Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 577 To provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation manage- ment areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 28, 2021 Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Mr. CROW, Ms. DEGETTE, and Mr. PERLMUTTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To provide for the designation of certain wilderness areas, recreation management areas, and conservation areas in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definition of State. VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:23 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H577.IH H577 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 577 IH TITLE I—CONTINENTAL DIVIDE Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. Colorado Wilderness additions. Sec. 103. Williams Fork Mountains Wilderness. Sec. 104. Tenmile Recreation Management Area. Sec. 105. Porcupine Gulch Wildlife Conservation Area. Sec. 106. Williams Fork Mountains Wildlife Conservation Area. Sec. 107. Camp Hale National Historic Landscape. Sec. 108. White River National Forest boundary modification. Sec. 109. Rocky Mountain National Park Potential Wilderness boundary ad- justment. Sec. 110. Administrative provisions. TITLE II—SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS Sec. 201. Definitions. Sec. 202. Additions to National Wilderness Preservation System. Sec. 203. Special management areas. Sec. 204. Release of wilderness study areas. Sec. 205. Administrative provisions. TITLE III—THOMPSON DIVIDE Sec. 301. Purposes. Sec. 302. Definitions. Sec. 303. Thompson Divide Withdrawal and Protection Area. Sec. 304. Thompson Divide lease exchange. Sec. 305. Greater Thompson Divide Fugitive Coal Mine Methane Use Pilot Program. Sec. 306. Effect. TITLE IV—CURECANTI NATIONAL RECREATION AREA Sec. 401. Definitions. Sec. 402. Curecanti National Recreation Area. Sec. 403. Acquisition of land; boundary management. Sec. 404. General management plan. Sec. 405. Boundary survey. SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF STATE. 1 In this Act, the term ‘‘State’’ means the State of Col- 2 orado. 3 TITLE I—CONTINENTAL DIVIDE 4 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this title: 6 (1) COVERED AREA.—The term ‘‘covered area’’ 7 means any area designated as wilderness by the 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:23 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H577.IH H577 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 577 IH amendments to section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilder- 1 ness Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 2 103–77) made by section 102(a). 3 (2) HISTORIC LANDSCAPE.—The term ‘‘His- 4 toric Landscape’’ means the Camp Hale National 5 Historic Landscape designated by section 107(a). 6 (3) RECREATION MANAGEMENT AREA.—The 7 term ‘‘Recreation Management Area’’ means the 8 Tenmile Recreation Management Area designated by 9 section 104(a). 10 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11 the Secretary of Agriculture. 12 (5) WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AREA.—The 13 term ‘‘Wildlife Conservation Area’’ means, as appli- 14 cable— 15 (A) the Porcupine Gulch Wildlife Con- 16 servation Area designated by section 105(a); 17 and 18 (B) the Williams Fork Mountains Wildlife 19 Conservation Area designated by section 20 106(a). 21 SEC. 102. COLORADO WILDERNESS ADDITIONS. 22 (a) DESIGNATION.—Section 2(a) of the Colorado Wil- 23 derness Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 24 103–77) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:23 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H577.IH H577 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 577 IH (1) in paragraph (18), by striking ‘‘1993,’’ and 1 inserting ‘‘1993, and certain Federal land within the 2 White River National Forest that comprises approxi- 3 mately 6,896 acres, as generally depicted as ‘Pro- 4 posed Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness Additions’ on the 5 map entitled ‘Proposed Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness 6 Additions’ and dated June 24, 2019,’’; and 7 (2) by adding at the end the following: 8 ‘‘(23) HOLY CROSS WILDERNESS ADDITION.— 9 Certain Federal land within the White River Na- 10 tional Forest that comprises approximately 3,866 11 acres, as generally depicted as ‘Proposed Megan 12 Dickie Wilderness Addition’ on the map entitled 13 ‘Holy Cross Wilderness Addition Proposal’ and 14 dated June 24, 2019, which shall be incorporated 15 into, and managed as part of, the Holy Cross Wil- 16 derness designated by section 102(a)(5) of Public 17 Law 96–560 (94 Stat. 3266). 18 ‘‘(24) HOOSIER RIDGE WILDERNESS.—Certain 19 Federal land within the White River National Forest 20 that comprises approximately 5,235 acres, as gen- 21 erally depicted as ‘Proposed Hoosier Ridge Wilder- 22 ness’ on the map entitled ‘Tenmile Proposal’ and 23 dated June 24, 2019, which shall be known as the 24 ‘Hoosier Ridge Wilderness’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:23 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H577.IH H577 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 577 IH ‘‘(25) TENMILE WILDERNESS.—Certain Federal 1 land within the White River National Forest that 2 comprises approximately 7,624 acres, as generally 3 depicted as ‘Proposed Tenmile Wilderness’ on the 4 map entitled ‘Tenmile Proposal’ and dated June 24, 5 2019, which shall be known as the ‘Tenmile Wilder- 6 ness’. 7 ‘‘(26) EAGLES NEST WILDERNESS ADDI- 8 TIONS.—Certain Federal land within the White 9 River National Forest that comprises approximately 10 9,670 acres, as generally depicted as ‘Proposed 11 Freeman Creek Wilderness Addition’ and ‘Proposed 12 Spraddle Creek Wilderness Addition’ on the map en- 13 titled ‘Eagles Nest Wilderness Additions Proposal’ 14 and dated June 24, 2019, which shall be incor- 15 porated into, and managed as part of, the Eagles 16 Nest Wilderness designated by Public Law 94–352 17 (90 Stat. 870).’’. 18 (b) APPLICABLE LAW.—Any reference in the Wilder- 19 ness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) to the effective date 20 of that Act shall be considered to be a reference to the 21 date of enactment of this Act for purposes of admin- 22 istering a covered area. 23 (c) FIRE, INSECTS, AND DISEASES.—In accordance 24 with section 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:23 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H577.IH H577 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 577 IH 1133(d)(1)), the Secretary may carry out any activity in 1 a covered area that the Secretary determines to be nec- 2 essary for the control of fire, insects, and diseases, subject 3 to such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines 4 to be appropriate. 5 (d) GRAZING.—The grazing of livestock on a covered 6 area, if established before the date of enactment of this 7 Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reason- 8 able regulations as are considered to be necessary by the 9 Secretary, in accordance with— 10 (1) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act (16 11 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)); and 12 (2) the guidelines set forth in Appendix A of 13 the report of the Committee on Interior and Insular 14 Affairs of the House of Representatives accom- 15 panying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress (H. Rept. 16 101–405). 17 (e) COORDINATION.—For purposes of administering 18 the Federal land designated as wilderness by paragraph 19 (26) of section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 20 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 103–77) (as 21 added by subsection (a)(2)), the Secretary shall, as deter- 22 mined to be appropriate for the protection of watersheds, 23 coordinate the activities of the Secretary in response to 24 fires and flooding events with interested State and local 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:23 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H577.IH H577 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 577 IH agencies, including operations using aircraft or mecha- 1 nized equipment. 2 SEC. 103. WILLIAMS FORK MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS. 3 (a) DESIGNATION.—In furtherance of the purposes of 4 the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), certain Fed- 5 eral land in the White River National Forest in the State, 6 comprising approximately 8,036 acres, as generally de- 7 picted as ‘‘Proposed Williams Fork Mountains Wilder- 8 ness’’ on the map entitled ‘‘Williams Fork Mountains Pro- 9 posal’’ and dated June 24, 2019, is designated as a poten- 10 tial wilderness area. 11 (b) MANAGEMENT.—Subject to valid existing rights 12 and except as provided in subsection (d), the potential wil- 13 derness area designated by subsection (a) shall be man- 14 aged in accordance with— 15 (1) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 16 seq.); and 17 (2) this section. 18 (c) LIVESTOCK USE OF VACANT ALLOTMENTS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 20 the date of enactment of this Act, in accordance 21 with applicable laws (including regulations), the Sec- 22 retary shall publish a determination regarding 23 whether to authorize livestock grazing or other use 24 by livestock on the vacant allotments known as— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:23 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H577.IH H577 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 577 IH (A) the ‘‘Big Hole Allotment’’; and 1 (B) the ‘‘Blue Ridge Allotment’’. 2 (2) MODIFICATION OF ALLOTMENTS.—In pub- 3 lishing a determination pursuant to paragraph (1), 4 the Secretary may modify or combine the vacant al- 5 lotments referred to in that paragraph. 6 (3) PERMIT OR OTHER AUTHORIZATION.—Not 7 later than 1 year after the date on which a deter- 8 mination of the Secretary to authorize livestock 9 grazing or other use by livestock is published under 10 paragraph (1), if applicable, the Secretary shall 11 grant a permit or other authorization for that live- 12 stock grazing or other use in accordance with appli- 13 cable laws (including regulations). 14 (d) RANGE IMPROVEMENTS.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary permits live- 16 stock grazing or other use by livestock on the poten- 17 tial wilderness area under subsection (c), the Sec- 18 retary, or a third party authorized by the Secretary, 19 may use any motorized or mechanized transport or 20 equipment for purposes of constructing or rehabili- 21 tating such range improvements as are necessary to 22 obtain appropriate livestock management objectives 23 (including habitat and watershed restoration). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:23 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H577.IH H577 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 577 IH (2) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The au- 1 thority provided by this subsection terminates on the 2 date that is 2 years after the date on which the Sec- 3 retary publishes a positive determination under sub- 4 section (c)(3). 5 (e) DESIGNATION AS WILDERNESS.— 6 (1) DESIGNATION.—The potential wilderness 7 area designated by subsection (a) shall be designated 8 as wilderness, to be known as the ‘‘Williams Fork 9 Mountains Wilderness’’— 10 (A) effective not earlier than the date that 11 is 180 days after the date of enactment this 12 Act; and 13 (B) on the earliest of— 14 (i) the date on which the Secretary 15 publishes in the Federal Register a notice 16 that the construction or rehabilitation of 17 range improvements under subsection (d) 18 is complete; 19 (ii) the date described in subsection 20 (d)(2); and 21 (iii) the effective date of a determina- 22 tion of the Secretary not to authorize live- 23 stock grazing or other use by livestock 24 under subsection (c)(1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:23 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H577.IH H577 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 577 IH (2) ADMINISTRATION.—Subject to valid existing 1 rights, the Secretary shall manage the Williams 2 Fork Mountains Wilderness in accordance with— 3 (A) the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 4 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 103–77); 5 and 6 (B) this title. 7 SEC. 104. TENMILE RECREATION MANAGEMENT AREA. 8 (a) DESIGNATION.—Subject to valid existing rights, 9 the approximately 17,122 acres of Federal land in the 10 White River National Forest in the State, as generally de- 11 picted as ‘‘Proposed Tenmile Recreation Management 12 Area’’ on the map entitled ‘‘Tenmile Proposal’’ and dated 13 June 24, 2019, are designated as the ‘‘Tenmile Recreation 14 Management Area’’. 15 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Recreation 16 Management Area are to conserve, protect, and enhance 17 for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future gen- 18 erations the recreational, scenic, watershed, habitat, and 19 ecological resources of the Recreation Management Area. 20 (c) MANAGEMENT.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage 22 the Recreation Management Area— 23 (A) in a manner that conserves, protects, 24 and enhances— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:23 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H577.IH H577 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 577 IH (i) the purposes of the Recreation 1 Management Area described in subsection 2 (b); and 3 (ii) recreation opportunities, including 4 mountain biking, hiking, fishing, horseback 5 riding, snowshoeing, climbing, skiing, 6 camping, and hunting; and 7 (B) in accordance with— 8 (i) the Forest and Rangeland Renew- 9 able Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 10 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.); 11 (ii) any other applicable laws (includ- 12 ing regulations); and 13 (iii) this section. 14 (2) USES.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 16 only allow such uses of the Recreation Manage- 17 ment Area as the Secretary determines would 18 further the purposes described in subsection 19 (b). 20 (B) VEHICLES.— 21 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 22 in clause (iii), the use of motorized vehicles 23 in the Recreation Management Area shall 24 be limited to the roads, vehicle classes, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:23 Feb 06, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H577.IH H577 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 577 IH periods authorized for motorized vehicle 1 use on the date of enactment of this Act. 2 (ii) NEW OR TEMPORARY ROADS.— 3 Except as provided in clause (iii), no new 4 or temporary road shall be constructed in 5 the Recreation Management Area. 6 (iii) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in clause 7 (i) or (ii) prevents the Secretary from— 8 (I) rerouting or closing an exist- 9 ing road or trail to protect na [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]