I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 171 

To establish the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area in the State 

of Colorado, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 6, 2009 

Mr. SALAZAR (for himself and Ms. MARKEY of Colorado) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area 

in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sangre de Cristo Na5 tional Heritage Area Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the exceptional culture, the rich natural re9 sources, the variety of recreational opportunities, 

10 and the unparalleled history of the San Luis Valley 


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1 are of national significance and are deserving of rec2 ognition, conservation, interpretation, and con3 tinuing use; 

4 (2) the people of the San Luis Valley have, for 

5 centuries, found ways to cultivate and preserve their 

6 cultural and natural heritage; 

7 (3) the efforts of the peoples of Conejos, 

8 Costilla, and Alamosa Counties to form the Sangre 

9 de Cristo National Heritage Area reinforce this tra10 dition of stewardship; 

11 (4) the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage 

12 Area contains historic structures and land that were 

13 central to the development of the West, including 

14 Mexican land grants, the narrow gauge railroad now 

15 known as the ‘‘Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Rail16 road’’, and Fort Garland; 

17 (5) the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage 

18 Area is a nationally significant cradle of Hispano 

19 culture; 

20 (6) the language, art, architecture, religion, tra21 dition, and folklore of Native Americans, early Span22 ish colonists, and Mexican settlers of the Southwest 

23 are alive and thriving in the area, as exemplified in 

24 that— 


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1 (A) 17th century Spanish is still spoken by 

2 about 35 percent of the population of the 

3 Sangre de Cristo region; 

4 (B) the towns of San Luis and Antonito, 

5 which are among the oldest settlements in Colo6 rado— 

7 (i) still contain moradas, placitas, his8 toric churches, murals, the first mercantile 

9 of the region, the first water right, and La 

10 Vega; and 

11 (ii) regularly host festivals and reli12 gious celebrations, including the centuries 

13 old procession of Los Hermanos 

14 Penitentes; and 

15 (C) the Sangre de Cristo National Herit16 age Area, inhabited for over 11,000 years by 

17 native peoples, including the Ute, Navajo, 

18 Apache, Tiwa, Tewa, Comanche, Kiowa, and 

19 Arapaho, remains central to native cultures and 

20 is home to— 

21 (i) Mount Blanca, or Sisnaajini, a sa22 cred mountain for the Navajo and other 

23 peoples that marks the eastern boundary 

24 of their world; and 


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1 (ii) petroglyphs and pictographs along 

2 the Rio Grande, telling the stories and 

3 cosmologies of early inhabitants; and 

4 (7) the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage 

5 Area, flanked by the San Juan and the Sangre de 

6 Cristo Mountains, lies in one of the largest alpine 

7 valleys in North America and is home to an unparal8 leled combination of natural resources that are pro9 tected by the good stewardship of private landowners 

10 and by State and Federal landholdings, including— 

11 (A) the Great Sand Dunes National Park 

12 and Preserve; 

13 (B) the Great Sand Dunes Wilderness 

14 Area; 

15 (C) the Baca National Wildlife Refuge, the 

16 Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge, and the 

17 Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge; 

18 (D) the Rio Grande National Forest; 

19 (E) the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness and 

20 the San Juan Wilderness; 

21 (F) the Blanca Wetlands Complex, the 

22 Blanca Special Recreation Management Area, 

23 and the Rio Grande Special Recreation Area; 

24 (G) the San Luis Lakes State Park; and 


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1 (H) 15 State Wildlife Areas, consisting 

2 of— 

3 (i) the Higel State Wildlife Area; 

4 (ii) the Playa Blanca State Wildlife 

5 Area; 

6 (iii) the San Luis Lakes State Wildlife 

7 Area; 

8 (iv) the Conejos County Ponds State 

9 Wildlife Area; 

10 (v) the Conejos River State Wildlife 

11 Area; 

12 (vi) the Hot Creek State Wildlife 

13 Area; 

14 (vii) the La Jara Reservoir State 

15 Wildlife Area; 

16 (viii) the La Jara State Wildlife Area; 

17 (ix) the Poso State Wildlife Area; 

18 (x) the Sego Springs State Wildlife 

19 Area; 

20 (xi) the Terrace Reservoir State Wild21 life Area; 

22 (xii) the Trujillo Meadows State Wild23 life Area; 

24 (xiii) the Mountain Home Reservoir 

25 State Wildlife Area; 


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1 (xiv) the Sanchez Reservoir State 

2 Wildlife Area; and 

3 (xv) the Smith Reservoir State Wild4 life Area. 

5 (b) PURPOSES.—The purpose of this Act is to estab6 lish the Heritage Area— 

7 (1) to carry out the national heritage area al8 ternative as described in the document entitled 

9 ‘‘Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area Feasi10 bility Study, 2005’’, dated November, 2005; 

11 (2) to provide a management framework to fos12 ter a close working relationship with all levels of 

13 government, the private sector, and the local com14 munities in the San Luis Valley to— 

15 (A) conserve the heritage of the region; 

16 and 

17 (B) continue to pursue compatible eco18 nomic opportunities; and 

19 (3) to assist communities, organizations, and 

20 citizens in the State of Colorado in identifying, pre21 serving, interpreting, and developing the historical, 

22 cultural, scenic, and natural resources of the region 

23 for the educational and inspirational benefit of cur24 rent and future generations. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) HERITAGE AREA.—The term ‘‘Heritage 

4 Area’’ means the Sangre de Cristo National Herit5 age Area, established in section 4(a). 

6 (2) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Man7 agement Entity’’ means the management entity for 

8 the Heritage Area designated by section 4(d). 

9 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘Manage10 ment Plan’’ means the management plan for the 

11 Heritage Area required section 6. 

12 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en13 titled ‘‘Proposed Sangre De Cristo National Herit14 age Area’’ and dated November 2005. 

15 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of the Interior. 

17 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

18 of Colorado. 

19 SEC. 4. SANGRE DE CRISTO NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

21 State the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area. 

22 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Heritage Area shall consist 

23 of— 

24 (1) the counties of Alamosa, Conejos, and 

25 Costilla; and 


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1 (2) the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge, 

2 the Baca National Wildlife Refuge, the Great Sand 

3 Dunes National Park and Preserve, and other areas 

4 included in the map. 

5 (c) MAP.—A map of the Heritage Area shall be— 

6 (1) included in the management plan; and 

7 (2) on file and available for public inspection in 

8 the appropriate offices of the National Park Service. 

9 (d) MANAGEMENT ENTITY.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The management entity for 

11 the Heritage Area shall be the Sangre de Cristo Na12 tional Heritage Area Board of Directors. 

13 (2) MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS.—Members 

14 of the Board shall include representatives from a 

15 broad cross-section of the individuals, agencies, orga16 nizations, and governments that were involved in the 

17 planning and development of the Heritage Area be18 fore the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION. 

20 (a) AUTHORITIES.—For purposes of carrying out the 

21 management plan, the Secretary, acting through the man22 agement entity, may use amounts made available under 

23 this Act to— 


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1 (1) make grants to the State or a political sub2 division of the State, nonprofit organizations, and 

3 other persons; 

4 (2) enter into cooperative agreements with, or 

5 provide technical assistance to, the State or a polit6 ical subdivision of the State, nonprofit organizations, 

7 and other interested parties; 

8 (3) hire and compensate staff, which shall in9 clude individuals with expertise in natural, cultural, 

10 and historical resources protection, and heritage pro11 gramming; 

12 (4) obtain money or services from any source 

13 including any that are provided under any other 

14 Federal law or program; 

15 (5) contract for goods or services; and 

16 (6) undertake to be a catalyst for any other ac17 tivity that furthers the Heritage Area and is con18 sistent with the approved management plan. 

19 (b) DUTIES.—The management entity shall— 

20 (1) in accordance with section 6, prepare and 

21 submit a management plan for the Heritage Area to 

22 the Secretary; 

23 (2) assist units of local government, regional 

24 planning organizations, and nonprofit organizations 

25 in carrying out the approved management plan by— 


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1 (A) carrying out programs and projects 

2 that recognize, protect, and enhance important 

3 resource values in the Heritage Area; 

4 (B) establishing and maintaining interpre5 tive exhibits and programs in the Heritage 

6 Area; 

7 (C) developing recreational and educational 

8 opportunities in the Heritage Area; 

9 (D) increasing public awareness of, and 

10 appreciation for, natural, historical, scenic, and 

11 cultural resources of the Heritage Area; 

12 (E) protecting and restoring historic sites 

13 and buildings in the Heritage Area that are 

14 consistent with Heritage Area themes; 

15 (F) ensuring that clear, consistent, and ap16 propriate signs identifying points of public ac17 cess, and sites of interest are posted throughout 

18 the Heritage Area; and 

19 (G) promoting a wide range of partner20 ships among governments, organizations, and 

21 individuals to further the Heritage Area; 

22 (3) consider the interests of diverse units of 

23 government, businesses, organizations, and individ24 uals in the Heritage Area in the preparation and im25 plementation of the management plan; 


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1 (4) conduct meetings open to the public at least 

2 semiannually regarding the development and imple3 mentation of the management plan; 

4 (5) for any year that Federal funds have been 

5 received under this Act— 

6 (A) submit an annual report to the Sec7 retary that describes the activities, expenses, 

8 and income of the management entity (includ9 ing grants to any other entities during the year 

10 that the report is made); 

11 (B) make available to the Secretary for 

12 audit all records relating to the expenditure of 

13 the funds and any matching funds; and 

14 (C) require, with respect to all agreements 

15 authorizing expenditure of Federal funds by 

16 other organizations, that the organizations re17 ceiving the funds make available to the Sec18 retary for audit all records concerning the ex19 penditure of the funds; and 

20 (6) encourage by appropriate means economic 

21 viability that is consistent with the Heritage Area. 

22 (c) PROHIBITION ON THE ACQUISITION OF REAL

23 PROPERTY.—The management entity shall not use Fed24 eral funds made available under this Act to acquire real 

25 property or any interest in real property. 


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1 (d) COST-SHARING REQUIREMENT.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub3 section (b), the Federal share of the cost of any ac4 tivity carried out using any assistance made avail5 able under this Act shall be 50 percent. 

6 (2) EXCEPTION.—During the period before the 

7 management entity completes the management plan 

8 under section 6, the Federal share of the cost of any 

9 activity described in paragraph 1 may be 100 per10 cent. 

11 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the management entity shall 

14 submit to the Secretary for approval a proposed manage15 ment plan for the Heritage Area. 

16 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plan shall— 

17 (1) incorporate an integrated and cooperative 

18 approach for the protection, enhancement, and inter19 pretation of the natural, cultural, historic, scenic, 

20 and recreational resources of the Heritage Area; 

21 (2) take into consideration State and local 

22 plans; 

23 (3) include— 

24 (A) an inventory of— 


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1 (i) the resources located in the core 

2 area described in section 4(b); and 

3 (ii) any other property in the core 

4 area that— 

5 (I) is related to the themes of the 

6 Heritage Area; and 

7 (II) should be preserved, re8 stored, managed, or maintained be9 cause of the significance of the prop10 erty; 

11 (B) comprehensive policies, strategies and 

12 recommendations for conservation, funding, 

13 management, and development of the Heritage 

14 Area; 

15 (C) a description of actions that govern16 ments, private organizations, and individuals 

17 have agreed to take to protect the natural, his18 torical and cultural resources of the Heritage 

19 Area; 

20 (D) a program of implementation for the 

21 management plan by the management entity 

22 that includes a description of— 

23 (i) actions to facilitate ongoing col24 laboration among partners to— 


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1 (I) promote plans for resource 

2 protection, restoration, and construc3 tion; and 

4 (II) specific commitments for im5 plementation that have been made by 

6 the management entity or any govern7 ment, organization, or individual for 

8 the first 5 years of operation; 

9 (E) the identification of sources of funding 

10 for carrying out the management plan; 

11 (F) analysis and recommendations for 

12 means by which local, State, and Federal pro13 grams, including the role of the National Park 

14 Service in the Heritage Area, may best be co15 ordinated to carry out this Act; and 

16 (G) an interpretive plan for the Heritage 

17 Area; and 

18 (4) recommend policies and strategies for re19 source management that consider and detail the ap20 plication of appropriate land and water management 

21 techniques, including the development of intergov22 ernmental and interagency cooperative agreements 

23 to protect the natural, historical, cultural, edu24 cational, scenic, and recreational resources of the 

25 Heritage Area. 


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1 (c) DEADLINE.—If a proposed management plan is 

2 not submitted to the Secretary by the date that is 3 years 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the management 

4 entity shall be ineligible to receive additional funding 

5 under this Act until the date that the Secretary receives 

6 and approves the management plan. 

7 (d) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

8 PLAN.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

10 the date of receipt of the management plan under 

11 subsection (a), the Secretary, in consultation with 

12 the State, shall approve or disapprove the manage13 ment plan. 

14 (2) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—In determining 

15 whether to approve the management plan, the Sec16 retary shall consider whether— 

17 (A) the management entity is representa18 tive of the diverse interests of the Heritage 

19 Area, including governments, natural and his20 toric resource protection organizations, edu21 cational institutions, businesses, and rec22 reational organizations; 

23 (B) the management entity has afforded 

24 adequate opportunity, including public hearings, 


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1 for public and governmental involvement in the 

2 preparation of the management plan; and 

3 (C) the resource protection and interpreta4 tion strategies contained in the management 

5 plan, if implemented, would adequately protect 

6 the natural, historical, and cultural resources of 

7 the Heritage Area. 

8 (3) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 

9 Secretary disapproves the management plan under 

10 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

11 (A) advise the management entity in writ12 ing of the reasons for the disapproval; 

13 (B) make recommendations for revisions to 

14 the management plan; and 

15 (C) not later than 60 days after the receipt 

16 of any proposed revision of the management 

17 plan from the management entity, approve or 

18 disapprove the proposed revision. 

19 (4) AMENDMENTS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap21 prove or disapprove each amendment to the 

22 management plan that the Secretary determines 

23 make a substantial change to the management 

24 plan. 


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1 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—The management 

2 entity shall not use Federal funds authorized by 

3 this Act to carry out any amendments to the 

4 management plan until the Secretary has ap5 proved the amendments. 

6 SEC. 7. DUTIES OF OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. 

7 Any Federal agency conducting or supporting an ac8 tivity that directly affects the Heritage Area shall— 

9 (1) consult with the Secretary and the manage10 ment entity regarding the activity; 

11 (2) cooperate with the Secretary and the man12 agement entity in carrying out the duties of the 

13 Federal agency under this Act; 

14 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, coordi15 nate the activity with carrying out those duties; and 

16 (4) to the maximum extent practicable, conduct 

17 the activity in a manner that the management entity 

18 determines will not have an adverse effect on the 

19 Heritage Area. 

20 SEC. 8. PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION. 

21 (a) ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.—Nothing in 

22 this Act— 

23 (1) requires any private property owner to allow 

24 public access (including Federal, State, or local gov25 ernment access) to the private property; or 


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1 (2) modifies any provision of Federal, State, or 

2 local law with regard to public access to or use of 

3 private property. 

4 (b) LIABILITY.—Designation of the Heritage Area 

5 shall not impose any liability on, or to have any effect on 

6 any liability under any other law on, any private property 

7 owner with respect to any person injured on the private 

8 property. 

9 (c) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL

10 LAND USE.—Nothing in this Act modifies the authority 

11 of the Federal Government or State or local governments 

12 to regulate land use. 

13 (d) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY OWNERS

14 IN HERITAGE AREA.—Nothing in this Act requires the 

15 owner of any private property located within the bound16 aries of the Heritage Area to participate in or be associ17 ated with the Heritage Area. 

18 (e) EFFECT OF ESTABLISHMENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The boundaries designated 

20 for the Heritage Area shall constitute the area with21 in which Federal funds made available to carry out 

22 this Act may be expended. 

23 (2) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The establish24 ment of the Heritage Area and the boundaries of the 

25 Heritage Area shall not provide any regulatory auVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:48 Jan 11, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H171.IH H171

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1 thority that would not otherwise apply to govern 

2 land use within the Heritage Area or the viewshed 

3 of the Heritage Area by the Secretary, the National 

4 Park Service, or the management entity. 

5 SEC. 9. WATER RIGHTS. 

6 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—Nothing in this Act is 

7 meant to modify the Rio Grande Natural Area Act. 

8 (b) APPLICABILITY.—Nothing in this Act— 

9 (1) amends, modifies, or is in conflict with the 

10 Act of May 31, 1939 (53 Stat. 785, chapter 155); 

11 (2) authorizes the regulation of private land in 

12 the Heritage Area; 

13 (3) authorizes the imposition of any mandatory 

14 streamflow requirements; 

15 (4) creates an express or implied Federal re16 served water right; 

17 (5) imposes any Federal water quality standard 

18 within or upstream of the Heritage Area that is 

19 more restrictive than would be applicable had the 

20 Heritage Area not been established; or 

21 (6) prevents the State of Colorado from acquir22 ing an instream flow through the Heritage Area 

23 under the terms, conditions, and limitations of State 

24 law to assist in protecting the natural environment 


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1 to the extent and for the purposes authorized by 

2 State law. 

3 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this Act $10,000,000, of which not more than $1,000,000 

6 may be made available for any fiscal year. 

7 SEC. 11. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

8 The authority of the Secretary to provide assistance 

9 under this Act terminates on the date that is 15 years 

10 after the date that funds are first made available to carry 

11 out this Act. 

Æ 


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