Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Act of 1999

Summary: Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Act of 1999 - Designates certain lands in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, which shall be known as the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness. 
Allows the continuation of: (1) activities on, under, or affecting the lands designated as wilderness by this Act relating to the monitoring, operating, maintenance, repair, replacement, and use of the Colorado- Big Thompson Project (Project) and its facilities which were allowed as of June 1, 1998; and (2) any other activities that because of emergencies or catastrophic events become necessary for continued use of such Project and its facilities, subject only to reasonable restrictions established by the Secretary of the Interior to protect the wilderness values of such lands.  Prohibits any restrictions on such activities that would prevent their occurrence or that would reduce the water supply provided by the Project or the Windy Gap Project.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Rocky Mountain 
National Park Wilderness Act of 1999''.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to include in the National 
Wilderness Preservation System certain lands within the Rocky Mountain 
National Park, Colorado, in order to protect the enduring scenic and 
historic wilderness character and unique wildlife values of the lands 
as well as the scientific, educational, inspirational, and recreational 
resources, values, and opportunities of the lands.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK WILDERNESS.

    (a) Designation.--In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), certain lands within the Rocky Mountain 
National Park, Colorado, which comprise approximately 249,562 acres, as 
generally depicted on the map entitled ``Rocky Mountain National Park, 
Colorado Recommended Wilderness Boundaries'', numbered as Map #121-
60,403 and dated September 1998, are hereby designated as wilderness 
and, therefore, as components of the National Wilderness Preservation 
System. The designated lands shall be known as the Rocky Mountain 
National Park Wilderness.
    (b) Map and Description.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall file a map 
and a boundary description of the lands designated as wilderness by 
subsection (a) with the Committee on Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
the Senate. The map and description shall have the same force and 
effect as if included in this Act, except that the Secretary may 
correct clerical and typographical errors in the map and description. 
The map and description shall be on file and available for public 
inspection in the office of the Director of the National Park Service, 
Department of the Interior.

SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

    (a) Management Generally.--Subject to valid existing rights, lands 
designated as wilderness by section 2(a) shall be managed by the 
Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 
U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this Act, except that, with respect to the 
lands designated as wilderness by section 2(a), any reference in the 
Wilderness Act to the effective date of the Wilderness Act shall be 
deemed to be a reference to the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Potential Wilderness Lands.--
            (1) Definition.--In this section, the term ``potential 
        wilderness lands'' means--
                    (A) lands that are identified as potential 
                wilderness on the map referred to in section 2(a); and
                    (B) lands and interests therein acquired by the 
                United States on or after the date of enactment of this 
                Act that are located within the boundaries of the Rocky 
                Mountain National Park and are contiguous with lands 
designated as wilderness by this Act.
            (2) Management.--Potential wilderness lands shall be 
        managed as components of the National Wilderness Preservation 
        System upon publication in the Federal Register of a notice by 
        the Secretary of the Interior that all uses of the lands 
        inconsistent with the Wilderness Act have ceased.
    (c) Water Rights.--
            (1) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
                    (A) according to decisions of the courts of the 
                State of Colorado, the United States has existing 
                rights to water within the Rocky Mountain National 
                Park;
                    (B) those rights are sufficient for the purposes of 
                the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness as 
                designated by section 2(a); and
                    (C) in light of the findings in subparagraphs (A) 
                and (B), there is no need for this Act to effect a 
                reservation by the United States of any additional 
                water rights to fulfill the purposes for which the 
                wilderness designation made by section 2(a) are made.
            (2) No reservation.--Nothing in this Act or any action 
        taken pursuant to this Act shall constitute either an express 
        or implied reservation of water or water rights for any 
        purpose.
    (d) Colorado-Big Thompson Project.--
            (1) Current activities.--Activities on, under, or affecting 
        the lands designated as wilderness by section 2(a) relating to 
        the monitoring, operation, maintenance, repair, replacement, 
        and use of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project and its facilities 
        which were allowed as of June 1, 1998, shall be allowed to 
        continue and shall not be affected by the designation of the 
        lands as wilderness.
            (2) New activities.--In addition to the activities 
        described in paragraph (1), any other activities on, under, or 
        affecting the lands designated as wilderness by section 2(a) 
        that because of emergencies or catastrophic events become 
        necessary for the operation, maintenance, repair, replacement, 
        and continue use of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project and its 
        facilities shall be allowed, subject only to reasonable 
        restrictions which are established by the Secretary of the 
        Interior to protect the wilderness values of the lands. In 
        implementing this paragraph, the Secretary shall not establish 
        any restrictions on the activities that would prevent the 
        occurrence of such necessary activities or that would reduce 
        the water supply provided by the Colorado-Big Thompson Project 
        or the Windy Gap Project.
            (3) Relation to authority in act establishing park.--
        Nothing in the first section of the Act of January 26, 1915 (16 
        U.S.C. 191; 38 Stat. 798), shall be construed to permit 
        development within the lands designated as wilderness by 
        section 2(a) of any reclamation project not in existence as of 
        the date of enactment of this Act.
    (e) Exclusions.--
            (1) Exclusion of certain lands.--Boundaries for the Rocky 
        Mountain National Park Wilderness and the potential wilderness 
        lands specifically exclude the following:
                    (A) The Grand Ditch (including both the main canal 
                of the Grand Ditch and a branch thereof known as the 
                specimen Ditch) and its right-of-way as well as 
                associated appurtenances, structures, buildings, camps, 
                and work sites in existence as of June 1, 1998.
                    (B) Lands owned by the St. Vrain & Left Hand Water 
                Conservancy District, including Copeland Reservoir and 
                the inlet ditch to such reservoir from the North St. 
                Vrain Creek, amounting to approximately 35.38 acres.
            (2) Relation to lands outside wilderness.--Nothing in this 
        Act shall affect the management or use of any lands not 
        included within the boundaries of the Rocky Mountain National 
        Park Wilderness or the potential wilderness lands.
    (f) No Buffer Zones.--Congress does not intend that the designation 
by this Act of the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness creates or 
implies the creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones around 
the wilderness area. The fact that nonwilderness activities or uses can 
be seen or heard from within the wilderness area shall not, of itself, 
preclude such activities or uses up to the boundary of the wilderness 
area.