PUBLIC Lands Act

II Calendar No. 525 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1776 [Report No. 118–232] To provide for the protection of and investment in certain Federal land in the State of California, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 31 (legislative day, MAY 30), 2023 Mr. PADILLA (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Ms. BUTLER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Natural Resources SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 Reported by Mr. MANCHIN, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To provide for the protection of and investment in certain Federal land in the State of California, 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 ‘‘Protecting Unique and Beautiful Landscapes by Invest- 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Sep 25, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1776.RS S1776 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1776 RS ing in California Lands Act’’ or the ‘‘PUBLIC Lands 1 Act’’. 2 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 3 this Act is as follows: 4 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA WILDERNESS, RECREATION, AND WORKING FORESTS Sec. 101. Definitions. Subtitle A—Restoration and Economic Development Sec. 111. South Fork Trinity-Mad River Restoration Area. Sec. 112. Redwood National and State Parks restoration. Sec. 113. California Public Land Remediation Partnership. Sec. 114. Trinity Lake visitor center. Sec. 115. Del Norte County visitor center. Sec. 116. Land and resource management plans. Sec. 117. Annual fire management plans. Sec. 118. Study; partnerships related to overnight accommodations. Subtitle B—Recreation Sec. 121. Horse Mountain Special Management Area. Sec. 122. Bigfoot National Recreation Trail. Sec. 123. Elk Camp Ridge Recreation Trail. Sec. 124. Trinity Lake Trail. Sec. 125. Trails study. Sec. 126. Construction of mountain bicycling routes. Sec. 127. Partnerships. Subtitle C—Conservation Sec. 131. Designation of wilderness. Sec. 132. Administration of wilderness. Sec. 133. Designation of potential wilderness. Sec. 134. Designation of wild and scenic rivers. Sec. 135. Sanhedrin Special Conservation Management Area. Sec. 136. Release of wilderness study area. Subtitle D—Miscellaneous Sec. 141. Maps and legal descriptions. Sec. 142. Updates to land and resource management plans. Sec. 143. Pacific Gas and Electric Company utility facilities and rights-of-way. TITLE II—CENTRAL COAST HERITAGE PROTECTION Sec. 201. Definitions. Sec. 202. Designation of wilderness. Sec. 203. Designation of the Machesna Mountain Potential Wilderness. Sec. 204. Administration of wilderness. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Sep 25, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6411 E:\BILLS\S1776.RS S1776 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1776 RS Sec. 205. Designation of Wild and Scenic Rivers. Sec. 206. Designation of the Fox Mountain Potential Wilderness. Sec. 207. Designation of scenic areas. Sec. 208. Condor National Scenic Trail. Sec. 209. Forest Service study. Sec. 210. Nonmotorized recreation opportunities. Sec. 211. Use by members of Indian Tribes. TITLE III—SAN GABRIEL MOUNTAINS FOOTHILLS AND RIVERS PROTECTION Sec. 301. Definitions. Sec. 302. National monument boundary modification. Sec. 303. Designation of wilderness areas and additions. Sec. 304. Administration of wilderness areas and additions. Sec. 305. Designation of wild and scenic rivers. Sec. 306. Water rights. Sec. 307. Reauthorization of existing water facilities in Pleasant View Ridge Wilderness. TITLE I—NORTHWEST CALI- 1 FORNIA WILDERNESS, RECRE- 2 ATION, AND WORKING FOR- 3 ESTS 4 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this title: 6 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 7 means— 8 (A) with respect to land under the jurisdic- 9 tion of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Sec- 10 retary of Agriculture; and 11 (B) with respect to land under the jurisdic- 12 tion of the Secretary of the Interior, the Sec- 13 retary of the Interior. 14 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 15 of California. 16 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Sep 25, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1776.RS S1776 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1776 RS Subtitle A—Restoration and 1 Economic Development 2 SEC. 111. SOUTH FORK TRINITY-MAD RIVER RESTORATION 3 AREA. 4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 5 (1) COLLABORATIVELY DEVELOPED.—The term 6 ‘‘collaboratively developed’’ means, with respect to a 7 restoration project, the development and implemen- 8 tation of the restoration project through a collabo- 9 rative process that— 10 (A) includes— 11 (i) appropriate Federal, State, and 12 local agencies; and 13 (ii) multiple interested persons rep- 14 resenting diverse interests; and 15 (B) is transparent and nonexclusive. 16 (2) PLANTATION.—The term ‘‘plantation’’ 17 means a forested area that has been artificially es- 18 tablished by planting or seeding. 19 (3) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 20 means the process of assisting the recovery of an 21 ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or de- 22 stroyed by establishing the composition, structure, 23 pattern, and ecological processes necessary to facili- 24 tate terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem sustainability, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Sep 25, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1776.RS S1776 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1776 RS resilience, and health under current and future con- 1 ditions. 2 (4) RESTORATION AREA.—The term ‘‘restora- 3 tion area’’ means the South Fork Trinity-Mad River 4 Restoration Area established by subsection (b). 5 (5) SHADED FUEL BREAK.—The term ‘‘shaded 6 fuel break’’ means a vegetation treatment that— 7 (A) effectively addresses all slash gen- 8 erated by a project; and 9 (B) retains, to the maximum extent prac- 10 ticable— 11 (i) adequate canopy cover to suppress 12 plant regrowth in the forest understory fol- 13 lowing treatment; 14 (ii) the longest living trees that pro- 15 vide the most shade over the longest period 16 of time; 17 (iii) the healthiest and most vigorous 18 trees with the greatest potential for crown 19 growth in— 20 (I) plantations; and 21 (II) natural stands adjacent to 22 plantations; and 23 (iv) mature hardwoods. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Sep 25, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1776.RS S1776 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1776 RS (6) STEWARDSHIP CONTRACT.—The term 1 ‘‘stewardship contract’’ means an agreement or con- 2 tract entered into under section 604 of the Healthy 3 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c). 4 (7) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term 5 ‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning given 6 the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res- 7 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 8 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to valid existing 9 rights, there is established the South Fork Trinity-Mad 10 River Restoration Area, comprising approximately 11 871,414 acres of Federal land administered by the Forest 12 Service and the Bureau of Land Management, as gen- 13 erally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘South Fork Trinity- 14 Mad River Restoration Area’’ and dated May 15, 2020. 15 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the restoration area 16 are— 17 (1) to establish, restore, and maintain fire-resil- 18 ient late successional forest structures characterized 19 by large trees and multistoried canopies, as eco- 20 logically appropriate, in the restoration area; 21 (2) to protect late successional reserves in the 22 restoration area; 23 (3) to enhance the restoration of Federal land 24 in the restoration area; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Sep 25, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1776.RS S1776 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1776 RS (4) to reduce the threat posed by wildfires to 1 communities in or in the vicinity of the restoration 2 area; 3 (5) to protect and restore aquatic habitat and 4 anadromous fisheries; 5 (6) to protect the quality of water within the 6 restoration area; and 7 (7) to allow visitors to enjoy the scenic, rec- 8 reational, natural, cultural, and wildlife values of the 9 restoration area. 10 (d) MANAGEMENT.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage 12 the restoration area— 13 (A) in a manner— 14 (i) consistent with the purposes de- 15 scribed in subsection (c); and 16 (ii) in the case of the Forest Service, 17 that prioritizes the restoration of the res- 18 toration area over other nonemergency 19 vegetation management projects on the 20 portions of the Six Rivers and Shasta- 21 Trinity National Forests in Humboldt and 22 Trinity Counties, California; 23 (B) in accordance with an agreement en- 24 tered into by the Chief of the Forest Service 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Sep 25, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1776.RS S1776 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1776 RS and the Director of the United States Fish and 1 Wildlife Service— 2 (i) for cooperation to ensure the time- 3 ly consultation required under section 7 of 4 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 5 U.S.C. 1536) on restoration projects with- 6 in the restoration area; and 7 (ii) to maintain and exchange infor- 8 mation on planning schedules and prior- 9 ities with respect to the restoration area on 10 a regular basis; 11 (C) in accordance with— 12 (i) the laws (including regulations) 13 and rules applicable to the National Forest 14 System, with respect to land managed by 15 the Forest Service; 16 (ii) the Federal Land Policy and Man- 17 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 18 seq.), with respect to land managed by the 19 Bureau of Land Management; 20 (iii) this title; and 21 (iv) any other applicable law (includ- 22 ing regulations); and 23 (D) in a manner consistent with congres- 24 sional intent that consultation for restoration 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Sep 25, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1776.RS S1776 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1776 RS projects within the restoration area be com- 1 pleted in a timely and efficient manner. 2 (2) CONFLICT OF LAWS.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The establishment of 4 the restoration area shall not modify the man- 5 agement status of any land or water that is 6 designated as a component of the National Wil- 7 derness Preservation System or the National 8 Wild and Scenic Rivers System, including land 9 or water designated as a component of the Na- 10 tional Wilderness Preservation System or the 11 National Wild and Scenic Rivers System by this 12 title (including an amendment made by this 13 title). 14 (B) RESOLUTION OF CONFLICT.—If there 15 is a conflict between a law applicable to a com- 16 ponent described in subparagraph (A) and this 17 section, the more restrictive provision shall con- 18 trol. 19 (3) USES.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 21 only allow uses of the restoration area that the 22 Secretary determines would further the pur- 23 poses described in subsection (c). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Sep 25, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1776.RS S1776 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1776 RS (B) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give 1 priority to restoration activities within the res- 2 toration area. 3 (C) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section 4 limits the ability of the Secretary to plan, ap- 5 prove, or prioritize activities outside of the res- 6 toration area. 7 (4) WILDLAND FIRE.— 8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section 9 prohibits the Secretary, in cooperation with 10 Federal, State, and local agencies, as appro- 11 priate, from conducting wildland fire operations 12 in the restoration area, consistent with the pur- 13 poses of this section. 14 (B) PRIORITY.—To the maximum extent 15 practicable, the Secretary may use prescribed 16 burning and managed wildland fire to achieve 17 the purposes of this section. 18 (5) ROAD DECOMMISSIONING.— 19 (A) DEFINITION OF DECOMMISSION.—In 20 this paragraph, the term ‘‘decommission’’ 21 means, with respect to a road— 22 (i) to reestablish vegetation on the 23 road; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Sep 25, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1776.RS S1776 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1776 RS (ii) to restore any natural drainage, 1 watershed function, or other ecological 2 process that is disrupted or adversely im- 3 pacted by the road by removing or 4 hydrologically disconnecting the road 5 prism. 6 (B) DECOMMISSIONING.—To the maximum 7 extent practicable, the Secretary shall decom- 8 mission any unneeded National Forest System 9 road or any unauthorized road identified for de- 10 commissioning within the restoration area— 11 (i) subject to appropriations; 12 (ii) consistent with the analysis re- 13 quired under subparts A and B of part 14 212 of title 36, Code of Federal Regula- 15 tions (or successor regulations); and 16 (iii) in accordance with existing law. 17 (C) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—In mak- 18 ing determinations with respect to the decom- 19 missioning of a road under subparagraph (B), 20 the Secretary shall consult with— 21 (i) appropriate State, Tribal, and local 22 governmental entities; and 23 (ii) members of the public. 24 (6) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Sep 25, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1776.RS S1776 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1776 RS (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 1 graphs (B), (C), and (D), the Secretary may 2 carry out any vegetation management projects 3 in the restoration area that the Secretary deter- 4 mines to be necessary— 5 (i) to maintain or restore the charac- 6 teristics of ecosystem composition and 7 structure; 8 (ii) to reduce wildfire risk to the com- 9 munity by promoting forests that are fire 10 resilient; 11 (iii) to improve the habitat of threat- 12 ened species, endangered species, or sen- 13 sitive species; 14 (iv) to protect or improve water qual- 15 ity; or 16 (v) to enhance the restoration of land 17 within the restoration area. 18 (B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 19 (i) SHADED FUEL BREAKS.—In car- 20 rying out subparagraph (A), the Secretary 21 shall prioritize, as practicable, the estab- 22 lishment in the restoration area of a net- 23 work of shaded fuel breaks within— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Sep 25, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1776.RS S1776 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1776 RS (I) any portion [Text truncated for display. 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