[106th Congress Public Law 538]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


<DOC>
[DOCID: f:publ538.106]


[[Page 114 STAT. 2563]]

Public Law 106-538
106th Congress

                                 An Act


 
      To establish the Las Cienegas <<NOTE: Dec. 6, 2000 -  [H.R. 
       2941]>> National Conservation Area in the State of Arizona.

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

SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460ooo.>> DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Conservation area.--The term ``Conservation Area'' means 
        the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area established by 
        section 4(a).
            (2) Acquisition planning district.--The term ``Acquisition 
        Planning District'' means the Sonoita Valley Acquisition 
        Planning District established by section 2(a).
            (3) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means the 
        management plan for the Conservation Area.
            (4) Public lands.--The term ``public lands'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and 
        Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)), except that such 
        term shall not include interest in lands not owned by the United 
        States.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 2. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460ooo-1.>> ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SONOITA VALLEY 
            ACQUISITION PLANNING DISTRICT.

    (a) In General.--In order to provide for future acquisitions of 
important conservation land within the Sonoita Valley region of the 
State of Arizona, there is hereby established the Sonoita Valley 
Acquisition Planning District.
    (b) Areas Included.--The Acquisition Planning District shall consist 
of approximately 142,800 acres of land in the Arizona counties of Pima 
and Santa Cruz, including the Conservation Area, as generally depicted 
on the map entitled ``Sonoita Valley Acquisition Planning District and 
Las Cienegas National Conservation Area'' and dated October 2, 2000.
    (c) Map and Legal Description.--As soon as practicable after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress a map and legal description of the Acquisition Planning 
District. In case of a conflict between the map referred to in 
subsection (b) and the map and legal description submitted by the 
Secretary, the map referred to in subsection (b) shall control. The map 
and legal description shall have the same force and effect as if 
included in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct clerical and 
typographical errors in such map and legal description. Copies of the 
map and legal description shall be on file and available

[[Page 114 STAT. 2564]]

for public inspection in the Office of the Director of the Bureau of 
Land Management, and in the appropriate office of the Bureau of Land 
Management in Arizona.

SEC. 3. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460ooo-2.>> PURPOSES OF THE ACQUISITION PLANNING 
            DISTRICT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall negotiate with land owners for 
the acquisition of lands and interest in lands suitable for Conservation 
Area expansion that meet the purposes described in section 4(a). The 
Secretary shall only acquire property under this Act pursuant to section 
7.
    (b) Federal Lands.--The Secretary, through the Bureau of Land 
Management, shall administer the public lands within the Acquisition 
Planning District pursuant to this Act and the applicable provisions of 
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 
seq.), subject to valid existing rights, and in accordance with the 
management plan. Such public lands shall become part of the Conservation 
Area when they become contiguous with the Conservation Area.
    (c) Fish and Wildlife.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed as 
affecting the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the State of Arizona 
with respect to fish and wildlife within the Acquisition Planning 
District.
    (d) Protection of State and Private Lands and Interests.--Nothing in 
this Act shall be construed as affecting any property rights or 
management authority with regard to any lands or interest in lands held 
by the State of Arizona, any political subdivision of the State of 
Arizona, or any private property rights within the boundaries of the 
Acquisition Planning District.
    (e) Public Lands.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed as in any 
way diminishing the Secretary's or the Bureau of Land Management's 
authorities, rights, or responsibilities for managing the public lands 
within the Acquisition Planning District.
    (f ) Coordinated Management.--The Secretary shall coordinate the 
management of the public lands within the Acquisition Planning District 
with that of surrounding county, State, and private lands consistent 
with the provisions of subsection (d).

SEC. 4. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460ooo-3.>> ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAS CIENEGAS 
            NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA.

    (a) In General.--In order to conserve, protect, and enhance for the 
benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations the unique and 
nationally important aquatic, wildlife, vegetative, archaeological, 
paleontological, scientific, cave, cultural, historical, recreational, 
educational, scenic, rangeland, and riparian resources and values of the 
public lands described in subsection (b) while allowing livestock 
grazing and recreation to continue in appropriate areas, there is hereby 
established the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area in the State of 
Arizona.
    (b) Areas Included.--The Conservation Area shall consist of 
approximately 42,000 acres of public lands in the Arizona counties of 
Pima and Santa Cruz, as generally depicted on the map entitled ``Sonoita 
Valley Acquisition Planning District and Las Cienegas National 
Conservation Area'' and dated October 2, 2000.
    (c) Maps and Legal Description.--As soon as practicable after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress a map and legal description of the Conservation Area. In case 
of a conflict between the map referred to in subsection (b) and the map 
and legal description submitted by the Secretary,

[[Page 114 STAT. 2565]]

the map referred to in subsection (b) shall control. The map and legal 
description shall have the same force and effect as if included in this 
Act, except that the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical 
errors in such map and legal description. Copies of the map and legal 
description shall be on file and available for public inspection in the 
Office of the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, and in the 
appropriate office of the Bureau of Land Management in Arizona.
    (d) Forest Lands.--Any lands included in the Coronado National 
Forest that are located within the boundaries of the Conservation Area 
shall be considered to be a part of the Conservation Area. The Secretary 
of Agriculture shall revise the boundaries of the Coronado National 
Forest to reflect the exclusion of such lands from the Coronado National 
Forest.

SEC. 5. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460ooo-4.>> MANAGEMENT OF THE LAS CIENEGAS 
            NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall manage the Conservation Area in 
a manner that conserves, protects, and enhances its resources and 
values, including the resources and values specified in section 4(a), 
pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and other applicable law, including this Act.
    (b) Uses.--The Secretary shall allow only such uses of the 
Conservation Area as the Secretary finds will further the purposes for 
which the Conservation Area is established as set forth in section 4(a).
    (c) Grazing.--The Secretary of the Interior shall permit grazing 
subject to all applicable laws, regulations, and Executive orders 
consistent with the purposes of this Act.
    (d) Motorized Vehicles.--Except where needed for administrative 
purposes or to respond to an emergency, use of motorized vehicles on 
public lands in the Conservation Area shall be allowed only--
            (1) before the effective date of a management plan prepared 
        pursuant to section 6, on roads and trails designated for use of 
        motorized vehicles in the management plan that applies on the 
        date of the enactment of this Act; and
            (2) after the effective date of a management plan prepared 
        pursuant to section 6, on roads and trails designated for use of 
        motor vehicles in that management plan.

    (e) Military Airspace.--Prior to the date of the enactment of this 
Act the Federal Aviation Administration approved restricted military 
airspace (Areas 2303A and 2303B) which covers portions of the 
Conservation Area. Designation of the Conservation Area shall not impact 
or impose any altitude, flight, or other airspace restrictions on 
current or future military operations or missions. Should the military 
require additional or modified airspace in the future, the Congress does 
not intend for the designation of the Conservation Area to impede the 
military from petitioning the Federal Aviation Administration to change 
or expand existing restricted military airspace.
    (f ) Access to State and Private Lands.--Nothing in this Act shall 
affect valid existing rights-of-way within the Conservation Area. The 
Secretary shall provide reasonable access to nonfederally owned lands or 
interest in lands within the boundaries of the Conservation Area.

[[Page 114 STAT. 2566]]

    (g) Hunting.--Hunting shall be allowed within the Conservation Area 
in accordance with applicable laws and regulations of the United States 
and the State of Arizona, except that the Secretary, after consultation 
with the Arizona State wildlife management agency, may issue regulations 
designating zones where and establishing periods when no hunting shall 
be permitted for reasons of public safety, administration, or public use 
and enjoyment.
    (h) Preventative Measures.--Nothing in this Act shall preclude such 
measures as the Secretary determines necessary to prevent devastating 
fire or infestation of insects or disease within the Conservation Area.
    (i) No Buffer Zones.--The establishment of the Conservation Area 
shall not lead to the creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones 
around the Conservation Area. The fact that there may be activities or 
uses on lands outside the Conservation Area that would not be permitted 
in the Conservation Area shall not preclude such activities or uses on 
such lands up to the boundary of the Conservation Area consistent with 
other applicable laws.
    ( j) Withdrawals.--Subject to valid existing rights all Federal 
lands within the Conservation Area and all lands and interest therein 
which are hereafter acquired by the United States are hereby withdrawn 
from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public 
land laws and from location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, 
and from operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws 
and all amendments thereto.

SEC. 6. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460ooo-5.>> MANAGEMENT PLAN.

    (a) Plan Required.--Not <<NOTE: Deadline.>> later than 2 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, through the Bureau 
of Land Management, shall develop and begin to implement a comprehensive 
management plan for the long-term management of the public lands within 
the Conservation Area in order to fulfill the purposes for which it is 
established, as set forth in section 4(a). Consistent with the 
provisions of this Act, the management plan shall be developed--
            (1) in consultation with appropriate departments of the 
        State of Arizona, including wildlife and land management 
        agencies, with full public participation;
            (2) from the draft Empire-Cienega Ecosystem Management Plan/
        EIS, dated October 2000, as it applies to Federal lands or lands 
        with conservation easements; and
            (3) in accordance with the resource goals and objectives 
        developed through the Sonoita Valley Planning Partnership 
        process as incorporated in the draft Empire-Cienega Ecosystem 
        Management Plan/EIS, dated October 2000, giving full 
        consideration to the management alternative preferred by the 
        Sonoita Valley Planning Partnership, as it applies to Federal 
        lands or lands with conservation easements.

    (b) Contents.--The management plan shall include--
            (1) provisions designed to ensure the protection of the 
        resources and values described in section 4(a);
            (2) an implementation plan for a continuing program of 
        interpretation and public education about the resources and 
        values of the Conservation Area;
            (3) a proposal for minimal administrative and public 
        facilities to be developed or improved at a level compatible 
        with achieving the resource objectives for the Conservation Area

[[Page 114 STAT. 2567]]

        and with the other proposed management activities to accommodate 
        visitors to the Conservation Area;
            (4) cultural resources management strategies for the 
        Conservation Area, prepared in consultation with appropriate 
        departments of the State of Arizona, with emphasis on the 
        preservation of the resources of the Conservation Area and the 
        interpretive, educational, and long-term scientific uses of 
        these 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 Conservation Area;
            (5) wildlife management strategies for the Conservation 
        Area, prepared in consultation with appropriate departments of 
        the State of Arizona and using previous studies of the 
        Conservation Area;
            (6) production livestock grazing management strategies, 
        prepared in consultation with appropriate departments of the 
        State of Arizona;
            (7) provisions designed to ensure the protection of 
        environmentally sustainable livestock use on appropriate lands 
        within the Conservation Area;
            (8) recreation management strategies, including motorized 
        and nonmotorized dispersed recreation opportunities for the 
        Conservation Area, prepared in consultation with appropriate 
        departments of the State of Arizona;
            (9) cave resources management strategies prepared in 
        compliance with the goals and objectives of the Federal Cave 
        Resources Protection Act of 1988 (16 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.); and
            (10) provisions designed to ensure that if a road or trail 
        located on public lands within the Conservation Area, or any 
        portion of such a road or trail, is removed, consideration shall 
        be given to providing similar alternative access to the portion 
        of the Conservation Area serviced by such removed road or trail.

    (c) Cooperative Agreements.--In order to better implement the 
management plan, the Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements 
with appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies pursuant to section 
307(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
1737(b)).
    (d) Research Activities.--In order to assist in the development and 
implementation of the management plan, the Secretary may authorize 
appropriate research, including research concerning the environmental, 
biological, hydrological, cultural, agricultural, recreational, and 
other characteristics, resources, and values of the Conservation Area, 
pursuant to section 307(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1737(a)).

SEC. 7. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460ooo-6.>> LAND ACQUISITION.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Priority to conservation easements.--In acquiring lands 
        or interest in lands under this section, the Secretary shall 
        give priority to such acquisitions in the form of conservation 
        easements.
            (2) Private lands.--The Secretary is authorized to acquire 
        privately held lands or interest in lands within the boundaries

[[Page 114 STAT. 2568]]

        of the Acquisition Planning District only from a willing seller 
        through donation, exchange, or purchase.
            (3) County lands.--The Secretary is authorized to acquire 
        county lands or interest in lands within the boundaries of the 
        Acquisition Planning District only with the consent of the 
        county through donation, exchange, or purchase.
            (4) State lands.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary is authorized to 
                acquire lands or interest in lands owned by the State of 
                Arizona located within the boundaries of the Acquisition 
                Planning District only with the consent of the State and 
                in accordance with State law, by donation, exchange, or 
                purchase.
                    (B) Consideration.--As consideration for the 
                acquisitions by the United States of lands or interest 
                in lands under this paragraph, the Secretary shall pay 
                fair market value for such lands or shall convey to the 
                State of Arizona all or some interest in Federal lands 
                (including buildings and other improvements on such 
                lands or other Federal property other than real 
                property) or any other asset of equal value within the 
                State of Arizona.
                    (C) Transfer of jurisdiction.--All Federal agencies 
                are authorized to transfer jurisdiction of Federal lands 
                or interest in lands (including buildings and other 
                improvements on such lands or other Federal property 
                other than real property) or any other asset within the 
                State of Arizona to the Bureau of Land Management for 
                the purpose of acquiring lands or interest in lands as 
                provided for in this paragraph.

    (b) Management of Acquired Lands.--Lands acquired under this section 
shall, upon acquisition, become part of the Conservation Area and shall 
be administered as part of the Conservation Area. These lands shall be 
managed in accordance with this Act, other applicable laws, and the 
management plan.

SEC. 8. <<NOTE: Deadlines. 16 USC 460ooo-7.>> REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Protection of Certain Lands.--Not later than 2 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress a report describing the most effective measures to protect the 
lands north of the Acquisition Planning District within the Rincon 
Valley, Colossal Cave area, and Agua Verde Creek corridor north of 
Interstate 10 to provide an ecological link to Saguaro National Park and 
the Rincon Mountains and contribute to local government conservation 
priorities.
    (b) Implementation of This Act.--Not later than 5 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and at least at the end of every 10-
year period thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 
describing the implementation of this Act, the condition of the 
resources and values of the Conservation Area, and the progress of the 
Secretary in achieving the purposes for

[[Page 114 STAT. 2569]]

which the Conservation Area is established as set forth in section 4(a).

    Approved December 6, 2000.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 2941:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 106-934 (Comm. on Resources).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 146 (2000):
            Oct. 5, considered and passed House.
            Oct. 27, considered and passed Senate.

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