II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 153 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a resource study of the 

Rim of the Valley Corridor in the State of California to evaluate alternatives for protecting the resources of the Corridor, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25, 2005 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mrs. BOXER) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a resource 

study of the Rim of the Valley Corridor in the State 

of California to evaluate alternatives for protecting the 

resources of the Corridor, 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 ‘‘Rim of the Valley Cor5 ridor Study Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 
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1 (1) CORRIDOR.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Corridor’’ 

3 means the land, water, and interests of the area 

4 in the State known as the ‘‘Rim of the Valley 

5 Corridor’’. 

6 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Corridor’’ 

7 includes the mountains surrounding the San 

8 Fernando, La Crescenta, Santa Clarita, Simi, 

9 and Conejo valleys in the State. 

10 (2) RECREATION AREA.—The term ‘‘Recreation 

11 Area’’ means the Santa Monica Mountains National 

12 Recreation Area in the State. 

13 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

16 of California. 

17 SEC. 3. RESOURCE STUDY OF THE RIM OF THE VALLEY 

18 CORRIDOR, CALIFORNIA. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a re20 source study of the Corridor to evaluate various alter21 natives for protecting the resources of the Corridor, in22 cluding designating all or a portion of the Corridor as a 

23 unit of the Recreation Area. 

24 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the study under 

25 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 
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1 (1) seek to achieve the objectives of— 

2 (A) protecting wildlife populations in the 

3 Recreation Area by preserving habitat linkages 

4 and wildlife movement corridors between large 

5 blocks of habitat in adjoining regional open 

6 space; 

7 (B) establishing connections along the 

8 State-designated Rim of the Valley Trail Sys9 tem for the purposes of— 

10 (i) creating a single contiguous Rim of 

11 the Valley Trail; and 

12 (ii) encompassing major feeder trails 

13 connecting adjoining communities and re14 gional transit to the Rim of the Valley 

15 Trail System; 

16 (C) preserving recreational opportunities; 

17 (D) facilitating access to open space for a 

18 variety of recreational users; 

19 (E) protecting— 

20 (i) rare, threatened, or endangered 

21 plant and animal species; and 

22 (ii) rare or unusual plant communities 

23 and habitats; 

24 (F) protecting historically significant land25 scapes, districts, sites, and structures; and 
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1 (G) respecting the needs of communities 

2 in, or in the vicinity of, the Corridor; 

3 (2) analyze the potential impact of each alter4 native on staffing and other potential costs to Fed5 eral, State, and local agencies and other organiza6 tions; and 

7 (3) analyze the potential impact that desig8 nating all or a portion of the Corridor as a unit of 

9 the Recreation Area would have on land in or bor10 dering the area that is privately owned as of the 

11 date on which the study is conducted. 

12 (c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study, the 

13 Secretary shall consult with appropriate Federal, State, 

14 county, and local government entities. 

15 (d) APPLICABLE LAW.—Section 8(c) of Public Law 

16 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 1a–5(c)) shall apply to the conduct 

17 and completion of the study required by subsection (a). 

18 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

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

20 date on which funds are first made available for the study, 

21 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy 

22 and Natural Resources of the Senate and to the Com23 mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives a re24 port that describes the results of the study conducted 

25 under section 3. 
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1 (b) INCLUSION.—The report submitted under sub2 section 4(a) shall include the concerns of private land3 owners within the boundaries of the Recreation Area.

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