I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 153 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2005 

Referred to the Committee on Resources 

AN ACT 

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’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) CORRIDOR.— 

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

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

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

7 Corridor’’. 

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

9 includes the mountains surrounding the San 

10 Fernando, La Crescenta, Santa Clarita, Simi, 

11 and Conejo valleys in the State. 

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

13 Area’’ means the Santa Monica Mountains National 

14 Recreation Area in the State. 

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

16 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

18 of California. 

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

20 CORRIDOR, CALIFORNIA. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a re22 source study of the Corridor to evaluate various alter23 natives for protecting the resources of the Corridor, in24 cluding designating all or a portion of the Corridor as a 

25 unit of the Recreation Area. 
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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the study under 

2 subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

3 (1) seek to achieve the objectives of— 

4 (A) protecting wildlife populations in the 

5 Recreation Area by preserving habitat linkages 

6 and wildlife movement corridors between large 

7 blocks of habitat in adjoining regional open 

8 space; 

9 (B) establishing connections along the 

10 State-designated Rim of the Valley Trail Sys11 tem for the purposes of— 

12 (i) creating a single contiguous Rim of 

13 the Valley Trail; and 

14 (ii) encompassing major feeder trails 

15 connecting adjoining communities and re16 gional transit to the Rim of the Valley 

17 Trail System; 

18 (C) preserving recreational opportunities; 

19 (D) facilitating access to open space for a 

20 variety of recreational users; 

21 (E) protecting— 

22 (i) rare, threatened, or endangered 

23 plant and animal species; and 

24 (ii) rare or unusual plant communities 

25 and habitats; 
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1 (F) protecting historically significant land2 scapes, districts, sites, and structures; and 

3 (G) respecting the needs of communities 

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

5 (2) analyze the potential impact of each alter6 native on staffing and other potential costs to Fed7 eral, State, and local agencies and other organiza8 tions; and 

9 (3) analyze the potential impact that desig10 nating all or a portion of the Corridor as a unit of 

11 the Recreation Area would have on land in or bor12 dering the area that is privately owned as of the 

13 date on which the study is conducted. 

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

15 Secretary shall consult with appropriate Federal, State, 

16 county, and local government entities. 

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

18 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 1a–5(c)) shall apply to the conduct 

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

20 SEC. 4. REPORT. 

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

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

23 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy 

24 and Natural Resources of the Senate and to the Com25 mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives a re-
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1 port that describes the results of the study conducted 

2 under section 3. 

3 (b) INCLUSION.—The report submitted under sub4 section 4(a) shall include the concerns of private land5 owners within the boundaries of the Recreation Area. 

Passed the Senate July 26, 2005. 

Attest: EMILY J. REYNOLDS, 

Secretary.