Wild Sky Wilderness and Backcountry Wilderness Management Area Act of 2004

Wild Sky Wilderness and Backcountry Wilderness Management Area Act of 2004 - Designates specified Federal lands in the State of Washington (the State) as: (1) the Wild Sky Wilderness (the Wilderness); and (2) the Skykomish Backcountry Wilderness Management Area (the Area).

Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to manage the Wilderness in accordance with the Wilderness Act and this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to use helicopter access to construct and maintain a joint U.S. Forest Service and Snohomish County repeater site, in compliance with a Forest Service-approved communications site plan, to improve communication for safety, health, and emergency services.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a management plan for the Area (but prohibits the Secretary from permitting commercial timber harvest in the Area); (2) establish a trail plain for specified National Forest System lands to develop a system of hiking and equestrian trails in the Wilderness and the Area, and trails adjacent to the Wilderness or the Area; and (3) carry out a land exchange with the Chelan County Public Utility District in the State, subject to specified requirements.

[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5083 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5083

  To designate certain lower-elevation Federal lands in the Skykomish 
 River valley of the State of Washington as wilderness, to designate a 
   portion of such lands for management as a backcountry wilderness 
                management area, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 15, 2004

Mr. Nethercutt (for himself, Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut, and Ms. Dunn) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To designate certain lower-elevation Federal lands in the Skykomish 
 River valley of the State of Washington as wilderness, to designate a 
   portion of such lands for management as a backcountry wilderness 
                management area, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Wild Sky Wilderness and Backcountry 
Wilderness Management Area Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. ADDITION OF WILD SKY WILDERNESS TO NATIONAL WILDERNESS 
              PRESERVATION SYSTEM.

    (a) Designation.--Certain Federal lands in the State of Washington 
comprising approximately 92,722 acres, as generally depicted on the map 
entitled ``Wild Sky Wilderness and Backcountry Wilderness Management 
Area Proposal'' and dated September 2004, are hereby designated as 
wilderness and, therefore, as a component of the National Wilderness 
Preservation System. The Federal lands designated as wilderness by this 
subsection shall be known as the Wild Sky Wilderness.
    (b) Maps and Legal Descriptions.--As soon as practicable after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
file a map and a legal description for the Wild Sky Wilderness with the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 
Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives. The map and 
legal description shall have the same force and effect as if included 
in this Act, except that the Secretary of Agriculture may correct 
clerical and typographical errors in the legal description and map. The 
map and legal description shall be on file and available for public 
inspection in the office of the Chief of the Forest Service.
    (c) Administration.--Subject to valid existing rights, the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall manage the Wild Sky Wilderness in 
accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this 
Act, except that, with respect to the Wild Sky Wilderness, 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 enactment of this 
Act. To fulfill the purposes of this Act and the Wilderness Act and to 
achieve administrative efficiencies, the Secretary may manage the Wild 
Sky Wilderness as a comprehensive part of the larger complex of 
adjacent and nearby wilderness areas.
    (d) Maintenance and Use of Certain Structures.--
            (1) Repeater site.--Within the Wild Sky Wilderness, the 
        Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to use helicopter access 
        to construct and maintain a joint Forest Service and Snohomish 
        County repeater site, in compliance with a Forest Service 
        approved communications site plan, for the purposes of 
        improving communication for safety, health, and emergency 
        services.
            (2) Evergreen mountain lookout.--The designation of the 
        Wild Sky Wilderness shall not preclude the operation and 
        maintenance of the Evergreen Mountain Lookout, in the same 
        manner and degree in which the operation and maintenance of the 
        lookout was occurring as of the date of enactment of this Act.
    (e) Access.--
            (1) Private inholdings.--Consistent with section 5(a) of 
        the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1134(a)), the Secretary of 
        Agriculture shall assure adequate access to private inholdings 
        in the Wild Sky Wilderness.
            (2) Float plane access.--As provided by section 4(d)(1) of 
        the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)), the use of 
        floatplanes on Lake Isabel in the Wild Sky Wilderness, where 
        such use was established before the date of enactment of this 
        Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable 
        restrictions as the Secretary of Agriculture determines 
        desirable.
    (f) Land Acquisition Authority.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture may acquire 
        lands and interests therein in the Wild Sky Wilderness by 
        purchase, donation, or exchange. The Secretary shall give 
        priority consideration to the acquisition of those lands 
        identified as Priority Acquisition Lands on the map described 
        in subsection (a).
            (2) Appraisal.--Valuation of private lands shall be 
        determined without reference to any restrictions on access or 
        use that arise out of designation of the Wild Sky Wilderness or 
        inclusion of adjacent Federal lands in the Skykomish 
        Backcountry Wilderness Management Area under section 3.
            (3) Boundary adjustment.--The boundaries of the Mt. Baker-
        Snoqualmie National Forests and the Wild Sky Wilderness shall 
        be adjusted to reflect any land acquisitions or exchanges 
        conducted under this subsection.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF BACKCOUNTRY WILDERNESS MANAGEMENT AREA, 
              SKYKOMISH RIVER VALLEY, WASHINGTON.

    (a) Designation.--Certain Federal lands in the State of Washington 
comprising approximately 13,278 acres, as generally depicted on the map 
referred to in section 2(a), are hereby designated as the Skykomish 
Backcountry Wilderness Management Area for the purpose of conserving, 
protecting, and enhancing for the benefit and enjoyment of present and 
future generations the cultural, archaeological, natural, wilderness, 
scientific, geological, historical, biological, wildlife, educational, 
and scenic resources of the Federal lands included in the management 
area.
    (b) Maps and Legal Descriptions.--As soon as practicable after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
file a map and a legal description for the management area with the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 
Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives. The map and 
legal description shall have the same force and effect as if included 
in this Act, except that the Secretary of Agriculture may correct 
clerical and typographical errors in the legal description and map. The 
map and legal description shall be on file and available for public 
inspection in the office of the Chief of the Forest Service.
    (c) Administration.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall manage the 
Federal lands included in the management area to preserve their natural 
character and to protect and enhance water quality.
    (d) Management Plan.--Not later than three years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall develop a 
management plan for the management area. The Secretary shall prepare 
the management plan in consultation with representatives of the State 
of Washington, the political subdivisions of the State containing the 
management area, and other interested persons.
    (e) Wildlife Management.--The designation of the management area 
neither affects nor diminishes the jurisdiction of the State of 
Washington with respect to fish and wildlife management, including the 
regulation of hunting, fishing, and trapping, on Federal lands included 
in the management area.
    (f) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, the Federal 
lands included in the management area are 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.
    (g) Motorized and Mechanized Travel Authorized.--Motorized and 
mechanized travel in the management area shall be restricted to 
designated trails and routes specified in the management plan required 
by subsection (d). Pending completion of the management plan, the 
Secretary of Agriculture may designate the trails and routes in the 
management area on which motorized and mechanized travel is authorized. 
Other trails and routes may be used for motorized and mechanized travel 
whenever the Secretary considers such use to be necessary for 
administrative purposes or to respond to an emergency.
    (h) Prohibition on Commercial Timber Harvesting.--The Secretary of 
Agriculture shall not permit the commercial harvest of timber in the 
management area.
    (i) Land Acquisition Authority.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture may acquire 
        lands and interests therein in the management area by purchase, 
        donation, or exchange. The Secretary shall give priority 
        consideration to the acquisition of those lands identified as 
        Priority Acquisition Lands on the map described in section 
        2(a).
            (2) Appraisal.--Valuation of private lands shall be 
        determined without reference to any restrictions on access or 
        use that arise out of inclusion of adjacent Federal lands in 
        the management area or designation of the Wild Sky Wilderness.
            (3) Boundary adjustment.--The boundaries of the Mt. Baker-
        Snoqualmie National Forests and the management area shall be 
        adjusted to reflect any land acquisitions or exchanges 
        conducted under this subsection.

SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF TRAIL PLAN.

    (a) Trail Plan Required.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
establish, in consultation with interested parties, a trail plan for 
National Forest System lands described in this paragraph in order to 
develop the following:
            (1) A system of hiking and equestrian trails in the Wild 
        Sky Wilderness in a manner consistent with section 2 and the 
        Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.).
            (2) A system of hiking and equestrian trails in the 
        Backcountry Wilderness Management Area in a manner consistent 
        with section 3.
            (3) A system of trails adjacent to the Wild Sky Wilderness 
        or the Backcountry Wilderness Management Area to provide access 
        to such areas.
    (b) Implementation Report.--Within two years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to 
Congress a report on the implementation of the trail plan. The report 
shall include the identification of those trails regarding which 
development is a priority.

SEC. 5. LAND EXCHANGES, CHELAN COUNTY PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT, 
              WASHINGTON.

    (a) Land Exchanges Required.--In accordance with this section, the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall carry out a land exchange with the 
Chelan County Public Utility District in the State of Washington to 
exchange lands and interests in lands, as generally depicted on the map 
entitled ``Chelan County Public Utility District Exchange'' and dated 
May 22, 2002.
    (b) Acceptance of Lands.--If, within 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Chelan County Public Utility District offers 
to the Secretary of Agriculture approximately 371.8 acres of lands held 
by the Utility District in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forests in 
the State of Washington, the Secretary shall accept such lands if the 
title is acceptable to the Secretary and there is no hazardous material 
on such lands, which is objectionable to the Secretary.
    (c) Conveyance of Easement.--Upon acceptance of title by the 
Secretary of Agriculture under subsection (b), the Secretary shall 
convey to the Chelan County Public Utility District a permanent 
easement, including helicopter access, consistent with such levels as 
used as of the date of enactment of this Act, to maintain an existing 
snowtel site on 1.82 acres of Federal land in the Wenatchee National 
Forest in the State of Washington.
    (d) Reversion.--As a condition on the conveyance under subsection 
(c), the Chelan County Public Utility District shall notify the 
Secretary of Agriculture if the Utility District determines that there 
is no longer a need to maintain a snowtel site on the lands subject to 
the easement conveyed under subsection (c) to monitor the snow pack for 
calculating expected runoff into the Lake Chelan hydroelectric project 
and the hydroelectric projects in the Columbia River Basin. Upon 
receipt of such notice, the easement shall be extinguished and all 
rights conveyed under such subsection shall revert to the United 
States.
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