[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 10230-10232]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       CLEAR CREEK NATIONAL RECREATION AREA AND CONSERVATION ACT

  Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1838) to establish the Clear Creek National Recreation Area 
in San Benito and Fresno Counties, California, to designate the Joaquin 
Rocks Wilderness in such counties, to designate additional components 
of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes, 
as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1838

       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 ``Clear Creek National 
     Recreation Area and Conservation Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means 
     the Plan for the Recreation Area prepared under section 4(c).
       (2) Recreation area.--The term ``Recreation Area'' means 
     the Clear Creek National Recreation Area.
       (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (4) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of 
     California.
       (5) Off highway vehicle.--The term ``off highway vehicle'' 
     means any motorized vehicle designed for or capable of cross-
     country travel on or immediately over land, water, snow, or 
     other natural terrain and not intended for use on public 
     roads.

     SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF CLEAR CREEK NATIONAL RECREATION 
                   AREA.

       (a) In General.--To promote environmentally responsible off 
     highway vehicle recreation, the area generally depicted as 
     ``Proposed Clear Creek National Recreation Area'' on the map 
     titled ``Proposed Clear Creek National Recreation Area'' and 
     dated December 15, 2015, is established as the ``Clear Creek 
     National Recreation Area'', to be managed by the Secretary.
       (b) Other Purposes.--The Recreation Area shall also support 
     other public recreational uses, such as hunting, hiking, and 
     rock and gem collecting.
       (c) Map on File.--Copies of the map referred to in 
     subsection (a) shall be on file and available for public 
     inspection in--
       (1) the Office of the Director of the Bureau of Land 
     Management; and
       (2) the appropriate office of the Bureau of Land Management 
     in California.

     SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary shall manage the Recreation 
     Area to further the purposes described in section 3(a), in 
     accordance with--
       (1) this Act;
       (2) the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
     U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and
       (3) any other applicable law.
       (b) Uses.--The Secretary shall--
       (1) prioritize environmentally responsible off highway 
     vehicle recreation and also facilitate hunting, hiking, gem 
     collecting, and the use of motorized vehicles, mountain 
     bikes, and horses in accordance with the management plan 
     described in subsection (c);
       (2) issue special recreation permits for motorized and non-
     motorized events; and
       (3) reopen the Clear Creek Management Area to the uses 
     described in this subsection as soon as practicable following 
     the enactment of this Act and in accordance with the 
     management guidelines outlined in this Act and other 
     applicable law.
       (c) Interim Management Plan.--The Secretary shall use the 
     2006 Clear Creek Management Area Resource Management Plan 
     Amendment and Route Designation Record of Decision as 
     modified by this Act or the Secretary to incorporate natural 
     resource protection information not available in 2006, as the 
     basis of an interim management plan to govern off highway 
     vehicle recreation within the Recreation Area pending the 
     completion of the long-term management plan required in 
     subsection (d).
       (d) Permanent Management Plan.--Not later than 2 years 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
     shall create a comprehensive management plan for the Clear 
     Creek Recreation Area that--
       (1) shall describe the appropriate uses and management of 
     the Recreation Area in accordance with this Act;
       (2) shall be prepared in consultation with--
       (A) appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies 
     (including San Benito, Monterey, and Fresno Counties);
       (B) adjacent land owners;
       (C) other stakeholders (including conservation and 
     recreational organizations); and
       (D) holders of any easements, rights-of-way, and other 
     valid rights in the Recreation Area;
       (3) shall include a hazards education program to inform 
     people entering the Recreation Area of the asbestos related 
     risks associated with various activities within the 
     Recreation Area, including off-highway vehicle recreation;
       (4) shall include a user fee program for motorized vehicle 
     use within the Recreational Area and guidelines for the use 
     of the funds collected for the management and improvement of 
     the Recreation Area;
       (5) shall designate as many previously used trails, roads, 
     and other areas for off highway vehicle recreation as 
     feasible in accordance with this in order to provide a 
     substantially similar recreational experience, except that 
     nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as precluding 
     the Secretary from closing any area, trail, or route from use 
     for the purposes of public safety or resource protection;
       (6) may incorporate any appropriate decisions, as 
     determined by the Secretary, in accordance with this Act, 
     that are contained in any management or activity plan for the 
     area completed before the date of the enactment of this Act;
       (7) may incorporate appropriate wildlife habitat management 
     plans or other plans prepared for the land within or adjacent 
     to the Recreation Area before the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, in accordance with this Act;
       (8) may use information developed under any studies of land 
     within or adjacent to the Recreation Area carried out before 
     the date of enactment of this Act; and
       (9) may include cooperative agreements with State or local 
     government agencies to manage all or a portion of the 
     recreational activities within the Recreation Area in 
     accordance with an approved management plan and the 
     requirements of this Act.
       (e) Acquisition of Property.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary may acquire land adjacent to 
     the National Recreation Area by purchase from willing 
     sellers, donation, or exchange.
       (2) Management.--Any land acquired under paragraph (1) 
     shall be managed in accordance with--
       (A) the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
     U.S.C. 1701 et seq.);
       (B) this Act; and
       (C) any other applicable law (including regulations).
       (3) Improved access.--The Secretary may acquire by purchase 
     from willing sellers, donation, exchange, or easement, land, 
     or interest in land to improve public safety in providing 
     access to the Recreation Area.
       (f) Private Property.--
       (1) Access to private property.--
       (A) In general.--The Secretary shall provide landowners 
     adequate access to inholdings within the Recreation Area.
       (B) Inholdings.--For access purposes, private land adjacent 
     to the Recreation Area to which there is no other practicable 
     access except through the Recreation Area shall be managed as 
     an inholding.
       (2) Use of private property.--Nothing in this Act affects 
     the ownership, management, or other rights relating to any 
     non-Federal land (including any interest in any non-Federal 
     land).
       (3) Buffer zones.--Nothing in this Act creates a protective 
     perimeter or buffer zone around the Recreation Area.
       (4) Valid rights.--Nothing in this Act affects any 
     easements, rights-of-way, and other valid rights in existence 
     on the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (g) Water Right Exclusion.--Nothing in this Act--
       (1) shall constitute or be construed to constitute either 
     an express or implied reservation by the United States of any 
     water or

[[Page 10231]]

     water rights with respect to the Recreation Area; or
       (2) shall affect any water rights existing on the date of 
     the enactment of this Act.
       (h) Hunting and Fishing.--Nothing in this Act--
       (1) limits hunting or fishing; or
       (2) affects the authority, jurisdiction, or responsibility 
     of the State to manage, control, or regulate fish and 
     resident wildlife under State law (including regulations), 
     including the regulation of hunting or fishing on public land 
     managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
       (i) Motorized Vehicles.--Except in cases in which motorized 
     vehicles are needed for administrative purposes or to respond 
     to an emergency, the use of motorized vehicles on public land 
     in the Recreation Area shall be permitted only on roads, 
     trails, and areas designated by the management plan for the 
     use by motorized vehicles.
       (j) Grazing.--In the Recreation Area, the grazing of 
     livestock in areas in which grazing is allowed as of the date 
     of the enactment of this Act shall be allowed to continue, 
     consistent with--
       (1) this Act;
       (2) the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
     U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and
       (3) any regulations promulgated by the Secretary, acting 
     through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
       (k) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, all 
     Federal land within the Recreation Area is withdrawn from--
       (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and disposal under 
     the public land laws;
       (2) location, entry, and patenting under the mining laws; 
     and
       (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, 
     and geothermal leasing laws.
       (l) Fees.--Amounts received by the Secretary under the fee 
     structure required by subsection (d)(4) shall be--
       (1) deposited in a special account in the Treasury of the 
     United States; and
       (2) made available until expended to the Secretary for use 
     in the Recreation Area.
       (m) Risk Standard.--The National Oil and Hazardous 
     Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (section 300 of title 
     40, Code of Federal Regulations), published pursuant to 
     section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
     Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9605), 
     shall not apply to the Secretary's management of asbestos 
     exposure risks faced by the public when recreating within the 
     Clear Creek Recreation Area described in section 3(b).

     SEC. 5. JOAQUIN ROCKS WILDERNESS.

       In accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 
     seq.), the approximately 21,000 acres of Federal lands 
     located in Fresno County and San Benito County, California, 
     and generally depicted on a map entitled ``Proposed Joaquin 
     Rocks Wilderness'' and dated January 14, 2015, is designated 
     as wilderness and as a component of the National Wilderness 
     Preservation System and shall be known as the ``Joaquin Rocks 
     Wilderness''.

     SEC. 6. RELEASE OF SAN BENITO MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS STUDY AREA.

       (a) Finding.--Congress finds that, for the purposes of 
     section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
     1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782), the San Benito Mountain wilderness 
     study area has been adequately studied for wilderness 
     designation.
       (b) Release.--The San Benito Mountain wilderness study area 
     is no longer subject to section 603(c) of the Federal Land 
     Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)).

     SEC. 7. CLARIFICATION REGARDING FUNDING.

       No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 
     requirements of this Act. Such requirements shall be carried 
     out using amounts otherwise authorized.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Costa) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Wyoming.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days 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 Wyoming?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  H.R. 1838, the Clear Creek National Recreation Area and Conservation 
Act, would reopen an area administratively closed by the Bureau of Land 
Management to off-highway vehicle and other recreational activities, 
designate new wilderness, and release a wilderness study area back into 
multiple use.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1838 establishes the Clear Creek National 
Recreation Area, as stated before, and the Joaquin Rocks Wilderness 
Area on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management in the 
Central Coast region of California in Fresno County. I am very familiar 
with this. It used to be in a previous district I represented.
  This area has mutual beneficial uses, from hiking and hunting to off-
highway vehicle use. Adjacent to this area are areas that have been 
used for cattle grazing for families for generations. They have worked 
together to ensure that we can protect those areas for appropriate uses 
for cattle grazing but also, at the same time, separately provide areas 
where this hiking and hunting and off-highway vehicle use can take 
place.
  This legislation will improve and enhance the success for a variety 
of recreational activities, which is what it is intended to, and, at 
the same time, try to preserve ecological sensitive and unique areas in 
a way that supports the overall use.
  In addition to the many ecological benefits they are providing, 
including clean air and clean water, wilderness areas throughout the 
country play a large role in supporting the approximately $646-billion-
per-year outdoor recreational economy. I am pleased that we are 
advancing a bill that adds 21,000 acres to the National Wilderness 
Preservation System.
  Our colleagues in the House have introduced several bills to 
designate wilderness areas. These bills are developed from the ground 
up with input and support from our constituents.
  This bill, in particular, has been a priority for Congressman Farr 
for many years. I want to congratulate him for his hard work and 
tenacity.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  2030

  Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
fine gentleman from California (Mr. Denham), one of the Republican 
cosponsors of this bill. These fine gentleman include all here present. 
They worked together on a bipartisan basis for one of the most 
economically and ecologically versatile places on Earth.
  Mr. DENHAM. I thank the gentlewoman.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Sam Farr. Together, we have 
coauthored a bill that brings two valleys together. We have the Salinas 
Valley and the Central Valley that come together in this beautiful spot 
and bring a national forest to what its intended use is--for hikers, 
for off-roaders, and for people who just want to use the beauty of this 
park.
  This has truly been a bipartisan effort, not only between Republicans 
and Democrats, but by pulling two valleys together, a number of 
different Members are wanting to see this area open back up and be 
utilized by the taxpayers. This is something that is going to provide 
generations to come an opportunity to spend time together--to off-road 
together, to hike together, and to even take photographs, which I know 
my good friend likes to do in areas like this.
  I am proud to be a coauthor, and I am proud of the widespread 
bipartisan support. I am proud to have worked with such a good friend 
on a fine piece of legislation.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Farr), my good friend from California's Central Coast 
area.
  Mr. FARR. I thank very much Ranking Member Costa and Chairwoman 
Lummis for their support of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I think this bill is more than what we just talked 
about, because it is an incredible collaboration of groups that are not 
necessarily friendly to each other. We have in this sponsorship the 
Off-Road Vehicle Association and the Native Plant Society. Normally, 
they would not be on the same legislation. Why did it all happen? It is 
because we have 60,000 acres that have been shut down for nobody's use. 
It was a former asbestos surface mining area.
  Clear Creek has been a destination for outdoor recreation by off-road 
vehicle users, hikers, bird and animal enthusiasts, and many others. 
The area is home to unique habitats of plants and animals that attract 
visitors, which

[[Page 10232]]

has helped a low-income rural area economically; but in 2008, the 
Bureau of Land Management closed the area because of an EPA report that 
said the naturally occurring asbestos may be dangerous. Without any 
further thought about assuming risk in the national area, it just 
closed it all down; but as long as people are aware of the risks and 
know how to safely enjoy Clear Creek, it is not dangerous at all.
  For example, people climb El Capitan, which is, probably, one of the 
more difficult climbs in America. You make a mistake there and you die, 
yet the National Park Service allows you to climb it. The risks go on 
and on. You also see the same with heli-skiing, skydiving, and many 
other high-risk activities. Two of my constituents--and they really 
deserve tremendous credit because they really learned how to petition 
government--Ed Tobin, who is with the Salinas Ramblers Motorcycle Club, 
and Ron DeShazer, who is a forklift operator in Salinas and a longtime 
Clear Creek rider, know about risks. They also know how to recreate 
safely in Clear Creek. We should learn from them.
  Clear Creek's closure not only upset the vast off-road vehicle 
community, but also the California Native Plant Society, the Sierra 
Club hikers, and, especially, the local community, which is suffering 
the economic loss.
  This is commonsense legislation that does three things:
  First, the bill redesignates the Clear Creek Management Area as the 
Clear Creek National Recreation Area. This allows it to be used for 
off-road vehicle recreation, and it requires the Bureau of Land 
Management to alert all users to the risks and to instruct people to 
wash off vehicles that may be used on the roads. The wash racks are 
already in place and have been there for years.
  Second, it gives the Bureau of Land Management the authority to levy 
a recreational user fee and apply the proceeds to the management of the 
area.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. COSTA. I yield the gentleman an additional 2 minutes.
  Mr. FARR. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Third, it allows the BLM to enter into joint management agreements 
with the California State Parks system that manages a nearby off-road 
vehicle park without asbestos surfaces, known as Hollister Hills.
  Fourth, this legislation designates the adjacent Joaquin Rocks 
landscape as wilderness and five BLM-identified streams as National 
Wild and Scenic Rivers.
  The conservation piece of this legislation protects a diverse array 
of flora and fauna and several species of wildlife. In addition to 
falcons, hawks, and owls, the area provides a potential nesting habitat 
for the California condor, which was reintroduced in the nearby Gabilan 
Range.
  I thank my colleagues Jeff Denham and David Valadao for being 
tremendous partners and for their leadership in bringing this bill to 
the House floor today. In working with Representatives Denham and 
Valadao, their staffs, and many of our constituents in central 
California, we crafted a bill to support recreation, conservation, and 
economic growth.
  I also thank Chairman Bishop of the committee and Ranking Member 
Grijalva, subcommittee Chairman McClintock and subcommittee Ranking 
Member Tsongas for their support.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the legislation, and I also urge the 
members of the committee to think about this when trying to solve 
difficult, conflicting problems in that we can bring all parties of 
interest together and end up with a win-win.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I think the bipartisan support is here.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I express my support for this bill and my thanks to my colleagues 
from California for their hard work on this bill--on my side of the 
aisle, Mr. Denham and Mr. Valadao; on the Democratic side, Mr. Farr, 
with whom I served on the Appropriations Committee and who did a 
wonderful job, by the way, and Mr. Costa, with whom I now serve on the 
Natural Resources Committee. They are fine gentlemen, one and all, from 
California.
  Before I close, I must say I have a unique love for the State. My 
relative, a gentleman named Charles Fletcher Lummis, walked from Ohio 
to California--walked--in the 1800s, arrived in Los Angeles, and became 
the assistant editor of what is now the Los Angeles Times. There were 
only 14,000 people in Los Angeles, California. His home, El Alisal, 
which is between Los Angeles and Pasadena, is a State historic site in 
California and is a wonderful, historic place to visit.
  He was the first person to photograph the Penitentes ceremony, where 
they actually crucified some of their colleagues in a ceremony in New 
Mexico. He was the American who chronicled the capture of Geronimo. He 
was knighted by the King of Spain for being the Californian who led the 
designation of national historic sites for San Juan Capistrano and 
others of the great missions of southern California before they were 
destroyed. He was a magnificent, flowery character in the State of 
California. His friends were people like John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt, 
and other famous conservationists and preservationists. I am proud to 
be a relative of Charles Fletcher Lummis.
  I am proud of what California has done to balance its efforts in 
having a uniquely diverse culture and a fabulous agriculture and 
recreation economy. This is a unique State. This is a State that has 
pistachios and almonds and vegetables, which we all need to sustain 
ourselves in a way that will allow America to continue to play a role 
in feeding itself.
  I was involved in an effort to try to make sure, for our own national 
security, that we would continue to be able to feed ourselves in this 
Nation, and we thought we were going to be able to feed ourselves until 
around the year 2050. It has been years ago since we became a net 
importer of food. That is not necessary. We can grow enough food in 
America to sustain our population. To allow us to become a net importer 
of food, I think, is a mistake because we have a magnificent place like 
California that can outgrow almost any area of our Nation if we will 
only be respectful and listen to the people who live there and to the 
people who feed us, whether they are the farm owners or the 
farmworkers. These are people who want to work on California and with 
California so as to feed America, to support their families, and to 
sustain a fabulous environment.
  To the fine gentlemen from California who bring this bill forward and 
who work so hard every day to try to make sure that these different 
valleys and these very diverse communities come together, I offer my 
full support of this bill, and I commend them for their work.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Zinke). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1838, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to 
establish the Clear Creek National Recreation Area in San Benito and 
Fresno Counties, California, to designate the Joaquin Rocks Wilderness 
in such counties, and for other purposes.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________