[House Report 110-695]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     110-695

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



 
                    SABINOSO WILDERNESS ACT OF 2008

                                _______
                                

  June 5, 2008.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2632]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 2632) to establish the Sabinoso Wilderness Area in 
San Miguel County, New Mexico, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment 
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Sabinoso Wilderness Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of New Mexico.
          (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF THE SABINOSO 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, the approximately 15,995 acres of land under the jurisdiction 
of the Taos Field Office Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico, as 
generally depicted on the map titled ``Sabinoso Wilderness'' and dated 
May 7, 2008, and which shall be known as the ``Sabinoso 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 Natural 
        Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate as soon as 
        practicable after the date of the 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 areas designated by this Act shall be administered in 
accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this 
Act, except that with respect to the wilderness areas designated by 
this Act, any reference to the effective date of the Wilderness Act 
shall be deemed to be a reference to the date of enactment of this Act 
and any reference in the Wilderness Act to the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall be considered to be a reference to the Secretary of the Interior.
  (d) Incorporation of Acquired Land.--Any land or interest in land 
located inside the boundaries of the wilderness area designated by this 
Act that is acquired by the United States after the date of enactment 
of this Act shall become part of the wilderness area designated by this 
Act and shall be managed in accordance with this Act and other 
applicable law.
  (e) 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 101st Congress (H. Rept. 
101-405).
  (f) 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, including the 
regulation of hunting, fishing, and trapping, in the wilderness area 
designated by this Act.
  (g) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, the wilderness 
area designated by this Act, is 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.
  (h) Access.--
          (1) Consistent with section 5(a) of the Wilderness Act (16 
        U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the Secretary shall continue to allow 
        private landowners adequate access to inholdings in the 
        Sabinoso Wilderness.
          (2) For access purposes, private lands within T. 16 N., R. 23 
        E. Sections 17, 20 and the north half of Section 21, N.M.M. 
        shall be managed as if an inholding in the Sabinoso Wilderness.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 2632 is to establish the Sabinoso 
Wilderness Area in San Miguel County, New Mexico, and for other 
purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 2632, as ordered reported, designates approximately 
15,995 acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) as wilderness. The land is located in San 
Miguel County in Northwestern New Mexico. The land was studied 
for its wilderness characteristics and has been managed as a 
wilderness study area for more than 20 years.
    The dominant feature of the area is the 1,000-foot-deep 
Canon Largo which connects to the Canadian River outside the 
unit. The area includes a mix of Ponderosa pine and riparian 
vegetation and provides habitat for an array of species 
including red-tailed hawk, bobcat and fox. The area features 
opportunities for hunting, hiking and horseback riding among 
other activities.
    The proposed wilderness area would be managed according to 
the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and any land 
acquired by the federal government within the boundary would be 
incorporated into the wilderness area. Existing rights, 
including grazing allotments, would be managed using standard 
provisions covering those activities within designated 
wilderness.
    Because the public land included in the designation is 
surrounded by private land, there is currently no public access 
to this area. However, the BLM is currently working with a 
private landowner to provide public access from the eastern 
boundary of the proposed wilderness area.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 2632 was introduced on June 7, 2007 by Representative 
Tom Udall (D-NM). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands. On November 13, 
2007, the Subcommittee held a legislative hearing on the bill.
    The Subcommittee was discharged from further consideration 
of the bill and on May 14, 2008, the Full Natural Resources 
Committee met to consider the bill. Subcommittee Chairman Raul 
Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute to adjust the wilderness acreage to 15,955 acres and 
add language to allow adequate access for private landowners to 
inholdings in the Sabinoso Wilderness. The amendment was 
adopted by voice vote. The bill as amended was then ordered 
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by voice 
vote.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 provides that this Act may be cited as the 
``Sabinoso Wilderness Act of 2008.''

Section 2. Definitions

    Section 2 defines the term ``State'' as the State of New 
Mexico, and the term ``Secretary'' as the Secretary of the 
Interior.

Section 3. Designation of the Sabinoso Wilderness

    Section 3(a) designates 15,995 acres of public land under 
the jurisdiction of the Taos Field Office of the Bureau of Land 
Management as a component of the National Wilderness 
Preservation System which shall be known as the ``Sabinoso 
Wilderness.''
    Section 3(b) identifies requirements for the map and legal 
description of the wilderness area designated by this Act.
    Section 3(c) states that subject to valid existing rights, 
the wilderness areas designated by this Act shall be 
administered in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 
1131 et seq.).
    Section 3(d) states that any land or interest in land 
located inside the boundaries of the wilderness area designated 
by this Act, acquired by the United States after the date of 
enactment of this Act, shall become part of the wilderness area 
designated by this Act.
    Section 3(e) requires that the 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 101st 
Congress (House Report 101-405). Section 4(d)(4) of the 
Wilderness Act specifically states that ``the grazing of 
livestock, where established prior to the effective date of 
this Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such 
reasonable regulations as are deemed necessary by the Secretary 
* * *'' House Report 101-405 has numerous guidelines related to 
grazing in wilderness, including that ``[t]here shall be no 
curtailments of grazing in wilderness areas simply because an 
area is, or has been designated as wilderness * * *'' Another 
guideline in House Report 101-405 states that ``the maintenance 
of supporting facilities, existing in an area prior to its 
classification as wilderness (including fences, line cabins, 
water wells and lines, stock tanks, etc.) is permissible in 
wilderness. Where practical alternatives do not exist, 
maintenance or other activities may be accomplished through the 
occasional use of motorized equipment.''
    Section 3(f) states that 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, including the regulation of hunting, fishing, and 
trapping, in the wilderness area designated by this Act.
    Section 3(g) states that subject to valid existing rights, 
the wilderness area designated by this Act is withdrawn from 
all forms of entry, appropriation, and disposal under the 
public land laws; location, entry, and patent under the mining 
laws; and operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, 
and geothermal leasing laws.
    Section 3(h) provides that consistent with Section 5(a) of 
the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1134), the Secretary shall 
continue to allow private landowners adequate access to 
inholdings in the Sabinoso Wilderness; and that for access 
purposes, private lands within T. 16 N., R. 23 E. sections 17, 
20, and the north half of section 21, N.M.M shall be managed as 
if an inholding in the Sabinoso Wilderness. Section 5(a) of the 
Wilderness Act states that in the case where State-owned or 
privately owned land is completely surrounded by public lands 
designated as Wilderness, such State or private landowner shall 
be given such rights as may be necessary to assure adequate 
access to such State-owned or privately owned land.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to establish the Sabinoso Wilderness 
Area in San Miguel County, New Mexico.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

H.R. 2632--Sabinoso Wilderness Act of 2008

    H.R. 2632 would designate nearly 16,000 acres of land in 
New Mexico as wilderness. Based on information provided by the 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), CBO estimates that enacting 
H.R. 2632 would have no significant effect on the Federal 
budget.
    The acreage to be added to the National Wilderness 
Preservation System is currently administered by BLM as a 
wilderness study area; no additional resources would be 
required to manage the land as a result of the final 
designation as wilderness. We expect that any costs to revise 
maps and signs to reflect the new designation would be minimal 
because most such revisions would take place in conjunction 
with scheduled reprinting and routine maintenance. Finally, we 
estimate that enacting the bill would have no effect on BLM 
receipts.
    H.R. 2632 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    H.R. 2632 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(f) of rule XXI.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                  
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