America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5775 To designate as wilderness certain Federal portions of the red rock canyons of the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin Deserts in the State of Utah for the benefit of present and future generations of people in the United States. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 6, 2020 Mr. LOWENTHAL (for himself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BLU- MENAUER, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. CLAY, Mr. COHEN, Mrs. WATSON COLE- MAN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HIMES, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KIND, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. TONKO, Mrs. TRAHAN, Ms. UNDERWOOD, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. WELCH, and Mr. CASE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To designate as wilderness certain Federal portions of the red rock canyons of the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin Deserts in the State of Utah for the benefit of present and future generations of people in the United States. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H5775.IH H5775 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5775 IH 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 ‘‘America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS Sec. 101. Great Basin Wilderness Areas. Sec. 102. Grand Staircase-Escalante Wilderness Areas. Sec. 103. Moab-La Sal Canyons Wilderness Areas. Sec. 104. Henry Mountains Wilderness Areas. Sec. 105. Glen Canyon Wilderness Areas. Sec. 106. San Juan-Anasazi Wilderness Areas. Sec. 107. Canyonlands Basin Wilderness Areas. Sec. 108. San Rafael Swell Wilderness Areas. Sec. 109. Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin Wilderness Areas. TITLE II—ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS Sec. 201. General provisions. Sec. 202. Administration. Sec. 203. State school trust land within wilderness areas. Sec. 204. Water. Sec. 205. Roads. Sec. 206. Livestock. Sec. 207. Fish and wildlife. Sec. 208. Management of newly acquired land. Sec. 209. Withdrawal. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 8 In this Act: 9 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 10 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bu- 11 reau of Land Management. 12 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 13 of Utah. 14 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5775.IH H5775 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5775 IH TITLE I—DESIGNATION OF 1 WILDERNESS AREAS 2 SEC. 101. GREAT BASIN WILDERNESS AREAS. 3 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 4 (1) the Great Basin region of western Utah is 5 comprised of starkly beautiful mountain ranges that 6 rise as islands from the desert floor; 7 (2) the Wah Wah Mountains in the Great 8 Basin region are arid and austere, with massive cliff 9 faces and leathery slopes speckled with pin˜on and ju- 10 niper; 11 (3) the Pilot Range and Stansbury Mountains 12 in the Great Basin region are high enough to draw 13 moisture from passing clouds and support eco- 14 systems found nowhere else on earth; 15 (4) from bristlecone pine, the world’s oldest liv- 16 ing organism, to newly flowered mountain meadows, 17 mountains of the Great Basin region are islands of 18 nature that— 19 (A) support remarkable biological diversity; 20 and 21 (B) provide opportunities to experience the 22 colossal silence of the Great Basin; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5775.IH H5775 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5775 IH (5) the Great Basin region of western Utah 1 should be protected and managed to ensure the pres- 2 ervation of the natural conditions of the region. 3 (b) DESIGNATION.—In accordance with the Wilder- 4 ness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131, et seq.), the following areas 5 in the State are designated as wilderness areas and as 6 components of the National Wilderness Preservation Sys- 7 tem: 8 (1) Antelope Range (approximately 17,000 9 acres). 10 (2) Barn Hills (approximately 21,000 acres). 11 (3) Black Hills (approximately 8,700 acres). 12 (4) Bullgrass Knoll (approximately 16,000 13 acres). 14 (5) Burbank Hills/Tunnel Spring (approxi- 15 mately 94,000 acres). 16 (6) Conger Mountain (approximately 31,000 17 acres). 18 (7) Crater and Silver Island Mountains (ap- 19 proximately 121,000 acres). 20 (8) Crater Bench (approximately 35,000 acres). 21 (9) Cricket Mountains (approximately 56,000 22 acres). 23 (10) Deep Creek Mountains (approximately 24 128,000 acres). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5775.IH H5775 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5775 IH (11) Drum Mountains (approximately 40,500 1 acres). 2 (12) Dugway Mountains (approximately 24,500 3 acres). 4 (13) Fish Springs Range (approximately 5 64,500 acres). 6 (14) Granite Peak (approximately 19,500 7 acres). 8 (15) Grassy Mountains (approximately 24,000 9 acres). 10 (16) Grouse Creek Mountains (approximately 11 15,000 acres). 12 (17) House Range (approximately 202,000 13 acres). 14 (18) Keg Mountain (approximately 38,500 15 acres). 16 (19) Kern Mountains (approximately 15,000 17 acres). 18 (20) King Top (approximately 111,000 acres). 19 (21) Little Goose Creek (approximately 1,300 20 acres). 21 (22) Middle/Granite Mountain (approximately 22 81,000 acres). 23 (23) Mount Escalante (approximately 17,500 24 acres). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5775.IH H5775 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5775 IH (24) Mountain Home Range (approximately 1 90,000 acres). 2 (25) Newfoundland Mountains (approximately 3 23,000 acres). 4 (26) Ochre Mountain (approximately 13,500 5 acres). 6 (27) Oquirrh Mountains (approximately 8,900 7 acres). 8 (28) Painted Rock (approximately 26,500 9 acres). 10 (29) Paradise/Steamboat Mountains (approxi- 11 mately 136,000 acres). 12 (30) Pilot Range (approximately 44,000 acres). 13 (31) Red Tops (approximately 28,000 acres). 14 (32) Rockwell-Little Sahara (approximately 15 19,000 acres). 16 (33) San Francisco Mountains (approximately 17 40,000 acres). 18 (34) Sand Ridge (approximately 73,000 acres). 19 (35) Sevier Plateau (approximately 30,000 20 acres). 21 (36) Simpson Mountains (approximately 43,000 22 acres). 23 (37) Snake Valley (approximately 103,000 24 acres). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5775.IH H5775 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5775 IH (38) Spring Creek Canyon (approximately 1 5,200 acres). 2 (39) Stansbury Island (approximately 9,900 3 acres). 4 (40) Stansbury Mountains (approximately 5 25,000 acres). 6 (41) Thomas Range (approximately 41,000 7 acres). 8 (42) Tule Valley (approximately 159,000 9 acres). 10 (43) Wah Wah Mountains (approximately 11 177,000 acres). 12 (44) White Rock Range (approximately 5,500 13 acres). 14 SEC. 102. GRAND STAIRCASE-ESCALANTE WILDERNESS 15 AREAS. 16 (a) GRAND STAIRCASE AREA.— 17 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 18 (A) the area known as the Grand Staircase 19 rises more than 6,000 feet in a series of great 20 cliffs and plateaus from the depths of the 21 Grand Canyon to the forested rim of Bryce 22 Canyon; 23 (B) the Grand Staircase— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5775.IH H5775 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5775 IH (i) spans 6 major life zones, from the 1 lower Sonoran Desert to the alpine forest; 2 and 3 (ii) encompasses geologic formations 4 that display 3,000,000, years of Earth’s 5 history; 6 (C) land managed by the Secretary lines 7 the intricate canyon system of the Paria River 8 and forms a vital natural corridor connection to 9 the deserts and forests of those national parks; 10 (D) land described in paragraph (2) (other 11 than East of Bryce, the majority of Upper 12 Kanab Creek, Moquith Mountain, Bunting 13 Point, Canaan Mountain, Orderville Canyon, 14 Parunuweap Canyon, and Vermillion Cliffs) is 15 located within the Grand Staircase-Escalante 16 National Monument, as established in 1996; 17 and 18 (E) the Grand Staircase in Utah should be 19 protected and managed as a wilderness area. 20 (2) DESIGNATION.—In accordance with the 21 Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131, et seq.), the fol- 22 lowing areas in the State are designated as wilder- 23 ness areas and as components of the National Wil- 24 derness Preservation System: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5775.IH H5775 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5775 IH (A) Bryce Boot (approximately 2,800 1 acres). 2 (B) Bryce View (approximately 850 acres). 3 (C) Bunting Point (approximately 11,000 4 acres). 5 (D) Canaan Mountain (approximately 6 15,000 acres). 7 (E) East of Bryce (approximately 850 8 acres). 9 (F) Glass Eye Canyon (approximately 10 25,000 acres). 11 (G) Ladder Canyon (approximately 14,000 12 acres). 13 (H) Moquith Mountain (approximately 14 15,500 acres). 15 (I) Nephi Point (approximately 15,000 16 acres). 17 (J) Orderville Canyon (approximately 18 8,100 acres). 19 (K) Paria-Hackberry (approximately 20 196,000 acres). 21 (L) Paria Wilderness Expansion (approxi- 22 mately 4,000 acres). 23 (M) Parunuweap Canyon (approximately 24 44,500 acres). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5775.IH H5775 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5775 IH (N) Pine Hollow (approximately 11,000 1 acres). 2 (O) Slopes of Bryce (approximately 3,700 3 acres). 4 (P) Timber Mountain (approximately 5 52,500 acres). 6 (Q) Upper Kanab Creek (approximately 7 51,000 acres). 8 (R) Vermillion Cliffs (approximately 9 26,000 acres). 10 (S) Willis Creek (approximately 21,000 11 acres). 12 (b) KAIPAROWITS PLATEAU.— 13 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 14 (A) the Kaiparowits Plateau east of the 15 Paria River is one of the most rugged and iso- 16 lated wilderness regions in the United States; 17 (B) the Kaiparowits Plateau, a windswept 18 land of harsh beauty, contains distant vistas 19 and a remarkable variety of plant and animal 20 species; 21 (C) ancient forests, an abundance of big 22 game animals, and 22 species of raptors thrive 23 undisturbed on the grassland mesa tops of the 24 Kaiparowits Plateau; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5775.IH H5775 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5775 IH (D) each of the areas described in para- 1 graph (2) (other than Heaps Canyon, Little 2 Valley, and Wide Hollow) is located within the 3 Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, 4 as established in 1996; and 5 (E) the Kaiparowits Plateau should be pro- 6 tected and managed as a wilderness area. 7 (2) DESIGNATION.—In accordance with the 8 Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131, et seq.), the fol- 9 lowing areas in the State are designated as wilder- 10 ness areas and as components of the National Wil- 11 derness Preservation System: 12 (A) Andalex Not (approximately 18,000 13 acres). 14 (B) Box Canyon (approximately 3,000 15 acres). 16 (C) Burning Hills (approximately 81,000 17 acres). 18 (D) Canaan Peak Slopes (approximately 19 2,500 acres). 20 (E) Carcass Canyon (approximately 21 85,000 acres). 22 (F) Fiftymile Bench (approximately 23 13,000 acres). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5775.IH H5775 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 5775 IH (G) Fiftymile Mountain (approximately 1 207,000 acres). 2 (H) Heaps Canyon (approximately 4,000 3 acres). 4 (I) Horse Spring Canyon (approximately 5 32,000 acres). 6 (J) Kodachrome Headlands (approximately 7 8,500 acres). 8 (K) Little Valley Canyon (approximately 9 4,000 acres). 10 (L) Mud Spring Canyon (approximately 11 66,000 acres). 12 (M) Nipple Bench (approximately 32,000 13 acres). 14 (N) Paradise Canyon-Wahweap (approxi- 15 mately 266,000 acres). 16 (O) Rock Cove (approximately 17,000 17 acres). 18 (P) The Blues (approximately 22,000 19 acres). 20 (Q) The Cockscomb (approximately 12,000 21 acres). 22 (R) Warm Creek (approximately 24,000 23 acres). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5775.IH H5775 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 5775 IH (S) Wide Hollow (approximately 7,700 1 acres). 2 (c) ESCALANTE CANYONS.— 3 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 4 (A) glens and coves carved in massive 5 sandstone cliffs, spring-watered hanging gar- 6 dens, and the silence of ancient Anasazi ruins 7 are examples of the unique features that entice 8 hikers, campers, and sightseers from around 9 the world to Escalante Canyon; 10 (B) Escalante Canyon links the spruce fir 11 forests of the 11,000-foot Aquarius Plateau 12 with winding slickrock canyons that flow into 13 Glen Canyon; 14 (C) Escalante Canyon, one of Utah’s most 15 popular natural areas, contains critical habitat 16 for deer, elk, and wild bighorn sheep that also 17 enhances the scenic integrity of the area; 18 (D) each of the areas described in para- 19 graph (2) is located within the Grand Staircase 20 Escalante National Monument, as established 21 in 1996; and 22 (E) Escalante Canyon should be protected 23 and managed as a wilderness area. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5775.IH H5775 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 5775 IH (2) DESIGNATION.—In accordance with the 1 Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131, et seq.), the fol- 2 lowing areas in the State are designated as wilder- 3 ness areas and as components of the National Wil- 4 derness Preservation System: 5 (A) Colt Mesa (approximately 28,000 6 acres). 7 (B) Death Ho [Text truncated for display. 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