[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 23009-23011]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          OJITO WILDERNESS ACT

  Mrs. MUSGRAVE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the Senate bill (S. 156) to designate the Ojito Wilderness Study Area 
as wilderness, to take certain land into trust for the Pueblo of Zia, 
and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                 S. 156

       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. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled ``Ojito 
     Wilderness Act'' and dated October 1, 2004.
       (2) Pueblo.--The term ``Pueblo'' means the Pueblo of Zia.
       (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (4) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of New 
     Mexico.

     SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF THE OJITO WILDERNESS.

       (a) In General.--In furtherance of the purposes of the 
     Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), there is hereby 
     designated as wilderness, and, therefore, as a component of 
     the National Wilderness Preservation System, certain land in 
     the Albuquerque District-Bureau of Land Management, New 
     Mexico, which comprises approximately 11,183 acres, as 
     generally depicted on the map, and which shall be known as 
     the ``Ojito Wilderness''.
       (b) Map and Legal Description.--The map and a legal 
     description of the wilderness area designated by this Act 
     shall--
       (1) be filed by the Secretary with the Committee on Energy 
     and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Resources of the House of Representatives as soon as 
     practicable after the date of enactment of this Act;
       (2) have the same force and effect as if included in this 
     Act, except that the Secretary may correct clerical and 
     typographical errors in the legal description and map; and
       (3) be on file and available for public inspection in the 
     appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management.
       (c) Management of Wilderness.--Subject to valid existing 
     rights, the wilderness area designated by this Act shall be 
     managed by the Secretary in accordance with the Wilderness 
     Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this Act, except that, with 
     respect to the wilderness area designated by this Act, any 
     reference in the Wilderness Act to the effective date of the 
     Wilderness Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the date 
     of enactment of this Act.
       (d) Management of Newly Acquired Land.--If acquired by the 
     United States, the following land shall become part of the 
     wilderness area designated by this Act and shall be managed 
     in accordance with this Act and other applicable law:
       (1) Section 12 of township 15 north, range 01 west, New 
     Mexico Principal Meridian.
       (2) Any land within the boundaries of the wilderness area 
     designated by this Act.
       (e) Management of Lands to Be Added.--The lands generally 
     depicted on the map as ``Lands to be Added'' shall become 
     part of the wilderness area designated by this Act if the 
     United States acquires, or alternative adequate access is 
     available to, section 12 of township 15 north, range 01 west, 
     New Mexico Principal Meridian.
       (f) Release.--The Congress hereby finds and directs that 
     the lands generally depicted on the map as ``Lands to be 
     Released'' have been adequately studied for wilderness 
     designation pursuant to section 603 of the Federal Land 
     Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782) and no 
     longer are subject to the requirement of section 603(c) of 
     such Act (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)) pertaining to the management of 
     wilderness study areas in a manner that does not impair the 
     suitability of such areas for preservation as wilderness.
       (g) Grazing.--Grazing of livestock in the wilderness area 
     designated by this Act, where established before the date of 
     enactment of this Act, shall be administered in accordance 
     with the provisions of section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act 
     (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)) and the guidelines set forth in 
     Appendix A of the Report of the Committee on Interior and 
     Insular Affairs to accompany H.R. 2570 of the One Hundred 
     First Congress (H. Rept. 101-405).
       (h) Fish and Wildlife.--As provided in section 4(d)(7) of 
     the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)), nothing in this 
     section shall be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or 
     responsibilities of the State with respect to fish and 
     wildlife in the State.
       (i) Water Rights.--
       (1) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (A) the land designated as wilderness by this Act is arid 
     in nature and is generally not suitable for use or 
     development of new water resource facilities; and
       (B) because of the unique nature and hydrology of the 
     desert land designated as wilderness by this Act, it is 
     possible to provide for proper management and protection of 
     the wilderness and other values of lands in ways different 
     from those used in other legislation.
       (2) Statutory construction.--Nothing in this Act--
       (A) shall constitute or be construed to constitute either 
     an express or implied reservation by the United States of any 
     water or water rights with respect to the land designated as 
     wilderness by this Act;
       (B) shall affect any water rights in the State existing on 
     the date of enactment of this Act, including any water rights 
     held by the United States;
       (C) shall be construed as establishing a precedent with 
     regard to any future wilderness designations;
       (D) shall affect the interpretation of, or any designation 
     made pursuant to, any other Act; or
       (E) shall be construed as limiting, altering, modifying, or 
     amending any of the interstate compacts or equitable 
     apportionment decrees that apportion water among and between 
     the State and other States.
       (3) State water law.--The Secretary shall follow the 
     procedural and substantive requirements of the law of the 
     State in order to obtain and hold any water rights not in 
     existence on the date of enactment of this Act with respect 
     to the wilderness area designated by this Act.
       (4) New projects.--
       (A) Water resource facility.--As used in this subsection, 
     the term ``water resource facility''--
       (i) means irrigation and pumping facilities, reservoirs, 
     water conservation works, aqueducts, canals, ditches, 
     pipelines, wells, hydropower projects, and transmission and 
     other ancillary facilities, and other water diversion, 
     storage, and carriage structures; and
       (ii) does not include wildlife guzzlers.
       (B) Restriction on new water resource facilities.--Except 
     as otherwise provided in this Act, on and after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, neither the President nor any other 
     officer, employee, or agent of the United States shall fund, 
     assist, authorize, or issue a license or permit for the 
     development of any new water resource facility within the 
     wilderness area designated by this Act.
       (j) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, the 
     wilderness area designated by this Act, the lands to be added 
     under subsection (e), and lands identified on the map as the 
     ``BLM Lands Authorized to be Acquired by the Pueblo of Zia'' 
     are withdrawn from--
       (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and disposal under 
     the public land laws;
       (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
       (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, 
     and geothermal leasing laws.
       (k) Exchange.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall seek to complete 
     an exchange for State land within the boundaries of the 
     wilderness area designated by this Act.

     SEC. 4. LAND HELD IN TRUST.

       (a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights and the 
     conditions under subsection (d), all right, title, and 
     interest of the United States in and to the lands (including 
     improvements, appurtenances, and mineral rights to the lands) 
     generally depicted on the map as ``BLM Lands Authorized to be 
     Acquired by the Pueblo of Zia'' shall, on receipt of 
     consideration under subsection (c) and adoption and approval 
     of regulations under subsection (d), be declared by the 
     Secretary to be held in trust by the United States for the 
     Pueblo and shall be part of the Pueblo's Reservation.
       (b) Description of Lands.--The boundary of the lands 
     authorized by this section for acquisition by the Pueblo 
     where generally depicted on the map as immediately adjacent 
     to CR906, CR923, and Cucho Arroyo Road shall be 100 feet from 
     the center line of the road.
       (c) Consideration.--
       (1) In general.--In consideration for the conveyance 
     authorized under subsection (a), the Pueblo shall pay to the 
     Secretary the amount that is equal to the fair market value 
     of the land conveyed, as subject to the terms and conditions 
     in subsection (d), as determined by an independent appraisal.

[[Page 23010]]

       (2) Appraisal.--To determine the fair market value, the 
     Secretary shall conduct an appraisal paid for by the Pueblo 
     that is performed in accordance with the Uniform Appraisal 
     Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions and the Uniform 
     Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.
       (3) Availability.--Any amounts paid under paragraph (1) 
     shall be available to the Secretary, without further 
     appropriation and until expended, for the acquisition from 
     willing sellers of land or interests in land in the State.
       (d) Public Access.--
       (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the declaration 
     of trust and conveyance under subsection (a) shall be subject 
     to the continuing right of the public to access the land for 
     recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, 
     paleontological, and conservation uses, subject to any 
     regulations for land management and the preservation, 
     protection, and enjoyment of the natural characteristics of 
     the land that are adopted by the Pueblo and approved by the 
     Secretary: Provided, That the Secretary shall ensure that the 
     rights provided for in this paragraph are protected and that 
     a process for resolving any complaints by an aggrieved party 
     is established.
       (2) Conditions.--Except as provided in subsection (e)--
       (A) the land conveyed under subsection (a) shall be 
     maintained as open space and the natural characteristics of 
     the land shall be preserved in perpetuity; and
       (B) the use of motorized vehicles (except on existing roads 
     or as is necessary for the maintenance and repair of 
     facilities used in connection with grazing operations), 
     mineral extraction, housing, gaming, and other commercial 
     enterprises shall be prohibited within the boundaries of the 
     land conveyed under subsection (a).
       (e) Rights of Way.--
       (1) Existing rights of way.--Nothing in this section shall 
     affect--
       (A) any validly issued right-of-way or the renewal thereof; 
     or
       (B) the access for customary construction, operation, 
     maintenance, repair, and replacement activities in any right-
     of-way issued, granted, or permitted by the Secretary.
       (2) New rights of way and renewals.--
       (A) In general.--The Pueblo shall grant any reasonable 
     request for rights-of-way for utilities and pipelines over 
     the land acquired under subsection (a) that is designated as 
     the ``Rights-of-Way corridor #1'' in the Rio Puerco Resource 
     Management Plan that is in effect on the date of the grant.
       (B) Administration.--Any right-of-way issued or renewed 
     after the date of enactment of this Act located on land 
     authorized to be acquired under this section shall be 
     administered in accordance with the rules, regulations, and 
     fee payment schedules of the Department of the Interior, 
     including the Rio Puerco Resources Management Plan that is in 
     effect on the date of issuance or renewal of the right-of-
     way.
       (f) Judicial Relief.--
       (1) In general.--To enforce subsection (d), any person may 
     bring a civil action in the United States District Court for 
     the District of New Mexico seeking declaratory or injunctive 
     relief.
       (2) Sovereign immunity.--The Pueblo shall not assert 
     sovereign immunity as a defense or bar to a civil action 
     brought under paragraph (1).
       (3) Effect.--Nothing in this section--
       (A) authorizes a civil action against the Pueblo for money 
     damages, costs, or attorneys fees; or
       (B) except as provided in paragraph (2), abrogates the 
     sovereign immunity of the Pueblo.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Colorado (Mrs. Musgrave) and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Mus-
grave).


                             General Leave

  Mrs. MUSGRAVE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Colorado?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. MUSGRAVE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.

                              {time}  1330

  Madam Speaker, S. 156, introduced by Senator Bingaman of New Mexico, 
and a companion to H.R. 362 sponsored by the gentleman from New Mexico 
(Mr. Udall) would designate approximately the 11,000-acre Ojito 
Wilderness Area in Sandoval County, New Mexico, as wilderness. This 
Federal land was determined by the Bureau of Land Management in 1991 as 
suitable for wilderness designation. This bill would also take certain 
land into trust for the Pueblo of Zia to protect its religious and 
cultural sites in Zia.
  Madam Speaker, S. 156 is supported by the majority and the minority 
of the administration. I urge adoption of the bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Madam Speaker, we support passage of S. 156, the Ojito Wilderness 
Act. This bill designates the Ojito Wilderness Study Area, an area 
totaling approximately 11,000 acres, as a permanent wilderness to be 
protected pursuant to the 1964 Wilderness Act. The bill also provides 
for the purchase and transfer of adjacent Bureau of Land Management 
lands to the Pueblo of Zia. These lands, totaling approximately 13,000 
acres, are contiguous to the current boundaries of the Pueblo. This 
area will be taken into trust and held for the benefit of the Pueblo by 
the Secretary of the Interior, and will be managed in perpetuity by the 
Pueblo as wilderness.
  As the lead co-sponsor in the House, I would like to take this 
opportunity to greatly acknowledge my colleague from New Mexico (Mrs. 
Wilson) and fellow co-sponsor. I thank the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Pombo) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), the 
chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Resources, for bringing 
the Ojito Wilderness Act to the floor. This bipartisan, bicameral 
legislation is the result of good-faith collaboration and cooperation 
among many people in New Mexico and among many of us here in the United 
States Congress. This is truly a compromise bill. I encourage my 
colleagues to support it.
  I am proud to say that New Mexicans recognize how vitally important 
it is to protect natural areas, to encourage the stainable use of our 
State's natural resources, and to honor the role land plays in the 
lives of Native Americans. As this Ojito legislation demonstrates, with 
creativity and cooperation, we can find solutions compatible with all 
of these necessities.
  This proposal has been under consideration for many years. In 1991 
Manuel Lujan, the Secretary of the Interior in the former President 
Bush's Cabinet, recommended the Ojito area to Congress for wilderness 
designation. The BLM has evaluated this area and found it qualifies for 
full wilderness status and protection.
  The legislation has the explicit support of the Governor of New 
Mexico, the counties of Sandoval and Bernalillo, individual members of 
the State government, including our State Land Commissioner Patrick 
Lyons, the Pueblo of Zia and its members, the adjacent private land 
owners and ranchers who graze their cattle on the land, numerous 
environmental groups, and business owners and private citizens living 
and working nearby.
  The Ojito Wilderness Study Area is characterized by pristine and 
dramatic landforms and rock structures and by several rare plant 
populations that are indigenous to the area. Ojito is also recognized 
for its high density of cultural and archeological sites, including 
sites that have religious significance to Pueblo Indians.
  This legislation is of particular importance for the Pueblo of Zia. 
The Pueblo's reservation lands currently lie in two noncontiguous 
sections. Zia has made a concerted effort over years to adjoin its 
reservation lands. This legislation will help make that long-standing 
goal a reality. The Pueblo has consistently and openly worked in 
cooperation with other interested parties to reach a mutually 
satisfactory arrangement for the protection of these important lands as 
undeveloped open space with continued public access. And, in an 
additional gesture of good faith, the Pueblo has waived its sovereign 
immunity from suit for matters arising under the provisions of this 
bill.
  Considering the above, I think this bill does the right thing by 
ensuring the preservation, protection, and public accessibility of this 
special area of New Mexico for future generations of

[[Page 23011]]

Americans. Allow me to express a special thanks to New Mexico Senators 
Bingaman and Domenici, the sponsors of this bill in the Senate. Let me 
further express my gratitude to the Governor of Zia, Zia Pueblo, 
Teofilo Pino, and to the Pueblo's former Governor and current Tribal 
Administrator Peter Pino, and also to Martin Heinrich, Albuquerque City 
Councilor and long-time volunteer for the Coalition for New Mexico's 
Wilderness for their strong and fair efforts in reaching a meaningful 
and positive compromise.
  I would also like to fondly acknowledge my Senior Legislative 
Assistant Johanna Polsenberg and my field representative Sarah Cobb as 
well as Rick Healy and Rob Howarth on the Committee on Resources for 
their tireless and dedicated work on this important and far-sighted 
legislation.
  Finally, I would like to thank my father, Stewart Udall, for his work 
over 40 years ago on the enactment of the Wilderness Act during his 
tenure as Secretary of the Interior. It is with the deepest respect and 
awe in the warp and weft of history that I might find myself on the 
floor of the House today honoring my father's legacy and his tremendous 
dedication to ensuring the preservation of wilderness, as stated in the 
act itself, lands ``in contrast to those areas where man and his works 
dominate the landscape, where the Earth and its communities of life are 
untrammeled by man.''
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. MUSGRAVE. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson).
  Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico. Madam Speaker, in the 108th Congress the 
gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) introduced and we passed through 
this House legislation almost identical to this and we reintroduced it 
in this Congress. It has had a companion bill in the Senate which has 
now passed the Senate. And after conferring with the committee and with 
the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) we decided to take up the 
Senate version of the bill in this House rather than passing the House 
bill because that means that the next stop for this legislation is the 
President's desk.
  The bill that the gentleman and I pass today will not have the 
gentleman's name on it, but it certainly is a result of his leadership 
that was brought here to the floor of the House, and I want to commend 
the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall).
  I also wanted to commend Johanna Polsenberg for her work on this 
piece of legislation. It has been a real joy to work with her. And my 
staff member, Colin Hunter, I think also deserves some credit. Without 
the two of them, all of the little things that had to get done would 
have been left to others and might not have gotten done. So they have 
had a tremendous impact. I also thank the gentleman from New Mexico 
(Mr. Udall) very much for his leadership.
  This legislation is locally developed and locally supported. It is 
the result of a decade of work by the BLM and the Zia Pueblo and the 
State office working out all the little details of rights-of-way and 
lands transfers and where the fences go and who has what rights where. 
It is a very balanced bill that puts into law the Ojito Wilderness, an 
11,000-acre piece of land, that will be protected 40 miles northwest of 
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  As the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) mentioned, Manuel Lujan 
was the one who was the Secretary of the Interior when he recommended 
to the Congress that this piece of land should be set aside as an 
appropriate area for wilderness. The other thing that it does that I 
think is very important and has become important to all of us is that 
it allows for the purchase and transfer of BLM lands to Zia Pueblo. 
These lands will continue to have public access under the statute and 
remain undeveloped, but it will allow the Pueblo of Zia to unify its 
Pueblo and to connect the two noncontiguous areas of lands that are now 
part of its Pueblo.
  I think one of the things that is wonderful about these jobs that we 
have the honor to hold is the opportunity to work with interesting 
people who are committed to different projects around our States and 
around the Nation. There are a lot of people who deserve thanks for 
making this legislation a reality today, certainly the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Pombo) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Radanovich) for their support and their staff support in getting this 
worked out and worked through, and of course our staffs and the 
gentleman from New Mexico's leadership on this.
  I think I would also like to recognize some New Mexicans. As I 
mentioned, this was locally developed and locally supported. Successive 
Governors and Tribal Council members of Zia Pueblo took a leadership 
role early on, including the current Governor, Teofilo Pino, and his 
predecessor and long-time Tribal Administrator Governor Peter Pino and 
their Counsel, David Mielke.
  I think we would probably agree that one of the most colorful, 
interesting characters in New Mexico is Peter Pino. I could sit and 
listen to stories from him for a long time. He has taught us so very 
much.
  Additionally, I would like to thank Oscar Simpson of the New Mexico 
Wildlife Federations, Stephen Capra of the New Mexico Wilderness 
Alliance, Melyssa Watson of the Wilderness Support Center, and former 
and current Chair of the Coalition for New Mexico Wilderness, Jim 
Scarantino and Arturo Sandoval, and former Sandoval County Commissioner 
Daymon Ely. Linda Rundell and Lisa Morrison from the BLM and Patrick 
Lyons, the State Land Commissioner, were also very, very helpful in 
this legislation.
  Finally, I would also like to thank Albuquerque City Councilor Martin 
Heinrich, who from the very beginning has been instrumental in ironing 
out the little problems that come up, working through issues associated 
with this legislation, and making things happen.
  I think, as you can see, when things are successful there are a lot 
of people involved behind the scenes making them happen, and without 
them this legislation would not be here on the floor of the House 
today. I am very pleased that the Ojito Wilderness is going to get the 
permanent wilderness designation that it deserves and the Pueblo of Zia 
is going to achieve its long-sought transfer of important and ancestral 
lands that will unite two noncontiguous areas of its reservation.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. MUSGRAVE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Musgrave) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 156.
  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.

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