan prepared under 
     section 6(b)(2)(A) shall apply to private land in the Natural 
     Area only to the extent that the private landowner agrees in 
     writing to be bound by the management plan.
       (d) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, all 
     Federal land in the Natural Area is withdrawn from--
       (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under 
     the public land laws;
       (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
       (3) disposition under the mineral leasing laws (including 
     geothermal leasing laws).
       (e) Acquisition of Land.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary may acquire from willing 
     sellers by purchase, exchange, or donation land or an 
     interest in land in the Natural Area.
       (2) Administration.--Any land or interest in land acquired 
     under paragraph (1) shall be administered in accordance with 
     the management plan and this Act.
       (f) Applicable Law.--Section 5(d)(1) of the Wild and Scenic 
     Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(d)(1)) shall not apply to the 
     Natural Area.

     SEC. 8. EFFECT.

       Nothing in this Act--
       (1) amends, modifies, or is in conflict with the Rio Grande 
     Compact, consented to by Congress in the Act of May 31, 1939 
     (53 Stat. 785, ch. 155);
       (2) authorizes the regulation of private land in the 
     Natural Area;
       (3) authorizes the imposition of any mandatory streamflow 
     requirements;
       (4) creates an express or implied Federal reserved water 
     right;
       (5) imposes any Federal water quality standard within or 
     upstream of the Natural Area that is more restrictive than 
     would be applicable had the Natural Area not been 
     established; or
       (6) prevents the State of Colorado from acquiring an 
     instream flow through the Natural Area under the terms, 
     conditions, and limitations of State law to assist in 
     protecting the natural environment to the extent and for the 
     purposes authorized by State law.

     SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
     necessary to carry out this Act.

     SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

       The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 10 years 
     after the date of enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Gohmert) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  S. 56 would restore and protect the riparian zone of the Rio Grande 
River in southern Colorado without creating a management structure that 
would conflict with long-standing water uses and agricultural uses in 
the San Luis Valley. Federal, State and community groups, as well as 
private property owners, have worked collaboratively to develop a 
proposal for a Federal designation that protects the resources of 
concern, property rights and existing uses. S. 56 will establish a 33-
mile natural area along the river consistent with these goals.
  I urge the passage of this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I, too, support passage of this legislation 
and encourage its adoption this evening, and I yield back the remainder 
of our time.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H7659]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the Senate bill, S. 56.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________