River Democracy Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 192 To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain river segments in the State of Oregon as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 3, 2021 Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources A BILL To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain river segments in the State of Oregon as compo- nents of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘River Democracy Act 4 of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S192.IS S192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 192 IS (1) on October 2, 2019, Senator Ron Wyden 1 announced a statewide public process to collect 2 nominations from residents of the State of Oregon 3 for Oregon rivers to be designated as components of 4 the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; 5 (2) over a period of less than 90 days, more 6 than 2,200 residents of the State of Oregon sub- 7 mitted more than 15,000 nominations of free-flowing 8 stream segments for designation as components of 9 the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, dem- 10 onstrating a deep love and support for components 11 of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; 12 (3) components of the National Wild and Scenic 13 Rivers System enhance and protect community 14 drinking water, recreation opportunities, and wildlife 15 habitat; 16 (4) the free-flowing streams of the State of Or- 17 egon are an unparalleled resource for the residents 18 of the State of Oregon and all people of the United 19 States; 20 (5) the residents of the State of Oregon— 21 (A) are proud of and cherish the natural 22 heritage of wild and scenic rivers in the State; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S192.IS S192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 192 IS (B) wish to expand the legacy of wild and 1 scenic rivers for the benefit of future genera- 2 tions of residents of the State of Oregon and 3 people of the United States; 4 (6) there are 110,994 miles of rivers and 5 streams in the State of Oregon, but only 2,173 miles 6 of streams were previously included as components 7 of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; 8 (7) existing and proposed components of the 9 National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in the 10 State of Oregon range from remote wilderness land 11 to developed recreation areas readily accessible by 12 roads and trails; 13 (8) components of the National Wild and Scenic 14 Rivers System in the State of Oregon and the out- 15 door recreation economy benefit local communities 16 and businesses in rural Oregon and across the State 17 of Oregon, generating $15,600,000,000 in consumer 18 spending and more than 224,000 jobs in 2019, in- 19 cluding jobs relating to hunting, fishing, rafting, and 20 guiding; 21 (9) components of the National Wild and Scenic 22 Rivers System provide essential habitat for— 23 (A) elk, deer, and other game animals; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S192.IS S192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 192 IS (B) species affected by climate change, in- 1 cluding— 2 (i) salmon, steelhead, lamprey, and 3 the Lost River and shortnose sucker; 4 (ii) cutthroat, rainbow, redband, and 5 bull trout (including the Lahontan cut- 6 throat trout); and 7 (iii) numerous other wildlife species; 8 (10) components of the National Wild and Sce- 9 nic Rivers System are important to Indian Tribes 10 because the components— 11 (A) conserve resources for Tribal use; and 12 (B) preserve the cultural history of Indian 13 Tribes dating back more than 10,000 years; 14 and 15 (11) the components of the National Wild and 16 Scenic Rivers System within the State of Oregon 17 have the outstandingly remarkable value of land- 18 scape connectivity, with the components serving as 19 habitat corridors that facilitate the vital movements 20 of animals, plants, genes, water, and energy between 21 and within ecosystems. 22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 23 In this Act: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S192.IS S192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 192 IS (1) COVERED SEGMENT.—The term ‘‘covered 1 segment’’ means a river segment designated by this 2 Act or an amendment made by this Act. 3 (2) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec- 4 retary concerned’’ means— 5 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re- 6 spect to a covered segment under the jurisdic- 7 tion of the Secretary of the Interior; and 8 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re- 9 spect to a covered segment under the jurisdic- 10 tion of the Secretary of Agriculture. 11 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION OF COMPONENTS OF THE NA- 12 TIONAL WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS SYSTEM. 13 (a) NATIONAL LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION SYS- 14 TEM.—Section 10 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 15 U.S.C. 1281) is amended by striking subsection (c) and 16 inserting the following: 17 ‘‘(c) AREAS ADMINISTERED BY THE NATIONAL PARK 18 SERVICE, THE UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE 19 SERVICE, AND THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT.— 20 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.—Any compo- 21 nent of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System 22 that is administered by the Secretary of the Interior 23 (acting through the Director of the National Park 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S192.IS S192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 192 IS Service) shall be a part of the National Park Sys- 1 tem. 2 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM.— 3 Any component of the National Wild and Scenic 4 Rivers System that is administered by the Secretary 5 of the Interior (acting through the Director of the 6 United States Fish and Wildlife Service) shall be a 7 part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. 8 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION 9 SYSTEM.—Any component of the National Wild and 10 Scenic Rivers System that is administered by the 11 Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Direc- 12 tor of the Bureau of Land Management) shall be a 13 part of the National Landscape Conservation Sys- 14 tem. 15 ‘‘(4) APPLICABLE LAW.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any component of the 17 National Wild and Scenic Rivers System that is 18 administered by the Secretary of the Interior 19 shall be subject to— 20 ‘‘(i) this Act; and 21 ‘‘(ii) the laws under which the Na- 22 tional Park System, National Wildlife Ref- 23 uge System, or the National Landscape 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S192.IS S192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 192 IS Conservation System, as applicable, is ad- 1 ministered. 2 ‘‘(B) RESOLUTION OF CONFLICT.—If there 3 is a conflict between the laws referred to in sub- 4 paragraph (A)(ii) and this Act, the more re- 5 strictive provision shall control. 6 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of the 7 Interior, in the administration of any component of 8 the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, may 9 use— 10 ‘‘(A) any general statutory authorities re- 11 lating to units of the National Park System, 12 National Wildlife Refuge System, or National 13 Landscape Conservation System, as applicable; 14 and 15 ‘‘(B) any general statutory authorities oth- 16 erwise available to the Secretary of the Interior 17 for recreation and preservation purposes and 18 the conservation and management of natural re- 19 sources, as the Secretary of the Interior deter- 20 mines to be appropriate to carry out the pur- 21 poses of this Act.’’. 22 (b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS WITH INDIAN 23 TRIBES.—Section 10 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S192.IS S192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 192 IS (16 U.S.C. 1281) is amended by striking subsection (e) 1 and inserting the following: 2 ‘‘(e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The head of the 3 Federal agency responsible for the administration of a 4 component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Sys- 5 tem— 6 ‘‘(1) may enter into a written cooperative agree- 7 ment with a Tribal Government, the Governor of a 8 State, the head of any State agency, or the appro- 9 priate official of a political subdivision of a State to 10 provide for Tribal, State, or local governmental par- 11 ticipation in the administration of the component; 12 and 13 ‘‘(2) shall encourage Indian Tribes, States, and 14 political subdivisions of States to cooperate in the 15 planning and administration of components of the 16 National Wild and Scenic Rivers System that in- 17 clude or adjoin land owned by the Indian Tribe, 18 State, or a political subdivision of the State or land 19 held in trust for the Indian Tribe, as applicable.’’. 20 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION OF COVERED SEGMENTS. 21 (a) COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR COV- 22 ERED SEGMENTS.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary concerned 24 shall prepare, in accordance with section 3(d) of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S192.IS S192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 192 IS Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(d)) and 1 this subsection, a comprehensive management plan 2 for each covered segment. 3 (2) TIMING.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec- 5 tion 3(d) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 6 U.S.C. 1274(d)), except as provided in subpara- 7 graph (B), the comprehensive management plan 8 described in paragraph (1) shall be completed, 9 to the maximum extent practicable, as part of 10 the regular land use management planning 11 process of the agency with jurisdiction over the 12 covered segment. 13 (B) EXCEPTION.—If the Secretary con- 14 cerned determines that the regular land use 15 management planning cycle of the agency with 16 jurisdiction over a covered segment does not co- 17 incide with the designation of the covered seg- 18 ment under this Act or an amendment made by 19 this Act, the comprehensive management plan 20 for the covered segment shall be completed by 21 the date that is 6 years after the date on which 22 the covered segment is designated. 23 (3) INTERIM DETAILED BOUNDARIES.—Until 24 the date on which a comprehensive management 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S192.IS S192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 192 IS plan that includes detailed boundaries for the appli- 1 cable covered segment required under section 3(b) of 2 the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(b)) 3 is completed, the interim detailed boundaries for the 4 covered segment shall be 1⁄2 mile from the ordinary 5 high water mark on each bank or shore, unless an 6 Act of Congress requires the inclusion of non-Fed- 7 eral land within the boundary of the covered seg- 8 ment. 9 (4) OUTSTANDINGLY REMARKABLE VALUES.— 10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The outstandingly re- 11 markable values of a covered segment include— 12 (i) the values described in section 13 2(11); and 14 (ii) any additional outstandingly re- 15 markable values that are determined by 16 the Secretary concerned as part of the 17 comprehensive management plan for the 18 covered segment required under paragraph 19 (1). 20 (B) NORTH FORK SPRAGUE WILD AND 21 SCENIC RIVER.—In addition to the outstand- 22 ingly remarkable values referred to in subpara- 23 graph (A), the North Fork Sprague Wild and 24 Scenic River in the State of Oregon has the ad- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S192.IS S192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 192 IS ditional outstandingly remarkable value of na- 1 tive fish. 2 (5) INTERIM MANAGEMENT.—Except as other- 3 wise provided in this Act, until the date on which a 4 comprehensive management plan is prepared under 5 paragraph (1) for a covered segment, the Secretary 6 concerned shall fully comply with the Wild and Sce- 7 nic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.) in managing 8 the covered segment. 9 (6) REDUCING CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRE 10 RISKS.—As part of the development of a comprehen- 11 sive management plan under paragraph (1) or the 12 updating of such a plan, the Secretary concerned, in 13 a manner consistent with the Wild and Scenic Rivers 14 Act (16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.), shall— 15 (A) assess with respect to the applicable 16 covered segment— 17 (i) the probable risk of high intensity 18 wildfires degrading river values; 19 (ii) the risk of high intensity wildfires 20 to public safety; and 21 (iii) the role of fire in meeting long- 22 term resource management objectives, in- 23 cluding the protection and enhancement of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S192.IS S192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 192 IS outstandingly remarkable values and water 1 quality; 2 (B) determine the appropriate use of pre- 3 scribed fire to meet long-term resource manage- 4 ment objectives; and 5 (C) develop a fire management plan to in- 6 crease the resiliency of the applicable covered 7 segment and adjacent communities. 8 (7) CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT NATIVE SPECIES 9 MANAGEMENT.—As part of the development of a 10 comprehensive management plan under paragraph 11 (1) or the updating of such a plan, the Secretary 12 concerned, in a matter consistent with section 3 of 13 the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274), 14 shall— 15 (A) assess culturally significant native spe- 16 cies, including traditional foods such as 17 huckleberry, chokecherry, camas, and wapato; 18 (B) develop a culturally significant native 19 species management plan for applicable areas to 20 increase the resiliency of the species; and 21 (C) consult with the applicable Indian 22 Tribe to develop the management plan and to 23 meet long-term species management objectives. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:00 Feb 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S192.IS S192 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 192 IS (8) BULL TROUT CONSERVATION.—A com- 1 prehensive management plan for a covered segment 2 developed under paragraph (1) shall— 3 (A) authorize Federal, State, and Tribal 4 agencies to conduct native fish restoration and [Text truncated for display. 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