[Senate Report 106-233]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 449
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     106-233

======================================================================



 
                  SPANISH PEAKS WILDERNESS ACT OF 1999

                                _______
                                

                 March 9, 2000.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 503]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 503) designating certain land in the San 
Isabel National Forest in the State of Colorado as the 
``Spanish Peaks Wilderness'', having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that 
the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    On page 3, strike lines 5 through 16 and insert the 
following:

``SEC. 3. ACCESS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall allow the 
continuation of historic uses of the Bulls Eye Mine Road 
established before the date of enactment of this Act, subject 
to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may provide.
    ``(b) Privately Owned Land.--Access to any privately owned 
land within the wilderness areas designated under section 2 
shall be provided in accordance with section 5 of the 
Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1134 et seq.).''

                         Purpose of the Measure

    The purpose of S. 503 is to designate certain land in the 
San Isabel National Forest in the State of Colorado as the 
``Spanish Peaks Wilderness.''

                          Background and Need

    S. 503 amends the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 by 
including 18,000 acres of land in the San Isabel National 
Forest as the Spanish Peaks Wilderness. Spanish Peaks had been 
considered for inclusion in previous wilderness bills. However, 
because of unresolved issues it was not designated in the past. 
Those issues included access to various inholdings, the use of 
the Bulls Eye Mine road, and potential coal bed methane 
production on portions of the land. Those issues have now been 
resolved.

                          Legislative History

    S. 503 was introduced by Senator Allard on March 2, 1999. 
The Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management held a 
hearing on S. 503 on June 23, 1999. At the business meeting on 
February 10, 2000, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources ordered S. 503 reported favorably with an amendment. 
On September 14, 1999, the House passed a companion bill, H.R. 
898, by voice vote.

           Committee Recommendations and Tabulation of Votes

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on February 10, 2000, by a voice vote of 
a quorum present recommends that the Senate pass S. 503 if 
amended as described herein.

                          Committee Amendments

    The committee amendment corrects a factual error in the 
bill. The map identifying the wilderness area excludes the 
Bulls Eye Mine road. However, the bill as introduced refers to 
the road as within the wilderness area. The committee amendment 
deletes the inaccurate provision.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1 contains the short title.
    Section 2 designates the Spanish Peaks Wilderness area by 
amending the Colorado Wilderness Act and provides a map 
reference that designates the boundary.
    Section 3(a) addresses the management of the Bulls Eye Mine 
road. The subsection directs the Secretary of Agriculture to 
allow for the continuation of historic uses of the road 
established before the date of enactment of this Act, subject 
to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe. 
The Committee notes that the Bulls Eye Mine road--which has 
been excluded from the Spanish Peaks Wilderness--is currently 
closed. This section is not intended to restrict or otherwise 
limit the Secretary's management authority with respect to the 
road, including any decision to open or close the road, nor 
does it require the Secretary to improve or maintain the road. 
However, the Committee expects that the Secretary will consult 
with local citizens and other interested parties regarding the 
implementation of this Act with respect to the road.
    Subsection (b) addresses access to any privately owned land 
in the wilderness area.
    Section 4 provides conforming amendments.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs of 
this measure as amended follows:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, February 22, 2000.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 503, the Spanish 
Peaks Wilderness Act of 1999.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

               congressional budget office cost estimate

S. 503--Spanish Peaks Wilderness Act of 1999

    S. 503 would amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 
(Public Law 103-77) by designating about 18,000 acres of 
federal land within the San Isabel National Forest in Colorado 
as the Spanish Peaks Wilderness. The land managed as a 
wilderness study area under current law. The bill would allow 
for the continuation of historic uses of the Bulls Eye Mine 
Road, subject to terms and conditions set by the Secretary of 
Agriculture, and would allow access to privately owned land 
within the wilderness areas.
    CBO estimates that enacting this bill would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. The provision 
allowing historic use of the Bulls Eye Mine Road would be 
interpreted to require the Forest Service to reopen the road 
for motorized uses. (The road was built in the late 19th 
century for foot traffic and pack-animal travel, and it is 
currently closed to motorized traffic.) Based on information 
from the Forest Service, we estimate that reopening the road 
for use by motorized vehicles and providing ongoing maintenance 
would cost as much as $100,000 over the 2000-2005 period, 
subject to appropriation of the necessary amounts.
    Because S. 503 also could affect direct spending as a 
result of potential changes in offsetting receipts, pay-as-you-
go procedures would apply; however, we estimate that any such 
effect would be insignificant. This bill contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would have no significant 
impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
    On May 13, 1999, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
898, the Spanish Peaks Wilderness Act of 1999, as ordered 
reported by the House Committee on Resources on May 5, 1999. 
The two bills are substantively identical, as are the cost 
estimates.
    The CBO staff contact is Mark Grabowicz. This estimate was 
approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant Director for Budget 
Analysis.

                      Regulatory Impact Evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 503.
    The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of 
imposing Government-established standards or significant 
economic responsibilities on private individuals and 
businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 503, as ordered reported.

                        Executive Communications

    On June 23, 1999, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
Agriculture and the Office of Management and Budget setting 
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 503. These reports 
had not been received at the time the report on S. 503 was 
filed. When the reports become available, the Chairman will 
request that they be printed in the Congressional Record for 
the advice of the Senate. The testimony provided by the Forest 
Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

    Statement of Denny Bschor, Director, Recreation, Heritage, and 
   Wilderness Resources, Forest Service, United States Department of 
                              Agriculture


              s. 503, spanish peaks wilderness act of 1999


    The Administration would support S. 503, which designates 
the Spanish Peaks Wilderness within the San Isabel National 
Forest in the State of Colorado, if it were amended to contain 
the Bullseye Mine road within the boundary of the wilderness. 
The Administration objects to the exclusion of the road, which 
is actually more like a trail, from the wilderness for reasons 
which I will discuss shortly.
    The Spanish Peaks area is a worthy addition to the National 
Wilderness Preservation System (Wilderness System). The Spanish 
Peaks are the easternmost peaks of the Rocky Mountains and the 
13,626 foot summit of West Spanish Peak is a prominent landmark 
visible across the high plains for many miles. The peaks were 
added to the National Registry of Natural Landmarks in 1977. 
Their unique location, geology, and significant elevation 
gradient provide singular habitats for plant and animal 
communities. Water rights, which have often been at issue in 
Colorado wilderness debates, should not present a problem, as 
the Spanish Peaks are located in a headwaters area while the 
water users are located downstream and outside of the area to 
be designated.
    The Spanish Peaks have long been the subject of 
considerable interest for their potential inclusion in the 
Wilderness System. The Endangered American Wilderness Act of 
1978 (P.L. 96-560) directed the Secretary of Agriculture to 
review the Spanish Peaks Wilderness Study Area and report 
recommendations for suitability of the area for inclusion in 
the Wilderness System. The Forest Service evaluated the 
suitability of the area for wilderness as part of the forest 
planning process and did not recommend wilderness designation 
for the area, due to the numerous private property interests 
within the area.
    The Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-77) created 
the Spanish Peaks Planning Area and directed the Forest Service 
to study the area and report to Congress concerning the status 
of private property interests within the area. The Congress 
further directed the agency to expedite this study in the 1994 
interior appropriations bill. The Forest Service completed this 
study and forwarded it to the Congress in 1995.
    Significant private property interests including private 
land, patented and unpatented mining claims, and oil and gas 
leases within the study area boundaries have been of greatest 
concern regarding the suitability of the area as wilderness. 
There were 825 acres in 7 separate inholdings within the 20,000 
acre study area in 1995, which caused concern that the area 
could not be successfully administered as wilderness. In 
testimony before the 103rd and 105th Congresses addressing the 
Spanish Peaks area, the Forest Service highlighted concerns 
about its ability to preserve wilderness values because of the 
significant amount of private property within the wilderness.
    We wish to express our appreciation to the Colorado 
delegation and to the Congress for their willingness to see the 
issues resolved before going ahead with wilderness designation. 
As we have often found, resolving such issues after designation 
is problematic.
    Since the 1995 study, the Forest Service has made the 
acquisition of lands within this area a high priority, and the 
Wilderness Land Trust has acquired some of the inholdings which 
will eventually be turned over to the Forest Service, but 110 
interior acres still remain in private ownership. Because of 
their location, they cannot be excluded from the wilderness by 
adjusting the boundaries, so they will remain as inholdings 
unless the Forest Service acquires them.


                           bullseye mine road


    S. 503 would exclude the Bullseye Mine road from the 
wilderness area. The Forest Service is concerned about the 
future management of this road and cannot support its exclusion 
from the wilderness area.
    The road provides access to mining claims. Historically, 
the road has been limited to foot traffic and pack-animal 
travel, and this use would not be precluded by wilderness 
designation. The road is currently managed as a non-forest 
system road and is closed to motorized traffic. The forest does 
not anticipate changing this management direction. Whether the 
road is included in the area designated as wilderness, the 
Forest Service does not anticipate opening this road to 
motorized use because they would severely degrade the 
wilderness values of the area, in addition to causing many 
other problems.
     A concern for public health and safety--The road 
is very steep and narrow which does not lend itself to being an 
enjoyable, drivable road for the majority of the recreating 
public.
     Erosion and water quality--For the most part, the 
road traverses above and in-line with a live drainage coming 
off the West Peak. Maintenance of the road would increase the 
sedimentation reaching the drainage.
     Road maintenance--It would be costly and difficult 
to maintain such a road at the expense of others which receive 
much higher use by the general public.
    However, should the owners of the Bullseye Mine request 
access to their patented claim, access would be governed by 
section 1323(a) of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act (ANILCA) and section 7 of the Colorado 
Wilderness Act of 1993.
    The Administration would strongly recommend an amendment 
authorizing the Secretary to adjust the wilderness boundary to 
include the Bullseye Mine road. We also recommend deleting 
section 3 of the bill, relating to access within the wilderness 
area, because this provision is unnecessary and raises concerns 
about whether section 1323(a) of ANILCA would govern access to 
private inholdings within the wilderness area.
    The Forest Service looks forward to working with the 
Committee and Senator Allard on the inclusion of this beautiful 
area in our national wilderness preservation system.


                                closing


    Mr. Chairman, the Administration supports S. 953, ``Terry 
Peak Land Conveyance Act of 1999'', but recommends one 
technical amendment, and supports S. 1088, the ``Arizona 
National Forest Improvement Act of 1999''. The Administration 
would support S. 503, the ``Spanish Peaks Wilderness Act of 
1999'' if amended to adjust the wilderness boundary to include 
the Bullseye Mine road.
    This concludes my statement, I would be happy to answer any 
questions you and the Members of the Subcommittee might have.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill S. 503, as ordered reported, are shown as follows 
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black 
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in 
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

                    COLORADO WILDERNESS ACT OF 1993


Public Law 103-77 (107 Stat. 756)

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



SEC. 2. ADDITIONS TO THE WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM.

    (a) Additions--The following lands in the State of Colorado 
are hereby designated as wilderness, and, therefore, as 
components of the National Wilderness Preservation System:
          (20) Spanish Peaks Wilderness.--Certain land in the 
        San Isabel National Forest that--
                  (A) comprises approximately 18,000 acres, as 
                generally depicted on a map entitled ``Proposed 
                Spanish Peaks Wilderness,'' dated February 10, 
                1999; and
                  (B) shall be known as the ``Spanish Peaks 
                Wilderness.''

                                  
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