Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area and Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area Act - Establishes the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area in Colorado to conserve and protect the unique and nationally important values of certain public land in Mesa, Montrose, and Delta Counties and the water resources of area streams that are necessary to support aquatic, riparian, and terrestrial species and communities.
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) develop a comprehensive management plan for the long-range protection and management of the Conservation Area; and (2) establish the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Advisory Council to advise the Secretary on the preparation and implementation of the management plan.
Designates certain lands in Mesa, Montrose, and Delta Counties as wilderness and as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, to be known as the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 170 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 170
To establish the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area and the
Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 6, 2009
Mr. Salazar introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area and the
Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area.
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 ``Dominguez-Escalante National
Conservation Area and Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) certain areas located in Mesa, Montrose, and Delta
Counties, Colorado, should be protected and enhanced for the
benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations;
(2) the land that comprises the Dominguez-Escalante
National Conservation Area established by section 4(a)(1)--
(A) contains unique and valuable paleontological,
natural, and wildlife components, which are enhanced by
the rural western setting of the area;
(B) provides extensive opportunities for
recreational activities, including along the nationally
renowned Tabeguache Trail;
(C) is publicly used for hiking, bicycling,
camping, and grazing; and
(D) is worthy of additional protection as a
national conservation area; and
(3) the land that comprises the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness
Area designated by section 5(a)--
(A) has wilderness value; and
(B) offers unique geological, archaeological,
paleontological, fish and wildlife, riparian, water,
scientific, and recreational resources.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish the
Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area and the Dominguez Canyon
Wilderness Area in the State, to be administered as part of the
National Landscape Conservation System to conserve and protect for the
benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations--
(1) the unique and nationally important values of certain
public land in the Mesa, Montrose, and Delta Counties, Colorado
(including the geological, cultural, archaeological,
paleontological, natural, scientific, recreational,
environmental, biological, wilderness, wildlife, riparian,
historical, educational, and scenic resources of the public
land); and
(2) the water resources of area streams, based on
seasonally available flows, that are necessary to support
aquatic, riparian, and terrestrial species and communities.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Conservation area.--The term ``Conservation Area''
means the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area
established by section 4(a)(1).
(2) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the Dominguez-
Escalante National Conservation Area Advisory Council
established under section 9.
(3) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means
the management plan developed under section 8.
(4) Map.--The term ``Map'' means the map entitled
``Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area'' and dated
May 22, 2008.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of
Land Management.
(6) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Colorado.
(7) Wilderness.--The term ``Wilderness'' means the
Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area designated by section 5(a).
SEC. 4. DOMINGUEZ-ESCALANTE NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--There is established the Dominguez-
Escalante National Conservation Area in the State.
(2) Area included.--The Conservation Area shall consist of
approximately 210,677 acres of public land, as generally
depicted on the Map.
(b) Management.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall manage the
Conservation Area--
(A) as a component of the National Landscape
Conservation System;
(B) in a manner that conserves, protects, and
enhances the resources of the Conservation Area
described in section 2(b); and
(C) in accordance with--
(i) the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.);
(ii) this Act; and
(iii) any other applicable laws.
(2) Uses.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall allow only
such uses of the Conservation Area as the Secretary
determines would further the purposes for which the
Conservation Area is established.
(B) Use of motorized vehicles.--
(i) In general.--Except as provided in
clause (ii), use of motorized vehicles in the
Conservation Area shall be allowed--
(I) before the effective date of
the management plan, 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 land in the
Conservation Area; and
(II) after the effective date of
the management plan, only on roads and
trails designated in the management
plan for the use of motor vehicles.
(ii) Administrative and emergency response
use.--Clause (i) shall not limit the use of
motor vehicles in the Conservation Area for
administrative purposes or to respond to an
emergency.
SEC. 5. DOMINGUEZ CANYON WILDERNESS AREA.
(a) In General.--Approximately 66,280 acres of public land in Mesa,
Montrose, and Delta Counties, Colorado, as generally depicted on the
Map, are designated as wilderness and as a component of the National
Wilderness Preservation System, to be known as the ``Dominguez Canyon
Wilderness Area''.
(b) Administration of Wilderness.--Subject to valid existing
rights, land designated as wilderness by this Act shall be managed by
the Secretary in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et
seq.) and this Act, except that any reference in the Wilderness Act to
the effective date of the Wilderness Act shall be considered to be a
reference to the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 6. MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.
(a) In General.--As soon as practicable after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress--
(1) a copy of the Map; and
(2) legal descriptions of the Conservation Area and the
Wilderness.
(b) Force and Effect.--The Map and legal descriptions submitted
under subsection (a) 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 legal descriptions.
(c) Public Availability.--The Map and legal description of the
Conservation Area shall be available for public inspection in the
appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management.
SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT OF CONSERVATION AREA AND WILDERNESS.
(a) Withdrawals.--Subject to valid existing rights, all Federal
land within the Conservation Area and the Wilderness and all land and
interests in land acquired by the United States for the Conservation
Area or the Wilderness after the date of enactment of this Act is
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) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials,
and geothermal leasing laws.
(b) Grazing.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
Secretary shall issue and administer any grazing leases or
permits in the Conservation Area in accordance with the laws
(including regulations) and Executive orders applicable to the
issuance and administration of leases and permits on other land
under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.
(2) Grazing in wilderness.--The grazing of livestock in
areas of the Wilderness that are administered by the Bureau of
Land Management and in which grazing is established as of the
date of enactment of this Act shall be allowed to continue--
(A) subject to any reasonable regulations,
policies, and practices that the Secretary determines
to be necessary; and
(B) consistent with--
(i) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act
(16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)); and
(ii) the guidelines set forth in Appendix A
of House Report 101-405.
(c) No Buffer Zones.--
(1) In general.--Nothing in this Act creates a protective
perimeter or buffer zone around the Conservation Area.
(2) Activities outside conservation area.--The fact that an
activity or use on land outside the Conservation Area can be
seen or heard within the Conservation Area shall not preclude
the activity or use outside the boundary of the Conservation
Area.
(d) Acquisition of Land.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may acquire non-Federal land
within the 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
applicable, in accordance with this Act.
(3) Certain conservation area exchanges.--
(A) In general.--In order to protect and
consolidate Federal land within the boundary of the
Conservation Area and subject to subparagraph (B), the
Secretary may enter into an agreement with any owner of
private land within the boundaries of the Conservation
Area to exchange the private land for Federal land in
the Conservation Area, if the Secretary determines that
the exchange would enhance the values for which the
Conservation Area is established.
(B) Conditions.--An exchange of land under
subparagraph (A) shall--
(i) be carried out consistent with any
applicable laws (including regulations),
including laws relating to appraisals and equal
value exchanges; and
(ii) be subject to--
(I) valid existing rights; and
(II) any terms and conditions that
the Secretary may require.
(e) Fire, Insect, Invasive Species, and Disease Management
Activities.--The Secretary may undertake such measures in the
Conservation Area and Wilderness as are necessary to control and
prevent fire, insects, invasive species, and diseases, in accordance
with section 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)) and
any other applicable laws (including regulations) and Executive orders.
(f) Interpretive Facilities or Sites.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, in cooperation with any
other public or private entities as the Secretary determines to
be appropriate, may establish minimal interpretive facilities
or sites in or near the Conservation Area.
(2) Requirements.--Any facilities or sites established
under paragraph (1) shall be designed to protect the resources
described in section 2(b).
(g) Public Access.--The Secretary shall continue to provide private
landowners reasonable access to inholdings in the Conservation Area.
(h) Water Rights.--
(1) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(A) as of the date of enactment of this Act, no
private conditional water rights are located in the
Wilderness; and
(B) the boundaries of the Wilderness are drawn in a
manner that does not include any portion of the
Gunnison River in the Wilderness.
(2) Effect on water rights.--Nothing in this Act--
(A) affects the use or allocation, in existence on
the date of enactment of this Act, of any water, water
right, or interest in water;
(B) affects any vested absolute or decreed
conditional water right in existence on the date of
enactment of this Act, including any water right held
by the United States;
(C) affects any interstate water compact in
existence on the date of enactment of this Act;
(D) authorizes or imposes any new reserved Federal
water rights;
(E) unreasonably limits access for maintenance,
operation, modification, repair, or replacement of
facilities that are--
(i) in existence as of the date of
enactment of this Act; and
(ii) associated with any water rights
referred to in subparagraph (A) or (B); or
(F) shall be considered to be a relinquishment or
reduction of any water rights reserved or appropriated
by the United States in the State on or before the date
of the enactment of this Act.
(3) Effect on water quality designations.--The designation
of the Conservation Area and Wilderness by this Act shall not
impose or cause to be imposed on any stream in, or upstream of,
the Conservation Area or Wilderness any water quality
designation that is more stringent than the water quality
designation applicable to the stream in existence on the date
of enactment of this Act.
(4) Wilderness water rights.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall ensure that
any water rights within the Wilderness required to
fulfill the purposes of the Wilderness are secured in
accordance with subparagraphs (B) through (G).
(B) State law.--
(i) Procedural requirements.--Any water
rights for which the Secretary pursues
adjudication shall be appropriated,
adjudicated, changed, and administered in
accordance with the procedural requirements and
priority system of State law.
(ii) Establishment of water rights.--
(I) In general.--Except as provided
in subclause (II), the purposes and
other substantive characteristics of
the water rights pursued under this
paragraph shall be established in
accordance with State law.
(II) Exception.--Notwithstanding
subclause (I) and in accordance with
this Act, the Secretary may appropriate
and seek adjudication of water rights
to maintain surface water levels and
stream flows on and across the
Wilderness to fulfill the purposes of
the Wilderness.
(C) Deadline.--The Secretary shall promptly, but
not earlier than January 2009, appropriate the water
rights required to fulfill the purposes of the
Wilderness.
(D) Required determination.--The Secretary shall
not pursue adjudication for any instream flow water
rights unless the Secretary makes a determination
pursuant to subparagraph (E)(ii) or (F).
(E) Cooperative enforcement.--
(i) In general.--The Secretary shall not
pursue adjudication of any Federal instream
flow water rights established under this
paragraph if--
(I) the Secretary determines, upon
adjudication of the water rights by the
Colorado Water Conservation Board, that
the Board holds water rights sufficient
in priority, amount, and timing to
fulfill the purposes of this Act; and
(II) the Secretary has entered into
a perpetual agreement with the Colorado
Water Conservation Board to ensure full
exercise, protection, and enforcement
of the State water rights within the
Wilderness to reliably fulfill the
purposes of this Act.
(ii) Adjudication.--If the Secretary
determines that the provisions of clause (i)
have not been met, the Secretary shall
adjudicate and exercise any Federal water
rights required to fulfill the purposes of the
Wilderness in accordance with this paragraph.
(F) Insufficient water rights.--If the Colorado
Water Conservation Board modifies the instream flow
water rights obtained under subparagraph (E) to such a
degree that the Secretary determines that water rights
held by the State are insufficient to fulfill the
purposes of this Act, the Secretary shall adjudicate
and exercise Federal water rights required to fulfill
the purposes of this Act in accordance with
subparagraph (B).
(G) Failure to comply.--The Secretary shall
promptly act to exercise and enforce the water rights
described in subparagraph (E) if the Secretary
determines that--
(i) the State is not exercising its water
rights consistent with subparagraph (E)(i)(I);
or
(ii) the agreement described in
subparagraph (E)(i)(II) is not fulfilled or
complied with sufficiently to fulfill the
purposes of this Act.
(5) Water resource facility.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law and subject to subparagraph (B),
beginning on the date of 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 development of any new
irrigation and pumping facility, reservoir, water
conservation work, aqueduct, canal, ditch, pipeline,
well, hydropower project, transmission, other ancillary
facility, or other water, diversion, storage, or
carriage structure in the Wilderness.
(B) Stock watering ponds.--The Secretary may allow
construction of new livestock watering facilities
within the Wilderness if the facilities--
(i) would result in no impairment to the
characteristics, values, and purposes of the
Wilderness greater than that described in the
Final Wilderness Environmental Impact Statement
for the Grand Junction Resource Area dated
November 1989; and
(ii) would provide for the protection and
improved management of Wilderness resources.
(6) Conservation area water rights.--With respect to water
within the Conservation Area, nothing in this Act--
(A) authorizes any Federal agency to appropriate or
otherwise acquire any water right on the mainstem of
the Gunnison River; or
(B) prevents the State from appropriating or
acquiring, or requires the State to appropriate or
acquire, an instream flow water right on the mainstem
of the Gunnison River.
(7) Wilderness boundaries along gunnison river.--
(A) In general.--In areas in which the Gunnison
River is used as a reference for defining the boundary
of the Wilderness, the boundary shall--
(i) be located at the edge of the river;
and
(ii) change according to the river level.
(B) Exclusion from wilderness.--Regardless of the
level of the Gunnison River, no portion of the Gunnison
River is included in the Wilderness area.
(i) Hunting, Trapping, and Fishing.--Nothing in this Act diminishes
the jurisdiction of the State with respect to fish and wildlife
management, including regulation of hunting and fishing, on public land
within the Conservation Area.
(j) Little Dominguez Creek Access.--Nothing in this Act affects--
(1) the letter of agreement between the Bureau of Land
Management and Mr. Billyie Rambo, dated September 28, 1988; or
(2) the life estate described in the letter of agreement.
SEC. 8. MANAGEMENT PLAN.
(a) In General.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall develop a comprehensive management
plan for the long-range protection and management of the Conservation
Area.
(b) Purposes.--The management plan shall--
(1) describe the appropriate uses and management of the
Conservation Area;
(2) be developed with extensive public input;
(3) take into consideration any information developed in
studies of the land within the Conservation Area; and
(4) include a comprehensive travel management plan.
SEC. 9. ADVISORY COUNCIL.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish an advisory
council, to be known as the ``Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation
Area Advisory Council''.
(b) Duties.--The Council shall advise the Secretary with respect to
the preparation and implementation of the management plan.
(c) Applicable Law.--The Council shall be subject to--
(1) the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.); and
(2) the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
(d) Members.--The Council shall include 10 members to be appointed
by the Secretary, of whom, to the extent practicable--
(1) 1 member shall be appointed after considering the
recommendations of the Mesa County Commission;
(2) 1 member shall be appointed after considering the
recommendations of the Montrose County Commission;
(3) 1 member shall be appointed after considering the
recommendations of the Delta County Commission;
(4) 1 member shall be appointed after considering the
recommendations of the permittees holding grazing allotments
within the Conservation Area or the Wilderness; and
(5) 5 members shall reside in, or within reasonable
proximity to, Mesa County, Delta County, or Montrose County,
Colorado, with backgrounds that reflect--
(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 Wilderness.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
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