I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1846

To establish the Yellowstone Headwaters National Recreation Area within

the Gallatin and Custer National Forests in the State of Montana,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 14, 1995

Mr. RICHARDSON (for himself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. BEILENSON, Mr. BRYANT of Texas, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr.

DEFAZIO, Mr. FARR, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr.

MORAN, Mr. NADLER, Mr. OLVER, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. PORTER, Mrs.

SCHROEDER, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. STUDDS,

Mr. UNDERWOOD, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. VENTO, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr.

YATES, and Mr. EVANS) introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To establish the Yellowstone Headwaters National Recreation

Area within the Gallatin and Custer National Forests

in the State of Montana, 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. FINDINGS.

4 The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the superlative natural and scenic resources

2 of the Yellowstone area lead Congress in 1872 to es3 tablish Yellowstone National Park as the world’s

4 first national park;

5 (2) in recognition of its resource values and

6 international importance, Yellowstone National Park

7 has been designated a World Heritage Site;

8 (3) the Absaroka-Beartooth National Wilder9 ness Area was designated in 1978 to protect the wil10 derness and ecological values of certain lands north

11 and east of Yellowstone National Park;

12 (4) a 20.5 mile segment of the Clarks Fork of

13 the Yellowstone River was designated in 1990 as a

14 component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers

15 System, the only such designation within the State

16 of Wyoming, in order to preserve and enhance the

17 natural, scenic, and recreational resources of such

18 segment;

19 (5) Henderson Mountain and certain lands of

20 the Beartooth Mountains contain important rec21 reational, ecological, fish and wildlife, scenic, and

22 historical resource values;

23 (6) Henderson Mountain and certain lands of

24 the Beartooth Mountains which are located up25 stream and adjacent to Yellowstone National Park,
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1 the Absaroka-Beartooth National Wilderness Area,

2 and the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone National

3 Wild and Scenic River, form the source of the head4 waters of 3 important river systems;

5 (7) past and ongoing mining practices have de6 graded the resource values of Henderson Mountain

7 and the Beartooth Mountains area; and

8 (8) proposed mining activities in the area

9 present a clear and present danger to the resource

10 values of the area as well as those of Yellowstone

11 National Park, the Absaroka-Beartooth National

12 Wilderness Area and the Clarks Fork National Wild

13 and Scenic River, and it is, therefore, in the public

14 interest to protect these lands from such mining ac15 tivities.

16 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to conserve, protect, and

18 restore the recreational, ecological, and wildlife resources

19 of the Yellowstone headwaters area and provide for the

20 protection of the adjacent Yellowstone National Park, Ab21 saroka-Beartooth National Wilderness Area, and Clarks

22 Fork National Wild and Scenic River, there is hereby es23 tablished the Yellowstone Headwaters National Recreation

24 Area within the Gallatin and Custer National Forests in
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1 the State of Montana (hereinafter in this Act referred to

2 as the ‘‘recreation area’’).

3 (b) AREA INCLUDED.—The recreation area shall con4 sist of the lands, waters, and interests therein within the

5 area generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Boundary

6 Map, ...........’’, numbered ll, and dated ll. The map

7 shall be on file and available for public inspection in the

8 offices of the United States Forest Service, Department

9 of Agriculture. The Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter

10 in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) may from time

11 to time make minor revisions in the boundary of the recre12 ation area to promote management effectiveness and effi13 ciency in furtherance of the purposes of this Act. The Sec14 retary shall publish notice of any such revision in the Fed15 eral Register.

16 SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer

18 the recreation area in accordance with this Act and with

19 the provisions of law generally applicable to units of the

20 national forest system. In the administration of such

21 recreation area, the Secretary may utilize such statutory

22 authority as may be available to him for the conservation

23 of wildlife and natural resources as he deems necessary

24 to carry out the purposes of this Act. Management of nat25 ural resources within the recreation area shall be per-
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1 mitted only to the extent such management is compatible

2 with, and does not impair, the purposes for which the

3 recreation area is established.

4 (b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Secretary shall, not

5 later than 3 years after the enactment of this Act, develop

6 a management plan for the recreation area, as an amend7 ment to the Gallatin and Custer National Forest Manage8 ment Plans, to reflect the establishment of the recreation

9 area and to conform to the provisions of this Act. Such

10 plan shall contain, but not be limited to, measures to

11 maintain and enhance traditional recreational use of the

12 area, including use for such activities as hunting, fishing,

13 hiking, camping, and snowmobiling. Nothing in this Act

14 shall require the Secretary to revise the Gallatin or Custer

15 National Forest Management Plan pursuant to section 6

16 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Plan17 ning Act of 1974.

18 (c) HUNTING AND FISHING.—The Secretary shall

19 permit hunting and fishing on lands and waters within the

20 recreation area in accordance with applicable Federal and

21 State law. The Secretary may designate zones where, and

22 establish periods when, such activities will not be per23 mitted for reasons of public safety, administration, fish

24 and wildlife management or public use and enjoyment. Ex25 cept in emergencies any regulations issued by the Sec-
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1 retary under this subsection shall be put into effect only

2 after consultation with the appropriate State agencies re3 sponsible for hunting and fishing activities.

4 SEC. 4. ACQUISITION OF LANDS.

5 The Secretary is directed to acquire lands or interests

6 in lands within the boundaries of the recreation area that

7 are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act by do8 nation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or

9 exchange. Lands within the boundaries of the recreation

10 area which are owned by the State of Montana or any

11 political subdivision thereof may only be acquired by dona12 tion or exchange.

13 SEC. 5. MINERALS AND MINING.

14 (a) WITHDRAWALS.—After the enactment of this Act:

15 (1) Lands within the recreation area shall not

16 be open to location of mining claims under the min17 ing laws of the United States.

18 (2) The Secretary of the Interior shall not issue

19 any lease under the mineral leasing or geothermal

20 leasing laws of the United States for lands within

21 the recreation area.

22 (3) Lands within the recreation area shall not

23 be available for disposal of mineral materials under

24 the Act of July 31, 1947, commonly known as the
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1 Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 and follow2 ing).

3 (b) LIMITATION ON PATENT ISSUANCE.—Notwith4 standing any other provision of law, no patents shall be

5 issued after June 14, 1995, for any location or claim made

6 in the recreation area under the mining laws of the United

7 States.

8 (c) PROHIBITION.—No Federal lands may be used in

9 connection with any mining or mining-related activity

10 within the recreation area.

11 (d) RECLAMATION.—No mining or mining-related ac12 tivity involving any surface disturbance of lands or waters

13 within such area, including disturbance through subsid14 ence, shall be permitted except in accordance with require15 ments imposed by the Secretary, including requirements

16 for reasonable reclamation of disturbed lands to a visual

17 and hydrological condition as close as practical to their

18 premining condition.

19 (e) MINING CLAIM VALIDITY REVIEW.—The Sec20 retary of Agriculture shall undertake and complete within

21 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act an expe22 dited program to examine all unpatented mining claims,

23 including those for which a patent application has been

24 filed, within the recreation area. Upon determination by

25 the Secretary of Agriculture that the elements of a contest
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1 are present, the Secretary of the Interior shall expedi2 tiously determine the validity of such claims. If a claim

3 is determined to be invalid, the Secretary shall promptly

4 declare the claim to be null and void.

5 (f) MINING REMEDIATION.—No department or agen6 cy of the United States or any officer or employee thereof

7 may issue any permit, license, or other authorization to

8 any person, for any mining or mining related activity with9 in the recreation area until the Secretary has determined

10 that previous mining related environmental damage that

11 has occurred on lands owned or used by such person or

12 any person who controls, is controlled by or under common

13 control with, such person, has been remediated in accord14 ance with applicable Federal and State requirements.

15 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

17 as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

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