[106th Congress Public Law 353]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
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[DOCID: f:publ353.106]
[[Page 1373]]
COLORADO CANYONS NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA AND BLACK RIDGE CANYONS
WILDERNESS ACT OF 2000
[[Page 114 STAT. 1374]]
Public Law 106-353
106th Congress
An Act
To establish the Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area and the
Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness, and for other purposes. <<NOTE: Oct. 24,
2000 - [H.R. 4275]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Colorado Canyons
National Conservation Area and Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness Act of
2000. Utah.>>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460mmm note.>>
This Act may be cited as the ``Colorado Canyons National
Conservation Area and Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness Act of 2000''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460mmm.>>
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that certain areas located in the
Grand Valley in Mesa County, Colorado, and Grand County, Utah, should be
protected and enhanced for the benefit and enjoyment of present and
future generations. These areas include the following:
(1) The areas making up the Black Ridge and Ruby Canyons of
the Grand Valley and Rabbit Valley, which contain unique and
valuable scenic, recreational, multiple use opportunities
(including grazing), paleontological, natural, and wildlife
components enhanced by the rural western setting of the area,
provide extensive opportunities for recreational activities, and
are publicly used for hiking, camping, and grazing, and are
worthy of additional protection as a national conservation area.
(2) The Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness Study Area has
wilderness value and offers unique geological, paleontological,
scientific, and recreational resources.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to conserve, protect, and
enhance for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations
the unique and nationally important values of the public lands described
in section 4(b), including geological, cultural, paleontological,
natural, scientific, recreational, environmental, biological,
wilderness, wildlife education, and scenic resources of such public
lands, by establishing the Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area
and the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness in the State of Colorado and the
State of Utah.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460mmm-1.>>
In this Act:
(1) Conservation area.--The term ``Conservation Area'' means
the Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area established by
section 4(a).
[[Page 114 STAT. 1375]]
(2) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the Colorado
Canyons National Conservation Area Advisory Council established
under section 8.
(3) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means the
management plan developed for the Conservation Area under
section 6(h).
(4) Map.--The term ``Map'' means the map entitled ``Proposed
Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area and Black Ridge
Canyons Wilderness Area'' and dated July 18, 2000.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of
Land Management.
(6) Wilderness.--The term ``Wilderness'' means the Black
Ridge Canyons Wilderness so designated in section 5.
SEC. 4. COLORADO CANYONS NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA. <<NOTE: 16 USC
460mmm-2.>>
(a) In General.--There is established the Colorado Canyons National
Conservation Area in the State of Colorado and the State of Utah.
(b) Areas Included.--The Conservation Area shall consist of
approximately 122,300 acres of public land as generally depicted on the
Map.
SEC. 5. BLACK RIDGE CANYONS WILDERNESS DESIGNATION. <<NOTE: 16 USC
460mmm-3, 1132 note.>>
Certain lands in Mesa County, Colorado, and Grand County, Utah,
which comprise approximately 75,550 acres as generally depicted on the
Map, are hereby designated as wilderness and therefore as a component of
the National Wilderness Preservation System. Such component shall be
known as the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness.
SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460mmm-4.>>
(a) Conservation Area.--The Secretary shall manage the Conservation
Area in a manner that--
(1) conserves, protects, and enhances the resources of the
Conservation Area specified in section 2(b); and
(2) is in accordance with--
(A) the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and
(B) other applicable law, including this Act.
(b) Uses.--The Secretary shall allow only such uses of the
Conservation Area as the Secretary determines will further the purposes
for which the Conservation Area is established.
(c) Withdrawals.--Subject to valid existing rights, all Federal land
within the Conservation Area and the Wilderness and all land and
interests in land acquired for the Conservation Area or the Wilderness
by the United States are withdrawn from--
(1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the
public land laws;
(2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
(3) the operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials,
and geothermal leasing laws, and all amendments thereto.
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect discretionary
authority of the Secretary under other Federal laws to grant, issue, or
renew rights-of-way or other land use authorizations consistent with the
other provisions of this Act.
(d) Off-Highway Vehicle Use.--
[[Page 114 STAT. 1376]]
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), use of
motorized vehicles in the Conservation Area--
(A) before the effective date of a management plan
under subsection (h), shall be allowed only on roads and
trails designated for use of motor vehicles in the
management plan that applies on the date of the
enactment of this Act to the public lands in the
Conservation Area; and
(B) after the effective date of a management plan
under subsection (h), shall be allowed only on roads and
trails designated for use of motor vehicles in that
management plan.
(2) Administrative and emergency response use.--Paragraph
(1) shall not limit the use of motor vehicles in the
Conservation Area as needed for administrative purposes or to
respond to an emergency.
(e) Wilderness.--Subject to valid existing rights, lands designated
as wilderness by this Act shall be managed by the Secretary, as
appropriate, in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et
seq.) and this Act, except that, with respect to any wilderness areas
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 the enactment of this Act.
(f ) Hunting, Trapping, and Fishing.--
(1) In general.--Hunting, trapping, and fishing shall be
allowed within the Conservation Area and the Wilderness in
accordance with applicable laws and regulations of the United
States and the States of Colorado and Utah.
(2) Area and time closures.--The head of the Colorado
Division of Wildlife (in reference to land within the State of
Colorado), the head of the Utah Division of Wildlife (in
reference to land within the State of Utah), or the Secretary
after consultation with the Colorado Division of Wildlife (in
reference to land within the State of Colorado) or the head of
the Utah Division of Wildlife (in reference to land within the
State of Utah), may issue regulations designating zones where,
and establishing limited periods when, hunting, trapping, or
fishing shall be prohibited in the Conservation Area or the
Wilderness for reasons of public safety, administration, or
public use and enjoyment.
(g) Grazing.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided by paragraph (2), the
Secretary shall issue and administer any grazing leases or
permits in the Conservation Area and the Wilderness in
accordance with the same laws (including regulations) and
Executive orders followed by the Secretary in issuing and
administering grazing leases and permits on other land under the
jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.
(2) Grazing in wilderness.--Grazing of livestock in the
Wilderness shall be administered in accordance with the
provisions of section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C.
1133(d)(4)), in accordance with the guidelines set forth in
Appendix A of House Report 101-405 of the 101st Congress.
(h) Management Plan.--
(1) In <<NOTE: Deadline.>> general.--Not later than 3 years
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
develop a comprehensive management plan for the long-range
protection
[[Page 114 STAT. 1377]]
and management of the Conservation Area and the Wilderness and
the lands described in paragraph (2)(E).
(2) Purposes.--The management plan shall--
(A) describe the appropriate uses and management of
the Conservation Area and the Wilderness;
(B) take into consideration any information
developed in studies of the land within the Conservation
Area or the Wilderness;
(C) provide for the continued management of the
utility corridor, Black Ridge Communications Site, and
the Federal Aviation Administration site as such for the
land designated on the Map as utility corridor, Black
Ridge Communications Site, and the Federal Aviation
Administration site;
(D) take into consideration the historical
involvement of the local community in the interpretation
and protection of the resources of the Conservation Area
and the Wilderness, as well as the Ruby Canyon/Black
Ridge Integrated Resource Management Plan, dated March
1998, which was the result of collaborative efforts on
the part of the Bureau of Land Management and the local
community; and
(E) include all public lands between the boundary of
the Conservation Area and the edge of the Colorado River
and, on such lands, the Secretary shall allow only such
recreational or other uses as are consistent with this
Act.
(i) No Buffer Zones.--The Congress does not intend for the
establishment of the Conservation Area or the Wilderness to lead to the
creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones around the
Conservation Area or the Wilderness. The fact that there may be
activities or uses on lands outside the Conservation Area or the
Wilderness that would not be allowed in the Conservation Area or the
Wilderness shall not preclude such activities or uses on such lands up
to the boundary of the Conservation Area or the Wilderness consistent
with other applicable laws.
( j) Acquisition of Land.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may acquire non-federally
owned land within the exterior boundaries of the Conservation
Area or the Wilderness only through purchase from a willing
seller, exchange, or donation.
(2) Management.--Land acquired under paragraph (1) shall be
managed as part of the Conservation Area or the Wilderness, as
the case may be, in accordance with this Act.
(k) Interpretive Facilities or Sites.--The Secretary may establish
minimal interpretive facilities or sites in cooperation with other
public or private entities as the Secretary considers appropriate. Any
facilities or sites shall be designed to protect the resources referred
to in section 2(b).
(l) Water Rights.--
(1) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(A) the lands designated as wilderness by this Act
are located at the headwaters of the streams and rivers
on those lands, with few, if any, actual or proposed
water resource facilities located upstream from such
lands and few, if any, opportunities for diversion,
storage, or other uses of water occurring outside such
lands that would adversely affect the wilderness or
other values of such lands;
[[Page 114 STAT. 1378]]
(B) the lands designated as wilderness by this Act
generally are not suitable for use for development of
new water resource facilities, or for the expansion of
existing facilities;
(C) it is possible to provide for proper management
and protection of the wilderness and other values of
such lands in ways different from those utilized in
other legislation designating as wilderness lands not
sharing the attributes of the lands designated as
wilderness by this Act.
(2) Statutory construction.--
(A) Nothing in this Act shall constitute or be
construed to constitute either an express or implied
reservation of any water or water rights with respect to
the lands designated as a national conservation area or
as wilderness by this Act.
(B) Nothing in this Act shall affect any conditional
or absolute water rights in the State of Colorado
existing on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(C) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as
establishing a precedent with regard to any future
national conservation area or wilderness designations.
(D) Nothing in this Act 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 of
Colorado and other States.
(3) Colorado water law.--The Secretary shall follow the
procedural and substantive requirements of the law of the State
of Colorado in order to obtain and hold any new water rights
with respect to the Conservation Area and the Wilderness.
(4) New projects.--
(A) As used in this paragraph, the term ``water
resource facility'' 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. Such term does not include any such
facilities related to or used for the purpose of
livestock grazing.
(B) Except as otherwise provided by section 6(g) or
other provisions of this Act, on and after the date of
the 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.
(C) Except as provided in this paragraph, nothing in
this Act shall be construed to affect or limit the use,
operation, maintenance, repair, modification, or
replacement of water resource facilities in existence on
the date of the enactment of this Act within the
boundaries of the Wilderness.
(5) Boundaries along colorado river.--(A) Neither the
Conservation Area nor the Wilderness shall include any part of
the Colorado River to the 100-year high water mark.
[[Page 114 STAT. 1379]]
(B) Nothing in this Act shall affect the authority that the
Secretary may or may not have to manage recreational uses on the
Colorado River, except as such authority may be affected by
compliance with paragraph (3). Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to affect the authority of the Secretary to manage the
public lands between the boundary of the Conservation Area and
the edge of the Colorado River.
(C) Subject to valid existing rights, all lands owned by the
Federal Government between the 100-year high water mark on each
shore of the Colorado River, as designated on the Map from the
line labeled ``Line A'' on the east to the boundary between the
States of Colorado and Utah on the west, are hereby withdrawn
from--
(i) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal
under the public land laws;
(ii) location, entry, and patent under the mining
laws; and
(iii) the operation of the mineral leasing, mineral
materials, and geothermal leasing laws.
SEC. 7. MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460mmm-5.>>
(a) In General.--As soon as practicable after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a copy of
the Map and a legal description of the Conservation Area and of the
Wilderness.
(b) Force and Effect.--The Map and legal descriptions shall have the
same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that the
Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in the Map and
the legal descriptions.
(c) Public Availability.--Copies of the Map and the legal
descriptions shall be on file and available for public inspection in--
(1) the Office of the Director of the Bureau of Land
Management;
(2) the Grand Junction District Office of the Bureau of Land
Management in Colorado;
(3) the appropriate office of the Bureau of Land Management
in Colorado, if the Grand Junction District Office is not deemed
the appropriate office; and
(4) the appropriate office of the Bureau of Land Management
in Utah.
(d) Map Controlling.--Subject to section 6(l)(3), in the case of a
discrepancy between the Map and the descriptions, the Map shall control.
SEC. 8. ADVISORY COUNCIL. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460mmm-6.>>
(a) <<NOTE: Deadline.>> Establishment.--Not later than 6 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
establish an advisory council to be known as the ``Colorado Canyons
National Conservation Area Advisory Council''.
(b) Duty.--The Council shall advise the Secretary with respect to
preparation and implementation of the management plan, including
budgetary matters, for the Conservation Area and the Wilderness.
(c) Applicable Law.--The Council shall be subject to--
(1) the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.); and
[[Page 114 STAT. 1380]]
(2) the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
(d) Members.--The Council shall consist of 10 members to be
appointed by the Secretary including, to the extent practicable:
(1) A member of or nominated by the Mesa County Commission.
(2) A member nominated by the permittees holding grazing
allotments within the Conservation Area or the Wilderness.
(3) A member of or nominated by the Northwest Resource
Advisory Council.
(4) Seven members residing in, or within reasonable
proximity to, Mesa County, Colorado, with recognized backgrounds
reflecting--
(A) the purposes for which the Conservation Area or
Wilderness was established; and
(B) the interests of the stakeholders that are
affected by the planning and management of the
Conservation Area and the Wilderness.
SEC. 9. PUBLIC ACCESS. <<NOTE: 16 USC 460mmm-7.>>
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall continue to allow private
landowners reasonable access to inholdings in the Conservation Area and
Wilderness.
(b) Glade Park.--The Secretary shall continue to allow public right
of access, including commercial vehicles, to Glade Park, Colorado, in
accordance with the decision in Board of County Commissioners of Mesa
County v. Watt (634 F. Supp. 1265 (D.Colo.; May 2, 1986)).
Approved October 24, 2000.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 4275:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SENATE REPORTS: No. 106-460 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 146 (2000):
July 25, considered and passed House.
Oct. 5, considered and passed Senate.
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