Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1493 To sustain economic development and recreational use of National Forest System land in the State of Montana, to add certain land to the National Wilderness Preservation System, to designate new areas for recreation, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 29, 2021 Mr. TESTER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To sustain economic development and recreational use of National Forest System land in the State of Montana, to add certain land to the National Wilderness Preserva- tion System, to designate new areas for recreation, 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 ‘‘Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:27 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1493.IS S1493 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1493 IS Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—FOREST RESTORATION Sec. 101. Landscape assessment. Sec. 102. Environmental review of collaboratively developed restoration projects. TITLE II—RECREATION Sec. 201. Otatsy Recreation Management Area. Sec. 202. Spread Mountain Recreation Area. Sec. 203. Trail-based recreation. TITLE III—CONSERVATION Sec. 301. Designation of wilderness areas. Sec. 302. Administration of wilderness areas. Sec. 303. Maps and legal descriptions. TITLE IV—EFFECT Sec. 401. Protection of Tribal treaty rights. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘District’’ means the 3 Seeley Lake Ranger District of the Lolo National 4 Forest. 5 (2) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map en- 6 titled ‘‘Bob Marshall, Mission Mountains, Spread 7 Mountain, and Scapegoat Wilderness Additions and 8 Otatsy Recreation Management Area’’ and dated 9 February 22, 2017. 10 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11 the Secretary of Agriculture. 12 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 13 of Montana. 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:27 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1493.IS S1493 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1493 IS TITLE I—FOREST RESTORATION 1 SEC. 101. LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT. 2 (a) LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 3 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 4 retary, in collaboration with interested parties, shall com- 5 plete a landscape assessment of the District. 6 (b) REQUIRED COMPONENTS.—The landscape as- 7 sessment under subsection (a) shall— 8 (1) assess the ecological condition of forests and 9 watersheds within the District; and 10 (2) identify restoration actions needed to facili- 11 tate ecosystem sustainability, resilience, and health 12 by assisting in the recovery of forest ecosystems 13 within the District. 14 (c) USE OF EXISTING ASSESSMENTS.—The Sec- 15 retary may fulfill the requirement under subsection (a) 16 through the use of any landscape assessment being carried 17 out as of the date of enactment of this Act that contains 18 the components required under subsection (b). 19 (d) RESTORATION SCHEDULE.—As soon as prac- 20 ticable after the completion of the landscape assessment 21 under subsection (a), the Secretary, in collaboration with 22 interested parties, shall develop for the District a 10-year 23 schedule of restoration projects. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:27 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1493.IS S1493 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1493 IS SEC. 102. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF COLLABORATIVELY 1 DEVELOPED RESTORATION PROJECTS. 2 (a) DEFINITION OF COLLABORATIVELY DEVELOPED 3 RESTORATION PROJECT.—In this section, the term ‘‘col- 4 laboratively developed restoration project’’ means an activ- 5 ity or set of activities that fulfills the eligibility require- 6 ments of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration 7 Program under section 4003(b) of Public Law 111–11 (16 8 U.S.C. 7303(b)). 9 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—A collaboratively de- 10 veloped restoration project within the District may be car- 11 ried out in accordance with the provisions applicable to 12 hazardous fuel reduction projects under sections 104, 105, 13 and 106 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 14 (16 U.S.C. 6514–6516). 15 (c) OBJECTOR MEETING.—In accordance with sec- 16 tion 218.11 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as 17 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act), the Sec- 18 retary may request a meeting with an objector to any col- 19 laboratively developed restoration project within the Dis- 20 trict. 21 TITLE II—RECREATION 22 SEC. 201. OTATSY RECREATION MANAGEMENT AREA. 23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to valid existing 24 rights, certain Federal land in the Lolo National Forest 25 comprising approximately 2,013 acres, as generally de- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:27 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1493.IS S1493 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1493 IS picted on the Map, is designated as the ‘‘Otatsy Recre- 1 ation Management Area’’ (referred to in this section as 2 the ‘‘recreation management area’’). 3 (b) MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary shall manage the 4 recreation management area in accordance with— 5 (1) this section, to conserve, protect, and en- 6 hance the scenic, fish and wildlife, recreational, 7 backcountry heritage, and other natural resource 8 values of the recreation management area; and 9 (2) any laws (including regulations) relating to 10 the National Forest System. 11 (c) PROHIBITIONS.—Except as provided in sub- 12 sections (d) and (e), the following shall be prohibited on 13 Federal land within the recreation management area: 14 (1) Permanent roads. 15 (2) Timber harvest. 16 (3) Except as necessary to provide for snow- 17 mobile use, to meet the minimum requirements for 18 the administration of the recreation management 19 area, and to protect public health and safety— 20 (A) the use of motorized and mechanized 21 vehicles; and 22 (B) the establishment of temporary roads. 23 (d) USE OF SNOWMOBILES.—The use of snowmobiles 24 shall be allowed within the recreation management area— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:27 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1493.IS S1493 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1493 IS (1) between December 1 and April 1; 1 (2) during periods of adequate snow cover, as 2 determined by the Secretary; and 3 (3) subject to such terms and conditions as the 4 Secretary determines to be necessary. 5 (e) WILDFIRE, INSECT, AND DISEASE MANAGE- 6 MENT.—In accordance with this section, the Secretary 7 may carry out any measures in the recreation manage- 8 ment area that the Secretary determines to be necessary 9 to control fire, insects, and diseases, including, as the Sec- 10 retary determines to be appropriate, the coordination of 11 those activities with a State or local agency. 12 (f) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 13 the recreation management area (including any Federal 14 land acquired after the date of enactment of this Act for 15 inclusion in the recreation management area) is with- 16 drawn from all forms of— 17 (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the 18 public land laws; 19 (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining 20 laws; and 21 (3) disposition under all laws pertaining to min- 22 eral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:27 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1493.IS S1493 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1493 IS SEC. 202. SPREAD MOUNTAIN RECREATION AREA. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to valid existing 2 rights, certain Federal land in the Lolo National Forest, 3 comprising approximately 3,835 acres, as generally de- 4 picted on the Map, is designated as the ‘‘Spread Mountain 5 Recreation Area’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘recre- 6 ation area’’). 7 (b) MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary shall manage the 8 recreation area in accordance with— 9 (1) this section, to conserve, protect, and en- 10 hance the scenic, fish and wildlife, recreational, 11 backcountry heritage, and other natural resource 12 values of the recreation area; and 13 (2) any laws (including regulations) relating to 14 the National Forest System. 15 (c) PROHIBITIONS.—Except as provided in subsection 16 (e), the following shall be prohibited on the Federal land 17 within the recreation area: 18 (1) Permanent roads. 19 (2) Timber harvest. 20 (3) Except as necessary to meet the minimum 21 requirements for the administration of the recreation 22 area and to protect public health and safety— 23 (A) the use of motorized vehicles; and 24 (B) the establishment of temporary roads. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:27 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1493.IS S1493 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1493 IS (d) MECHANIZED VEHICLES, PEDESTRIANS, AND 1 HORSE TRAVEL.—Nothing in this section prohibits— 2 (1) the use of mechanized vehicles, access by 3 pedestrians, or horse travel within the recreation 4 area; or 5 (2) the construction of trails for use by mecha- 6 nized vehicles, pedestrians, and horse travel within 7 the recreation area. 8 (e) WILDFIRE, INSECT, AND DISEASE MANAGE- 9 MENT.—In accordance with this section, the Secretary 10 may take any measures in the recreation area that the 11 Secretary determines to be necessary to control fire, in- 12 sects, and diseases, including, as the Secretary determines 13 to be appropriate, the coordination of those activities with 14 a State or local agency. 15 (f) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 16 the recreation area (including any Federal land acquired 17 after the date of enactment of this Act for inclusion in 18 the recreation area) is withdrawn from all forms of— 19 (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the 20 public land laws; 21 (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining 22 laws; and 23 (3) disposition under all laws pertaining to min- 24 eral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:27 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1493.IS S1493 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1493 IS SEC. 203. TRAIL-BASED RECREATION. 1 (a) DEFINITION OF COLLABORATIVELY DEVEL- 2 OPED.—In this section, the term ‘‘collaboratively devel- 3 oped’’ means a proposal that is developed and imple- 4 mented through a collaborative process that— 5 (1) includes multiple interested persons rep- 6 resenting diverse interests; and 7 (2) is transparent and nonexclusive. 8 (b) EXPANDED TRAIL RECREATION OPPORTUNI- 9 TIES.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a local collaborative group 11 submits to the Secretary, by not later than 5 years 12 after the date of enactment of this Act, a collabo- 13 ratively developed proposal to improve motorized and 14 nonmotorized recreational trail opportunities within 15 the District, the Secretary— 16 (A) shall analyze the proposal in accord- 17 ance with the National Environmental Policy 18 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and 19 (B) subject to appropriations, and in ac- 20 cordance with subsection (d), may provide for 21 the construction of any of the routes included 22 in the proposal. 23 (2) PRIORITY.—In completing the analysis re- 24 quired by paragraph (1)(A), in accordance with sub- 25 section (d), the Secretary shall give priority to ex- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:27 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1493.IS S1493 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1493 IS panding motorized and nonmotorized recreational 1 trail opportunities within the District that are in the 2 public interest. 3 (3) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall complete 4 the analysis required by paragraph (1)(A) by not 5 later than 3 years after the date on which the Sec- 6 retary receives the applicable collaboratively devel- 7 oped proposal. 8 (c) USE OF VOLUNTEER SERVICES AND CONTRIBU- 9 TIONS.—The Secretary may accept volunteer services and 10 contributions from non-Federal sources to construct and 11 maintain recreational trails under this section. 12 (d) COMPLIANCE.—In carrying out this section, the 13 Secretary shall comply with— 14 (1) each provision of law (including regulations) 15 that is generally applicable to the National Forest 16 System; and 17 (2) this Act. 18 (e) EFFECT OF SECTION.—Nothing in this section 19 affects the ownership or management of, or any other 20 right relating to, any non-Federal land (including any in- 21 terest in non-Federal land). 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:27 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1493.IS S1493 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1493 IS TITLE III—CONSERVATION 1 SEC. 301. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS. 2 In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act 3 (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), and subject to valid existing 4 rights, the following areas in the State are designated as 5 wilderness areas and as components of the National Wil- 6 derness Preservation System: 7 (1) BOB MARSHALL WILDERNESS ADDITIONS.— 8 Certain land in the Lolo National Forest, comprising 9 approximately 39,422 acres generally depicted as the 10 ‘‘North Fork Blackfoot-Monture Creek Addition 11 (Bob Marshall Addition)’’ and approximately 7,784 12 acres generally depicted as the ‘‘Grizzly Basin of the 13 Swan Range Addition’’ on the Map, is incorporated 14 in, and shall be considered to be a part of, the Bob 15 Marshall Wilderness. 16 (2) MISSION MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS ADDI- 17 TION.—Certain land in the Lolo National Forest, 18 comprising approximately 4,462 acres generally de- 19 picted as the ‘‘West Fork Clearwater Addition’’ on 20 the Map, is incorporated in, and shall be considered 21 to be a part of, the Mission Mountains Wilderness 22 designated by Public Law 93–632 (88 Stat. 2153). 23 (3) SCAPEGOAT WILDERNESS ADDITIONS.—Cer- 24 tain land in the Lolo National Forest, comprising 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:27 May 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1493.IS S1493 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1493 IS approximately 27,392 acres generally depicted as the 1 ‘‘North Fork Blackfoot-Monture Creek Addition 2 (Scapegoat Addition)’’ on the Map, is incorporated 3 in, and shall be considered to be a part of, the 4 Scapegoat Wilderness designated by Public Law 92– 5 395 (86 Stat. 578). 6 SEC. 302. ADMINISTRATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS. 7 (a) MANAGEMENT.—Subje [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]