Chiricahua National Park Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 3121 To establish the Chiricahua National Park in the State of Arizona as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 19, 2019 Ms. MCSALLY (for herself and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources A BILL To establish the Chiricahua National Park in the State of Arizona as a unit of the National Park 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 ‘‘Chiricahua National 4 Park Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 (1) approximately 27,000,000 years ago, a pow- 8 erful volcanic eruption spewed ash and debris thou- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:55 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3121.IS S3121 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3121 IS sands of feet in the area that now comprises the 1 Chiricahua National Monument, which ultimately 2 fused into rock known as ‘‘rhyolitic tuff’’; 3 (2) over time, the rock referred to in paragraph 4 (1) eroded into the exquisite hoodoos and enchanting 5 balancing rocks that define the captivating scenery 6 of the Chiricahua National Monument; 7 (3) since the mid-19th century, the Chiricahuas 8 region has been home to ranchers, pioneers, gold 9 miners, and cowboys; 10 (4) before the first pioneer set foot on land in 11 the Chiricahuas region, Indian Tribes (including 12 most recently the Chiricahua Apache Tribe) inhab- 13 ited the area that now comprises the Chiricahua Na- 14 tional Monument; 15 (5) in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge estab- 16 lished the Chiricahua National Monument by Presi- 17 dential proclamation to protect and preserve the 18 area for the education and enjoyment of future gen- 19 erations; 20 (6) the Chiricahua National Monument is 21 uniquely positioned at the intersection of the 22 Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts, the southern 23 Rocky Mountains, and the northern Sierra Madre in 24 Mexico; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:55 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3121.IS S3121 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3121 IS (7) the Chiricahua National Monument— 1 (A) boasts 18 square miles of premier bio- 2 logical diversity; and 3 (B) has become a hub for hikers, birders, 4 researchers, and nature enthusiasts of all kinds; 5 (8) the Chiricahua National Monument is home 6 to all manner of life from leopard frogs of not more 7 than 5 inches to black bears weighing more than 8 600 pounds; and 9 (9) the vibrant ecosystem of the Chiricahua Na- 10 tional Monument supports approximately— 11 (A) 150 species of birds; 12 (B) 70 species of mammals; and 13 (C) 45 species of reptiles. 14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 15 In this Act: 16 (1) MONUMENT.—The term ‘‘Monument’’ 17 means the Chiricahua National Monument estab- 18 lished by Presidential Proclamation 1692 (54 U.S.C. 19 320301 note; 43 Stat. 1946). 20 (2) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the Chiri- 21 cahua National Park established by section 4(a). 22 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 23 the Secretary of the Interior. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:55 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3121.IS S3121 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3121 IS (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 1 of Arizona. 2 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF CHIRICAHUA NATIONAL PARK. 3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—To protect, preserve, and in- 4 terpret the rhyolitic rock formations, biodiversity, and 5 other natural and cultural resources of the area, there is 6 established in the State as a unit of the National Park 7 System the Chiricahua National Park. 8 (b) BOUNDARIES.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The boundaries of the Park 10 are as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Chiri- 11 cahua National Park Proposed Boundary’’, num- 12 bered 145/156,356, and dated July 2019. 13 (2) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be 14 on file and available for public inspection in the ap- 15 propriate offices of the National Park Service. 16 (c) ABOLISHMENT OF CHIRICAHUA NATIONAL 17 MONUMENT.— 18 (1) ABOLISHMENT.—The Monument is abol- 19 ished. 20 (2) INCORPORATION.—The land and any inter- 21 est in land that constitute the Monument (as in ex- 22 istence on the day before the date of enactment of 23 this Act) are incorporated in, and shall be consid- 24 ered to be part of, the Park. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:55 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3121.IS S3121 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3121 IS (3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Any funds avail- 1 able for the Monument shall be available for the 2 Park. 3 (d) REFERENCES.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any reference in a law, map, 5 regulation, document, paper, or other record of the 6 United States to the ‘‘Chiricahua National Monu- 7 ment’’ shall be considered to be a reference to the 8 ‘‘Chiricahua National Park’’. 9 (2) WILDERNESS.—Any reference in a law, 10 map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of 11 the United States to the ‘‘Chiricahua National 12 Monument Wilderness’’ designated by Public Law 13 94–567 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; 90 Stat. 2692) shall 14 be considered to be a reference to the ‘‘Chiricahua 15 National Park Wilderness’’. 16 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall admin- 17 ister the Park in accordance with— 18 (1) this Act; and 19 (2) the laws generally applicable to units of the 20 National Park System. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 15:55 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3121.IS S3121 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS