[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 37 (Monday, March 5, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2126-H2128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PIEDRAS BLANCAS HISTORIC LIGHT STATION OUTSTANDING NATURAL AREA ACT OF 
                                  2007

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 276) to designate the Piedras Blancas Light Station and the 
surrounding public land as an Outstanding Natural Area to be 
administered as a part of the National Landscape Conservation System, 
and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 276

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; DEFINITIONS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Piedras 
     Blancas Historic Light Station Outstanding Natural Area Act 
     of 2007''.
       (b) Definitions.--For the purposes of this Act, the 
     following definitions apply:
       (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (2) Light station.--The term ``Light Station'' means 
     Piedras Blancas Light Station.
       (3) Public lands.--The term ``public lands'' has the 
     meaning stated in section 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy 
     and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1703(e)).
       (4) Outstanding natural area.--The term ``Outstanding 
     Natural Area'' means the Piedras Blancas Historic Light 
     Station Outstanding Natural Area established pursuant to 
     section 3.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds as follows:
       (1) The publicly owned Piedras Blancas Light Station has 
     nationally recognized historical structures that should be 
     preserved for present and future generations.
       (2) The coastline adjacent to the Light Station is 
     internationally recognized as having significant wildlife and 
     marine habitat that provides critical information to research 
     institutions throughout the world.
       (3) The Light Station tells an important story about 
     California's coastal prehistory and history in the context of 
     the surrounding region and communities.
       (4) The coastal area surrounding the Light Station was 
     traditionally used by Indian people, including the Chumash 
     and Salinan Indian tribes.
       (5) The Light Station is historically associated with the 
     nearby world-famous Hearst Castle (Hearst San Simeon State 
     Historical Monument), now administered by the State of 
     California.
       (6) The Light Station represents a model partnership where 
     future management can be successfully accomplished among the 
     Federal Government, the State of California, San Luis Obispo 
     County, local communities, and private groups.
       (7) Piedras Blancas Historic Light Station Outstanding 
     Natural Area would make a significant addition to the 
     National Landscape Conservation System administered by the 
     Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management.
       (8) Statutory protection is needed for the Light Station 
     and its surrounding Federal lands to ensure that it remains a 
     part of our historic, cultural, and natural heritage and to 
     be a source of inspiration for the people of the United 
     States.

     SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF THE PIEDRAS BLANCAS HISTORIC LIGHT 
                   STATION OUTSTANDING NATURAL AREA.

       (a) In General.--In order to protect, conserve, and enhance 
     for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future 
     generations the unique and nationally important historical, 
     natural, cultural, scientific, educational, scenic, and 
     recreational values of certain lands in and around the 
     Piedras Blancas Light Station, in San Luis Obispo County, 
     California, while allowing certain recreational and research 
     activities to continue, there is established, subject to 
     valid existing rights, the Piedras Blancas Historic Light 
     Station Outstanding Natural Area.
       (b) Maps and Legal Descriptions.--The boundaries of the 
     Outstanding Natural Area

[[Page H2127]]

     as those shown on the map entitled ``Piedras Blancas Historic 
     Light Station: Outstanding Natural Area'', dated May 5, 2004, 
     which shall be on file and available for public inspection in 
     the Office of the Director, Bureau of Land Management, United 
     States Department of the Interior, and the State office of 
     the Bureau of Land Management in the State of California.
       (c) Basis of Management.--The Secretary shall manage the 
     Outstanding Natural Area as part of the National Landscape 
     Conservation System to protect the resources of the area, and 
     shall allow only those uses that further the purposes for the 
     establishment of the Outstanding Natural Area, the Federal 
     Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 
     seq.), and other applicable laws.
       (d) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, and in 
     accordance with the existing withdrawal as set forth in 
     Public Land Order 7501 (Oct. 12, 2001, Vol. 66, No. 198, 
     Federal Register 52149), the Federal lands and interests in 
     lands included within the Outstanding Natural Area are hereby 
     withdrawn from--
       (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under 
     the public land laws;
       (2) location, entry, and patent under the public land 
     mining laws; and
       (3) operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing 
     laws and the mineral materials laws.

     SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT OF THE PIEDRAS BLANCAS HISTORIC LIGHT 
                   STATION OUTSTANDING NATURAL AREA.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall manage the Outstanding 
     Natural Area in a manner that conserves, protects, and 
     enhances the unique and nationally important historical, 
     natural, cultural, scientific, educational, scenic, and 
     recreational values of that area, including an emphasis on 
     preserving and restoring the Light Station facilities, 
     consistent with the requirements section 3(c).
       (b) Uses.--Subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary 
     shall only allow such uses of the Outstanding Natural Area as 
     the Secretary finds are likely to further the purposes for 
     which the Outstanding Natural Area is established as set 
     forth in section 3(a).
       (c) Management Plan.--Not later than 3 years after of the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
     complete a comprehensive management plan consistent with the 
     requirements of section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and 
     Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) to provide long-term 
     management guidance for the public lands within the 
     Outstanding Natural Area and fulfill the purposes for which 
     it is established, as set forth in section 3(a). The 
     management plan shall be developed in consultation with 
     appropriate Federal, State, and local government agencies, 
     with full public participation, and the contents shall 
     include--
       (1) provisions designed to ensure the protection of the 
     resources and values described in section 3(a);
       (2) objectives to restore the historic Light Station and 
     ancillary buildings;
       (3) an implementation plan for a continuing program of 
     interpretation and public education about the Light Station 
     and its importance to the surrounding community;
       (4) a proposal for minimal administrative and public 
     facilities to be developed or improved at a level compatible 
     with achieving the resources objectives for the Outstanding 
     Natural Area as described in subsection (a) and with other 
     proposed management activities to accommodate visitors and 
     researchers to the Outstanding Natural Area; and
       (5) cultural resources management strategies for the 
     Outstanding Natural Area, prepared in consultation with 
     appropriate departments of the State of California, with 
     emphasis on the preservation of the resources of the 
     Outstanding Natural Area and the interpretive, education, and 
     long-term scientific uses of the resources, giving priority 
     to the enforcement of the Archaeological Resources Protection 
     Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.) and the National 
     Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) within the 
     Outstanding Natural Area.
       (d) Cooperative Agreements.--In order to better implement 
     the management plan and to continue the successful 
     partnerships with the local communities and the Hearst San 
     Simeon State Historical Monument, administered by the 
     California Department of Parks and Recreation, the Secretary 
     may enter into cooperative agreements with the appropriate 
     Federal, State, and local agencies pursuant to section 307(b) 
     of the Federal Land Management Policy and Management Act of 
     1976 (43 U.S.C. 1737(b)).
       (e) Research Activities.--In order to continue the 
     successful partnership with research organizations and 
     agencies and to assist in the development and implementation 
     of the management plan, the Secretary may authorize within 
     the Outstanding Natural Area appropriate research activities 
     for the purposes identified in section 3(a) and pursuant to 
     section 307(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
     of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1737(a)).
       (f) Acquisition.--State and privately held lands or 
     interests in lands adjacent to the Outstanding Natural Area 
     and identified as appropriate for acquisition in the 
     management plan may be acquired by the Secretary as part of 
     the Outstanding Natural Area only by--
       (1) donation;
       (2) exchange with a willing party; or
       (3) purchase from a willing seller.
       (g) Additions to the Outstanding Natural Area.--Any lands 
     or interest in lands adjacent to the Outstanding Natural Area 
     acquired by the United States after the date of the enactment 
     of this Act shall be added to and administered as part of the 
     Outstanding Natural Area.
       (h) Overflights.--Nothing in this Act or the management 
     plan shall be construed to--
       (1) restrict or preclude overflights, including low level 
     overflights, military, commercial, and general aviation 
     overflights that can be seen or heard within the Outstanding 
     Natural Area;
       (2) restrict or preclude the designation or creation of new 
     units of special use airspace or the establishment of 
     military flight training routes over the Outstanding Natural 
     Area; or
       (3) modify regulations governing low-level overflights 
     above the adjacent Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
       (i) Law Enforcement Activities.--Nothing in this Act shall 
     be construed to preclude or otherwise affect coastal border 
     security operations or other law enforcement activities by 
     the Coast Guard or other agencies within the Department of 
     Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, or any other 
     Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies within the 
     Outstanding Natural Area.
       (j) Native American Uses and Interests.--In recognition of 
     the past use of the Outstanding Natural Area by Indians and 
     Indian tribes for traditional cultural and religious 
     purposes, the Secretary shall ensure access to the 
     Outstanding Natural Area by Indians and Indian tribes for 
     such traditional cultural and religious purposes. In 
     implementing this section, the Secretary, upon the request of 
     an Indian tribe or Indian religious community, shall 
     temporarily close to the general public use of one or more 
     specific portions of the Outstanding Natural Area in order to 
     protect the privacy of traditional cultural and religious 
     activities in such areas by the Indian tribe or Indian 
     religious community. Any such closure shall be made to affect 
     the smallest practicable area for the minimum period 
     necessary for such purposes. Such access shall be consistent 
     with the purpose and intent of Public Law 95-341 (42 U.S.C. 
     1996 et seq.; commonly referred to as the ``American Indian 
     Religious Freedom Act'').
       (k) No Buffer Zones.--The designation of the Outstanding 
     Natural Area is not intended to lead to the creation of 
     protective perimeters or buffer zones around area. The fact 
     that activities outside the Outstanding Natural Area and not 
     consistent with the purposes of this Act can be seen or heard 
     within the Outstanding Natural Area shall not, of itself, 
     preclude such activities or uses up to the boundary of the 
     Outstanding Natural Area.

     SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

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

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend and include extraneous 
material related to this bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  The Piedras Blancas Light Station is one of only a handful of tall, 
seacoast lighthouses built on the West Coast. It is located in San Luis 
Obispo County in Southern California.
  Completed in 1875, the lighthouse was manned by the Coast Guard until 
1975, when it was automated. The Coast Guard transferred the lighthouse 
and the surrounding public land to the Bureau of Land Management in 
2001. This area is not only historically significant, but it is also 
home to a population of gulls, cormorants and an elephant seal colony, 
numbering 10,000 animals.
  H.R. 276, sponsored by my committee colleague Representative Lois 
Capps, would establish the Piedras Blancas Historic Light Station 
Outstanding Natural Area to be managed by the Bureau of Land Management 
as part of the existing National Landscape Conservation System. This 
area would be managed by the BLM to conserve the significant historical 
and natural resources found there.
  Mr. Speaker, Representative Capps has worked tirelessly on behalf of 
this legislation, and we commend her for her efforts. Identical 
legislation was approved by the House in the last Congress, and we urge 
our colleagues to support this measure once again.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H2128]]

  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 276.
  Last year the Republican majority was supportive of this measure, and 
this bill was passed in the House of Representatives. This year, we 
once again support this bill and commend Representative Capps for her 
work to recognize this historic site in her district.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, Representative Capps is traveling back 
from her district in California and could not be here on the floor. She 
has submitted a statement which we will be submitting for the Record 
today.
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 276, the 
Piedras Blancas Historic Light Station Outstanding Natural Area Act.
  First, I want to thank the chairman of the Natural Resources 
Committee, Mr. Rahall, and chairman of the Subcommittee on National 
Parks, Forests and Public Lands, Mr. Grijalva, as well as the ranking 
members of the full Committee and Subcommittee for expediting the 
consideration of this legislation and for bringing H.R. 276 before us 
today. This bill was passed by the House of Representatives last year 
but was never acted on by the Senate.
  H.R. 276 would designate the Piedras Blancas Historic Light Station--
located in my congressional district--as an Outstanding Natural Area 
within the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System.
  The Piedras Blancas Light Station is located on an 18-acre parcel of 
BLM administered land along the Pacific Coast in San Luis Obispo 
County. The property is adjacent to Pacific Coast Highway and the 
Hearst Castle State Historic Monument, and it looks over a pristine 
coastal area that includes the southern portion of the Monterey Bay 
National Marine Sanctuary and California Coastal National Monument. It 
is also nationally recognized as an important monitoring point for 
migrating whales, and is used by the U.S. Geological Survey, the 
National Marine Fisheries Service and a number of universities and 
colleges for marine wildlife and plant research.
  The Light Station and the surrounding area are also important for 
tourism. For example, the national historic Light House--built in 
1879--is a main destination focal point on the central coast, and the 
peninsula is very popular for viewing sea otters, elephant seals, and 
sea lions from shore. The elephant seal colony at Piedras Blancas 
attracts an estimated 400,000 visitors annually.
  In 2001, BLM assumed ownership and management of the Light Station 
from the U.S. Coast Guard. Since then, BLM, State and local agencies, 
community stakeholders and conservation groups have developed a very 
successful partnership to preserve the Light Station.
  Some of these partners include: the Piedras Blancas Light Station 
Association; California State Parks; San Luis Obispo County; the cities 
of Cambria and San Simeon; the California Coastal Conservancy and 
Coastal Commission; NOAA; and the Hearst Corporation.
  As a result of their hard work, the site was re-opened to public 
tours in 2003--for the first time in 128 years. These partners continue 
to work together on a series of environmental education, historical 
restoration and resource protection programs; and, I'm confidant they 
will each support and showcase this national designation if enacted.

  My legislation tracks the successful model of designating the Oregon 
Coast's Yaquina Head as an Outstanding Natural Area, which was signed 
into law in 1980. Yaquina Head was later included in the National 
Landscape Conservation System.
  Like Yaquina Head, the addition of the Piedras Blancas Light Station 
to the NLCS would be an important step in protecting and preserving 
this valuable natural and historic resource. It will also focus 
attention on the restoration of the Light Station and surrounding area, 
specifically the three on-site National Register properties; and, it 
will serve as a means to increase public awareness of the Light 
Station's scientific, cultural and educational values.
  Specifically, H.R. 276 stresses long-term conservation of the Light 
Station by requiring timely completion of a management plan. The 
management plan would be developed through a public process and include 
guidelines for restoration of the National Register of Historic Places 
buildings, including the Light House; public access; ecological and 
cultural resource management; and, fostering scientific study and 
research opportunities.
  Mr. Speaker, the Piedras Blancas Light Station is a wonderful 
resource. It has the potential to serve as a model for future resource 
management, and therefore would be an appropriate addition to the BLM's 
National Landscape Conservation System.
  Again, I would like to thank the Committee on Natural Resources for 
supporting this bill to designate Piedras Blancas Historic Light 
Station as an Outstanding Natural Area, and urge its immediate passage.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 276.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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