II 

Calendar No. 123 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 440 

[Report No. 118–51] 

To designate certain land administered by the Bureau of Land Management 

and the Forest Service in the State of Oregon as wilderness and national 

recreation areas, to withdraw certain land located in Curry County and 

Josephine County, Oregon, from all forms of entry, appropriation, or 

disposal under the public land laws, location, entry, and patent under 

the mining laws, and operation under the mineral leasing and geothermal 

leasing laws, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2023 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

JULY 11, 2023 

Reported by Mr. MANCHIN, without amendment 

A BILL 

To designate certain land administered by the Bureau of 

Land Management and the Forest Service in the State 

of Oregon as wilderness and national recreation areas, 

to withdraw certain land located in Curry County and 

Josephine County, Oregon, from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and operVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\S440.RS S440

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ation under the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing 

laws, 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 ‘‘Oregon Recreation En5 hancement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

9 means— 

10 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re11 spect to public land administered by the Sec12 retary of the Interior; or 

13 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re14 spect to National Forest System land. 

15 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

16 of Oregon. 

17 SEC. 3. ROGUE CANYON AND MOLALLA RECREATION 

18 AREAS, OREGON. 

19 (a) DESIGNATION OF ROGUE CANYON AND MOLALLA

20 RECREATION AREAS.—For the purposes of protecting, 

21 conserving, and enhancing the unique and nationally im22 portant recreational, ecological, scenic, cultural, water23 shed, and fish and wildlife values of the areas, the fol24 lowing areas in the State are designated as recreation 


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1 areas for management by the Secretary in accordance with 

2 subsection (c): 

3 (1) ROGUE CANYON RECREATION AREA.—The 

4 approximately 98,150 acres of Bureau of Land Man5 agement land within the boundary generally depicted 

6 as the ‘‘Rogue Canyon Recreation Area’’ on the map 

7 entitled ‘‘Rogue Canyon Recreation Area Wild 

8 Rogue Wilderness Additions’’ and dated November 

9 19, 2019, which is designated as the ‘‘Rogue Canyon 

10 Recreation Area’’. 

11 (2) MOLALLA RECREATION AREA.—The ap12 proximately 29,884 acres of Bureau of Land Man13 agement land within the boundary generally depicted 

14 on the map entitled ‘‘Molalla Recreation Area’’ and 

15 dated September 26, 2018, which is designated as 

16 the ‘‘Molalla Recreation Area’’. 

17 (b) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

20 shall prepare a map and legal description of each 

21 recreation area designated by subsection (a). 

22 (2) EFFECT.—The maps and legal descriptions 

23 prepared under paragraph (1) shall have the same 

24 force and effect as if included in this Act, except 


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1 that the Secretary may correct any minor errors in 

2 the maps and legal descriptions. 

3 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The maps and 

4 legal descriptions prepared under paragraph (1) 

5 shall be available for public inspection in the appro6 priate offices of the Bureau of Land Management. 

7 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 

8 (1) APPLICABLE LAW.—The Secretary shall ad9 minister each recreation area designated by sub10 section (a)— 

11 (A) in a manner that conserves, protects, 

12 and enhances the purposes for which the recre13 ation area is established; and 

14 (B) in accordance with— 

15 (i) this section; 

16 (ii) the Federal Land Policy and Man17 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 

18 seq.); and 

19 (iii) other applicable laws. 

20 (2) USES.—The Secretary shall only allow those 

21 uses of a recreation area designated by subsection 

22 (a) that are consistent with the purposes for which 

23 the recreation area is established. 

24 (3) WILDFIRE RISK ASSESSMENT.—Not later 

25 than 280 days after the date of enactment of this 


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1 Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Oregon 

2 Governor’s Council on Wildfire Response, shall con3 duct a wildfire risk assessment that covers— 

4 (A) the recreation areas designated by sub5 section (a); 

6 (B) the Wild Rogue Wilderness; and 

7 (C) any Federal land adjacent to an area 

8 described in subparagraph (A) or (B). 

9 (4) WILDFIRE MITIGATION PLAN.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

11 after the date on which the wildfire risk assess12 ment is conducted under paragraph (3), the 

13 Secretary shall develop a wildfire mitigation 

14 plan, based on the wildfire risk assessment, that 

15 identifies, evaluates, and prioritizes treatments 

16 and other management activities that can be 

17 implemented on the Federal land covered by the 

18 wildfire risk assessment (other than Federal 

19 land designated as a unit of the National Wil20 derness Preservation System) to mitigate wild21 fire risk to communities located near the appli22 cable Federal land. 

23 (B) PLAN COMPONENTS.—The wildfire 

24 mitigation plan developed under subparagraph 

25 (A) shall include— 


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1 (i) vegetation management projects 

2 (including mechanical treatments to reduce 

3 hazardous fuels and improve forest health 

4 and resiliency); 

5 (ii) evacuation routes for communities 

6 located near the applicable Federal land, 

7 which shall be developed in consultation 

8 with State and local fire agencies; and 

9 (iii) strategies for public dissemination 

10 of emergency evacuation plans and routes. 

11 (C) APPLICABLE LAW.—The wildfire miti12 gation plan under subparagraph (A) shall be 

13 developed in accordance with— 

14 (i) this section; and 

15 (ii) any other applicable law. 

16 (5) ROAD CONSTRUCTION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

18 subparagraph (B) or as the Secretary deter19 mines necessary for public safety, no new per20 manent or temporary roads shall be constructed 

21 (other than the repair and maintenance of ex22 isting roads) within a recreation area des23 ignated by subsection (a). 

24 (B) TEMPORARY ROADS.—Consistent with 

25 the purposes of this Act, the Secretary may 


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1 construct temporary roads within a recreation 

2 area designated by subsection (a) to implement 

3 the wildfire mitigation plan developed under 

4 paragraph (4), unless the temporary road would 

5 be within an area designated as a unit of the 

6 National Wilderness Preservation System. 

7 (C) EFFECT.—Nothing in this paragraph 

8 affects the administration by the Secretary of 

9 the Molalla Forest Road in accordance with ap10 plicable resource management plans. 

11 (6) EFFECT ON WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT.— 

12 Nothing in this section alters the authority of the 

13 Secretary (in cooperation with other Federal, State, 

14 and local agencies, as appropriate) to conduct 

15 wildland fire operations within a recreation area des16 ignated by subsection (a), consistent with the pur17 poses of this Act. 

18 (7) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing 

19 rights, all Federal surface and subsurface land with20 in a recreation area designated by subsection (a) is 

21 withdrawn from all forms of— 

22 (A) entry, appropriation, or disposal under 

23 the public land laws; 

24 (B) location, entry, and patent under the 

25 mining laws; and 


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1 (C) disposition under all laws pertaining to 

2 mineral leasing, geothermal leasing, or mineral 

3 materials. 

4 (8) NO EFFECT ON WILDERNESS AREAS.—Any 

5 wilderness area located within a recreation area des6 ignated by subsection (a) shall be administered in 

7 accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 

8 et seq.). 

9 (d) ADJACENT MANAGEMENT.—Nothing in this sec10 tion creates any protective perimeter or buffer zone 

11 around a recreation area designated by subsection (a). 

12 SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF WILD ROGUE WILDERNESS AREA. 

13 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en15 titled ‘‘Rogue Canyon Recreation Area Wild Rogue 

16 Wilderness Additions’’ and dated November 19, 

17 2019. 

18 (2) WILDERNESS ADDITIONS.—The term ‘‘Wil19 derness additions’’ means the land added to the Wild 

20 Rogue Wilderness under subsection (b)(1). 

21 (b) EXPANSION OF WILD ROGUE WILDERNESS

22 AREA.— 

23 (1) EXPANSION.—The approximately 59,512 

24 acres of Federal land in the State generally depicted 

25 on the map as ‘‘Proposed Wilderness’’ shall be 


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1 added to and administered as part of the Wild 

2 Rogue Wilderness in accordance with the Endan3 gered American Wilderness Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

4 1132 note; Public Law 95–237), except that— 

5 (A) the Secretary of the Interior and the 

6 Secretary of Agriculture shall administer the 

7 Federal land under their respective jurisdiction; 

8 and 

9 (B) any reference in that Act to the Sec10 retary of Agriculture shall be considered to be 

11 a reference to the Secretary of Agriculture or 

12 the Secretary of the Interior, as applicable. 

13 (2) MAP; LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable 

15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec16 retary shall prepare a map and legal description 

17 of the wilderness area designated by paragraph 

18 (1). 

19 (B) FORCE OF LAW.—The map and legal 

20 description filed under subparagraph (A) shall 

21 have the same force and effect as if included in 

22 this section, except that the Secretary may cor23 rect typographical errors in the map and legal 

24 description. 


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1 (C) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The map and 

2 legal description filed under subparagraph (A) 

3 shall be on file and available for public inspec4 tion in the appropriate offices of the Bureau of 

5 Land Management and Forest Service. 

6 (3) FIRE, INSECTS, AND DISEASE.—The Sec7 retary may take such measures within the Wilder8 ness additions as the Secretary determines to be 

9 necessary for the control of fire, insects, and disease, 

10 in accordance with section 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness 

11 Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)). 

12 (4) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing 

13 rights, the Wilderness additions are withdrawn from 

14 all forms of— 

15 (A) entry, appropriation, or disposal under 

16 the public land laws; 

17 (B) location, entry, and patent under the 

18 mining laws; and 

19 (C) disposition under all laws pertaining to 

20 mineral leasing, geothermal leasing, or mineral 

21 materials. 

22 (5) TRIBAL RIGHTS.—Nothing in this sub23 section alters, modifies, enlarges, diminishes, or ab24 rogates the treaty rights of any Indian Tribe. 


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1 SEC. 5. WITHDRAWAL OF FEDERAL LAND, CURRY COUNTY 

2 AND JOSEPHINE COUNTY, OREGON. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘eli5 gible Federal land’’ means— 

6 (A) any federally owned land or interest in 

7 land depicted on the Maps as within the Hunter 

8 Creek and Pistol River Headwaters Withdrawal 

9 Proposal or the Rough and Ready and Baldface 

10 Creeks Mineral Withdrawal Proposal; or 

11 (B) any land or interest in land located 

12 within such withdrawal proposals that is ac13 quired by the Federal Government after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act. 

15 (2) MAPS.—The term ‘‘Maps’’ means— 

16 (A) the Bureau of Land Management map 

17 entitled ‘‘Hunter Creek and Pistol River Head18 waters Withdrawal Proposal’’ and dated Janu19 ary 12, 2015; and 

20 (B) the Bureau of Land Management map 

21 entitled ‘‘Rough and Ready and Baldface 

22 Creeks Mineral Withdrawal Proposal’’ and 

23 dated January 12, 2015. 

24 (b) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 

25 the eligible Federal land is withdrawn from all forms of— 


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1 (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the 

2 public land laws; 

3 (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining 

4 laws; and 

5 (3) operation under the mineral leasing and 

6 geothermal leasing laws. 

7 (c) AVAILABILITY OF MAPS.—Not later than 30 days 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Maps shall 

9 be made available to the public at each appropriate office 

10 of the Bureau of Land Management. 

11 (d) EXISTING USES NOT AFFECTED.—Except with 

12 respect to the withdrawal under subsection (b), nothing 

13 in this section restricts recreational uses, hunting, fishing, 

14 forest management activities, or other authorized uses al15 lowed on the date of enactment of this Act on the eligible 

16 Federal land in accordance with applicable law. 


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Calendar No. 123 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 440 

[Report No. 118–51] 

A BILL 

To designate certain land administered by the Buleasing laws, and for other purposes. eration under the mineral leasing and geothermal entry, and patent under the mining laws, and op- or disposal under the public land laws, location, Oregon, from all forms of entry, appropriation, located in Curry County and Josephine County, tional recreation areas, to withdraw certain land ice in the State of Oregon as wilderness and na- reau of Land Management and the Forest ServJULY 11, 2023 

Reported without amendment 


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