Sutton Mountain and Painted Hills Area Preservation and Economic Enhancement Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1597 To designate certain Bureau of Land Management land in the State of Oregon as wilderness, to authorize certain land exchanges in the State of Oregon, and to convey certain Bureau of Land Management land in the State of Oregon to the city of Mitchell, Oregon, and Wheeler County, Oregon, for economic and community development purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 22, 2019 Mr. MERKLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To designate certain Bureau of Land Management land in the State of Oregon as wilderness, to authorize certain land exchanges in the State of Oregon, and to convey certain Bureau of Land Management land in the State of Oregon to the city of Mitchell, Oregon, and Wheeler County, Oregon, for economic and community develop- ment purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1597.IS S1597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1597 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sutton Mountain and 2 Painted Hills Area Preservation and Economic Enhance- 3 ment Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this Act: 6 (1) CITY.—The term ‘‘City’’ means the city of 7 Mitchell, Oregon. 8 (2) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means 9 Wheeler County, Oregon. 10 (3) LANDOWNER.—The term ‘‘landowner’’ 11 means an owner of non-Federal land that enters into 12 a land exchange with the Secretary under section 13 4(a). 14 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map 15 prepared by the Bureau of Land Management enti- 16 tled ‘‘Sutton Complex Wilderness Proposal’’ and 17 dated May 6, 2015. 18 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 19 the Secretary of the Interior. 20 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 21 of Oregon. 22 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—In furtherance of the purposes of 24 the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the following 25 areas in the State are designated as wilderness areas and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1597.IS S1597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1597 IS as components of the National Wilderness Preservation 1 System: 2 (1) SUTTON MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS.—Certain 3 land in the Prineville District Office of the Bureau 4 of Land Management comprising approximately 5 29,675 acres, as generally depicted on the Map as 6 ‘‘Sutton Mountain’’, which shall be known as the 7 ‘‘Sutton Mountain Wilderness’’. 8 (2) PAT’S CABIN WILDERNESS.—Certain land 9 in the Prineville District Office of the Bureau of 10 Land Management comprising approximately 15,951 11 acres, as generally depicted on the Map as ‘‘Pat’s 12 Cabin’’, which shall be known as ‘‘Pat’s Cabin Wil- 13 derness’’. 14 (3) PAINTED HILLS WILDERNESS.—Certain 15 land in the Prineville District Office of the Bureau 16 of Land Management comprising approximately 17 6,900 acres, as generally depicted on the Map as 18 ‘‘Painted Hills’’, which shall be known as the 19 ‘‘Painted Hills Wilderness’’. 20 (4) DEAD DOG WILDERNESS.—Certain land in 21 the Prineville District Office of the Bureau of Land 22 Management comprising approximately 4,939 acres, 23 as generally depicted on the Map as ‘‘Dead Dog’’, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1597.IS S1597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1597 IS which shall be known as the ‘‘Dead Dog Wilder- 1 ness’’. 2 (b) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 5 shall file a map and legal description of each wilder- 6 ness area designated by subsection (a) with— 7 (A) the Committee on Natural Resources 8 of the House of Representatives; and 9 (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural 10 Resources of the Senate. 11 (2) FORCE OF LAW.—Each map and legal de- 12 scription filed under paragraph (1) shall have the 13 same force and effect as if included in this Act, ex- 14 cept that the Secretary may correct any clerical and 15 typographical errors in the maps or legal descrip- 16 tions. 17 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The maps and 18 legal descriptions filed under paragraph (1) shall be 19 on file and available for public inspection in the ap- 20 propriate offices of the Bureau of Land Manage- 21 ment. 22 (c) ADMINISTRATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing 24 rights, the wilderness areas established by subsection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1597.IS S1597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1597 IS (a) shall be administered by the Secretary in accord- 1 ance with this section and the Wilderness Act (16 2 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), except that— 3 (A) any reference in that Act to the effec- 4 tive date shall be considered to be a reference 5 to the date of enactment of this Act; and 6 (B) any reference in that Act to the Sec- 7 retary of Agriculture shall be considered to be 8 a reference to the Secretary that has jurisdic- 9 tion over the wilderness area. 10 (2) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing 11 rights, the wilderness areas designated by subsection 12 (a) are withdrawn from all forms of— 13 (A) entry, appropriation, or disposal under 14 the public land laws; 15 (B) location, entry, and patent under the 16 mining laws; and 17 (C) operation of the mineral leasing, min- 18 eral materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 19 (3) GRAZING.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The grazing of live- 21 stock in the wilderness areas designated by sub- 22 section (a), if established before the date of en- 23 actment of this Act, shall be permitted to con- 24 tinue at current levels, subject to such reason- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1597.IS S1597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1597 IS able regulations as the Secretary considers nec- 1 essary, in accordance with— 2 (i) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness 3 Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)); and 4 (ii) the guidelines set forth in Appen- 5 dix A of the report of the Committee on 6 Interior and Insular Affairs of the House 7 of Representatives accompanying H.R. 8 2570 of the 101st Congress (H. Rept. 9 101–405). 10 (B) VOLUNTARY RELINQUISHMENT OF 11 GRAZING PERMITS OR LEASES.— 12 (i) ACCEPTANCE BY SECRETARY.— 13 The Secretary shall accept the voluntary 14 relinquishment of any valid existing per- 15 mits or leases authorizing grazing on pub- 16 lic land, all or a portion of which is within 17 the wilderness areas designated by sub- 18 section (a). 19 (ii) TERMINATION.—With respect to 20 each permit or lease voluntarily relin- 21 quished under clause (i), the Secretary 22 shall— 23 (I) terminate the grazing permit 24 or lease; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1597.IS S1597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1597 IS (II) ensure a permanent end to 1 grazing on the land covered by the 2 permit or lease. 3 (iii) PARTIAL RELINQUISHMENT.— 4 (I) IN GENERAL.—If a person 5 holding a valid grazing permit or lease 6 voluntarily relinquishes less than the 7 full level of grazing use authorized 8 under the permit or lease, the Sec- 9 retary shall— 10 (aa) reduce the authorized 11 grazing level to reflect the vol- 12 untary relinquishment; and 13 (bb) modify the permit or 14 lease to reflect the revised level of 15 use. 16 (II) AUTHORIZED LEVEL.—To 17 ensure that there is a permanent re- 18 duction in the authorized level of 19 grazing on the land covered by a per- 20 mit or lease voluntarily relinquished 21 under subclause (I), the Secretary 22 shall not allow grazing use to exceed 23 the authorized level established under 24 that subclause. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1597.IS S1597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1597 IS (4) TRIBAL RIGHTS.—Nothing in this section 1 alters, modifies, enlarges, diminishes, or abrogates 2 the treaty rights of any Indian Tribe. 3 (5) FISH AND WILDLIFE.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with sec- 5 tion 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 6 1133(d)(7)), nothing in this section affects the 7 jurisdiction or responsibilities of the State with 8 respect to fish and wildlife management in the 9 State. 10 (B) MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.—In fur- 11 therance of the purposes and principles of the 12 Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the 13 Secretary may conduct any management activi- 14 ties in the wilderness areas designated by sub- 15 section (a) that are necessary to maintain or re- 16 store fish and wildlife populations and habitats, 17 if the management activities are— 18 (i) consistent with relevant wilderness 19 management plans; and 20 (ii) conducted in accordance with ap- 21 propriate policies, such as the policies es- 22 tablished in Appendix B of the report of 23 the Committee on Interior and Insular Af- 24 fairs of the House of Representatives ac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1597.IS S1597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1597 IS companying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Con- 1 gress (House Report 101–405). 2 (6) FIRE MANAGEMENT.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with sec- 4 tion 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 5 1133(d)(1)), the Secretary may take such meas- 6 ures in the wilderness areas designated by sub- 7 section (a) as are necessary for the control of 8 fire, insects, and diseases (including, as the 9 Secretary determines to be appropriate, the co- 10 ordination of the activities with a State or local 11 agency and the use of aircraft or mechanized 12 equipment by Federal, State, or local agencies 13 or agents of the agencies). 14 (B) REVISION AND DEVELOPMENT OF 15 LOCAL FIRE MANAGEMENT PLANS.—As soon as 16 practicable after the date of enactment of this 17 Act, the Secretary shall amend the local fire 18 management plans that apply to the Sutton 19 Mountain Wilderness designated by subsection 20 (a)(1) to identify— 21 (i) best management practices for 22 wildfire prevention and wildfire response in 23 the wilderness area; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1597.IS S1597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 1597 IS (ii) the appropriate State and local of- 1 ficials to carry out the management prac- 2 tices described in clause (i). 3 (C) ADMINISTRATION.—Not later than 1 4 year after the date of enactment of this Act, to 5 ensure a timely and efficient response to 6 wildfires in the Sutton Mountain Wilderness 7 designated by subsection (a)(1), the Secretary 8 shall— 9 (i) establish agency approval proce- 10 dures for responding to wildfires, including 11 delegations of authority, as appropriate, to 12 the Forest Supervisor, District Manager, 13 Incident Commander, or other agency offi- 14 cials; and 15 (ii) enter into agreements, as appro- 16 priate, with State and local firefighting 17 agencies to carry out measures for wildfire 18 prevention and response. 19 (7) ADJACENT MANAGEMENT.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Congress does not in- 21 tend for the designation of wilderness areas by 22 subsection (a) to lead to the creation of protec- 23 tive perimeters or buffer zones around the wil- 24 derness areas. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1597.IS S1597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 1597 IS (B) ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE WILDERNESS.— 1 The fact that a non-wilderness activity or use 2 on land outside the wilderness areas designated 3 by subsection (a) can be seen or heard from 4 within the wilderness areas shall not, of itself, 5 preclude the activity or use outside the bound- 6 ary of the wilderness areas. 7 (8) MILITARY ACTIVITIES.—Nothing in this sec- 8 tion precludes— 9 (A) low-level overflights of military aircraft 10 over the wilderness areas designated by sub- 11 section (a); 12 (B) the designation or establishment of 13 new units of special airspace, or the establish- 14 ment of a military flight training route, over 15 the wilderness areas designated by subsection 16 (a); or 17 (C) flight testing and evaluation. 18 (9) INCORPORATION OF ACQUIRED LAND AND 19 INTERESTS.—Any land within the boundary of a wil- 20 derness area designated by subsection (a) that is ac- 21 quired by the United States shall— 22 (A) become part of the wilderness area in 23 which the land is located; and 24 (B) be managed in accordance with— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1597.IS S1597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 1597 IS (i) this section; 1 (ii) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 2 1131 et seq.); and 3 (iii) any other applicable law. 4 (10) OUTFITTING AND GUIDE ACTIVITIES.— 5 Consistent with section 4(d)(5) of the Wilderness 6 Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(5)), commercial services (in- 7 cluding authorized outfitting and guide activities) 8 are authorized in wilderness areas designated by 9 subsection (a), to the extent necessary for activities 10 that fulfill the recreational or other wilderness pur- 11 poses of the areas. 12 (11) ADEQUATE ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROP- 13 ERTY.—In accordance with section 5(a) of the Wil- 14 derness Act (16 U.S.C. 1134(a)), the Secretary shall 15 provide any owner of private property within the 16 boundary of a wilderness area designated by sub- 17 section (a) adequate access to the property. 18 SEC. 4. LAND EXCHANGES. 19 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 20 (1) COLLINS EXCHANGE.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections 22 (b) through (h), if the owner of the non-Federal 23 land described in subparagraph (B)(i) offers to 24 convey to the United States all right, title, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1597.IS S1597 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 1597 IS interest of the landowner in and to the non- 1 Federal land, the Secretary shall— 2 (i) accept the offer; and 3 (ii) on receipt of acceptable title to the 4 non-Federal land and subject to valid ex- 5 isting rights, convey to the landowner all 6 right, title, and interest of the United 7 States in and to the Federal land described 8 in subparagraph (B)(ii). 9 (B) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.— 10 (i) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—The non- 11 Federal land referred to in subparagraph 12 (A) is the approximately 265 acres of non- 13 Federal land id [Text truncated for display. 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