I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 631

To designate certain lands in the State of Colorado as components of the

National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 26, 1993

Mr. SKAGGS (for himself, Mr. MCINNIS, and Mrs. SCHROEDER) introduced the

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

A BILL

To designate certain lands in the State of Colorado as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System,

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 ‘‘Colorado Wilderness

5 Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. ADDITIONS TO THE WILDERNESS PRESERVATION

7 SYSTEM.

8 (a) ADDITIONS.—The following lands in the State of

9 Colorado are hereby designated as wilderness and, there-
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1 fore, as components of the National Wilderness Preserva2 tion System:

3 (1) Certain lands in the Gunnison Basin Re4 source Area administered by the Bureau of Land

5 Management which comprise approximately 3,390

6 acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled

7 ‘‘America Flats Additions to the Big Blue Wilder8 ness-Proposal (American Flats)’’, dated January,

9 1993, and which are hereby incorporated in and

10 shall be deemed to be a part of the wilderness area

11 designated by Public Law 96–560 and renamed

12 ‘‘Uncompahgre Wilderness’’ by section 3(f) of this

13 Act.

14 (2) Certain lands in the Gunnison Resource

15 Area administered by the Bureau of Land Manage16 ment which comprise approximately 815 acres, as

17 generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Bill Hare

18 Gulch and Larson Creek Additions to the Big Blue

19 Wilderness’’, dated January, 1993, and which are

20 hereby incorporated in and shall be deemed to be a

21 part of the wilderness area designated by Public

22 Law 96–560 and renamed ‘‘Uncompahgre Wilder23 ness’’ by section 3(f) of this Act.

24 (3) Certain lands in the Pike and San Isabel

25 National Forests which comprise approximately
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1 43,410 acres, as generally depicted on a map enti2 tled ‘‘Buffalo Peaks Wilderness Proposal’’, dated

3 January, 1993, and which shall be known as the

4 Buffalo Peaks Wilderness.

5 (4) Certain lands in the Gunnison National

6 Forest and in the Bureau of Land Management

7 Powderhorn Primitive Area which comprise approxi8 mately 60,100 acres as generally depicted on a map

9 entitled ‘‘Powderhorn Wilderness Proposal’’, dated

10 January, 1993, and which shall be known as the

11 Powderhorn Wilderness.

12 (5) Certain lands in the Routt National Forest

13 which comprise approximately 20,750 acres, as gen14 erally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Davis Peak Addi15 tions to Mount Zirkel Wilderness Proposal’’, dated

16 January, 1993, and which are hereby incorporated

17 in and shall be deemed to be a part of the Mount

18 Zirkel Wilderness designated by Public Law 88–555.

19 (6) Certain lands in the Grand Mesa,

20 Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests

21 which comprise approximately 33,060 acres as gen22 erally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Fossil Ridge Wil23 derness Proposal’’, dated January, 1993, and which

24 shall be known as the Wren and Tim Wirth Wilder25 ness Area.
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1 (7) Certain lands in the San Isabel National

2 Forest which comprise approximately 22,040 acres

3 as generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Greenhorn

4 Mountain Wilderness Proposal’’, dated January,

5 1993, and which shall be known as the Greenhorn

6 Mountain Wilderness.

7 (8) Certain lands within the Pike and San Isa8 bel National Forests which comprise approximately

9 14,700 acres, as generally depicted on a map enti10 tled ‘‘Lost Creek Wilderness Addition Proposal’’,

11 dated January, 1993, which are hereby incorporated

12 in and shall be deemed to be a part of the Lost

13 Creek Wilderness designated by Public Law 96–560:

14 Provided, That the Secretary of Agriculture (herein15 after in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) is

16 authorized to acquire, only by donation or exchange,

17 various mineral reservations held by the State of

18 Colorado within the boundaries of the Lost Creek

19 Wilderness additions designated by this Act.

20 (9) Certain lands in the Grand Mesa,

21 Uncompahgre, and the Gunnison National Forests

22 which comprise approximately 5,500 acres, as gen23 erally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Oh-Be-Joyful Ad24 dition to the Raggeds Wilderness Proposal’’, dated

25 January, 1993, and which are hereby incorporated
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1 in and shall be deemed to be a part of the Raggeds

2 Wilderness designated by Public Law 96–560.

3 (10) Certain lands in the Rio Grande National

4 Forest which comprise approximately 226,455 acres,

5 as generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Sangre de

6 Cristo Wilderness Proposal’’, dated January, 1993,

7 and which shall be known as the Sangre de Cristo

8 Wilderness.

9 (11) Certain lands in the Routt National Forest

10 which comprise approximately 47,140 acres, as gen11 erally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Sarvis Creek Wil12 derness Proposal (Sarvis Creek Wilderness)’’, dated

13 January, 1993, which shall be known as the Sarvis

14 Creek Wilderness: Provided, That the Secretary is

15 authorized to acquire by purchase, donation, or ex16 change, lands or interests therein within the bound17 aries of the Sarvis Creek Wilderness only with the

18 consent of the owner thereof.

19 (12) Certain lands in the San Juan National

20 Forest which comprise approximately 31,100 acres,

21 as generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘South San

22 Juan Wilderness Expansion Proposal’’ (V-Rock

23 Trail and Montezuma Peak), dated January, 1993,

24 and which are hereby incorporated in and shall be
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1 deemed to be a part of the South San Juan Wilder2 ness designated by Public Law 96–560.

3 (13) Certain lands in the White River National

4 Forest which comprise approximately 8,330 acres, as

5 generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Spruce Creek

6 Additions to the Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness Pro7 posal’’, dated January, 1993, and which hereby in8 corporated in and shall be deemed to be part of the

9 Hunter Fryingpan Wilderness designated by Public

10 Law 95–327: Provided, That no right, or claim of

11 right, to the diversion and use of the waters of Hun12 ter Creek, the Fryingpan or Roaring Fork Rivers, or

13 any tributaries of said creeks or rivers, by the

14 Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, Public Law 87–590,

15 and the reauthorization thereof by Public Law 93–

16 193, as modified as proposed in the September 1959

17 report of the Bureau of Reclamation entitled ‘‘Ruedi

18 Dam and Reservoir, Colorado’’, and as further modi19 fied and described in the description of the proposal

20 contained in the final environmental statement for

21 said project, dated April 16, 1975, under the laws

22 of the State of Colorado, shall be prejudiced, ex23 panded, diminished, altered, or affected by this Act.

24 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to expand,

25 abate, impair, impede, or interfere with the con-
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1 struction, maintenance, or repair of said Fryingpan2 Arkansas Project facilities, nor the operation there3 of, pursuant to the Operating Principles, House

4 Document 187, Eighty-third Congress, and pursuant

5 to the water laws of the State of Colorado: Provided

6 further, That nothing in this Act shall be construed

7 to impede, limit, or prevent the use by the

8 Fryingpan-Arkansas Project of its diversion systems

9 to their full extent.

10 (14) Certain lands in the Arapaho National

11 Forest which comprise approximately 8,095 acres, as

12 generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Byers Peak

13 Wilderness Proposal’’, dated January, 1993, and

14 which shall be known as the Byers Peak Wilderness.

15 (15) Certain lands in the Arapaho National

16 Forest which comprise approximately 12,300 acres,

17 as generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Vasquez

18 Peak Wilderness Proposal’’, dated January, 1993,

19 and which shall be known as the Vasquez Peak Wil20 derness.

21 (16) Certain lands in the San Juan National

22 Forest which comprise approximately 28,740 acres,

23 as generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘West Nee24 dle Wilderness Proposal and Weminuche Additions’’,

25 dated January, 1993, and which are hereby incor-
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1 porated in and shall be deemed to be a part of the

2 Weminuche Wilderness designated by Public Law

3 93–632.

4 (17) Certain lands in the Rio Grande National

5 Forest which comprise approximately 25,640 acres,

6 as generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Wheeler

7 Additions to the La Garita Wilderness Proposal’’,

8 dated January, 1993, and which shall be incor9 porated into and shall be deemed to be a part of the

10 La Garita Wilderness.

11 (18) Certain lands in the Arapaho National

12 Forest which comprise approximately 13,175 acres,

13 as generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Farr Wil14 derness Proposal’’, dated January, 1993, and which

15 shall be known as the Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness.

16 (19) Certain lands in the Arapaho National

17 Forest which comprise approximately 6,990 acres, as

18 generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Bowen Gulch

19 Additions to Never Summer Wilderness Proposal’’,

20 dated January, 1993, which are hereby incorporated

21 into and shall be deemed to be a part of the Never

22 Summer Wilderness.

23 (b) MAPS AND DESCRIPTIONS.—As soon as prac24 ticable after the date of enactment of this Act, the appro25 priate Secretary shall file a map and a legal description
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1 of each area designated as wilderness by this Act with the

2 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Unit3 ed States Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources

4 of the United States House of Representatives. Each map

5 and description shall have the same force and effect as

6 if included in this Act, except that the Secretary is author7 ized to correct clerical and typographical errors in such

8 legal descriptions and maps. Such maps and legal descrip9 tions shall be on file and available for public inspection

10 in the Office of the Chief of Forest Service, Department

11 of Agriculture and the Office of the Director of the Bu12 reau of Land Management, Department of the Interior,

13 as appropriate.

14 SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Subject to valid existing

16 rights, lands designated as wilderness by this Act shall be

17 managed by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary

18 of the Interior (in the case of the portion of Powderhorn

19 Wilderness managed by the Bureau of Land Management)

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

21 et seq.) and this Act, except that, with respect to any wil22 derness areas designated by this Act, any reference in the

23 Wilderness Act to the effective date of the Wilderness Act

24 shall be deemed to be a reference to the date of enactment

25 of this Act.
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1 (2) Administrative jurisdiction over those lands des2 ignated as wilderness pursuant to paragraph (2) of section

3 2(a) of this Act, and which, as of the date of enactment

4 of this Act, are administered by the Bureau of Land Man5 agement, is hereby transferred to the Forest Service.

6 (b) GRAZING.—Grazing of livestock in wilderness

7 areas designated by this Act shall be administered in

8 accordance with the provisions of section 4(d)(4) of the

9 Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)), as further

10 interpreted by section 108 of Public Law 96–560, and,

11 as regards wilderness managed by the Bureau of Land

12 Management, the guidelines set forth in Appendix A of

13 House Report 101–405 of the 101st Congress.

14 (c) STATE JURISDICTION.—As provided in section

15 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)),

16 nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the ju17 risdiction or responsibilities of the State of Colorado with

18 respect to wildlife and fish in Colorado.

19 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2(e) of the

20 Endangered American Wilderness Act of 1978 (92 Stat.

21 41) is amended by striking ‘‘Subject to’’ and all that fol22 lows through ‘‘System’’.

23 (e) BUFFER ZONES.—Congress does not intend that

24 the designation by this Act of wilderness areas in the State

25 of Colorado creates or implies the creation of protective
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1 perimeters or buffer zones around any wilderness area.

2 The fact that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen

3 or heard from within a wilderness area shall not, of itself,

4 preclude such activities or uses up to the boundary of the

5 wilderness area.

6 (f) WILDERNESS NAME CHANGE.—The wilderness

7 area designated as ‘‘Big Blue Wilderness’’ by section

8 102(a)(1) of Public Law 96–560, and the additions there9 to made by paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 2(a) of this

10 Act, shall hereafter be known as the Uncompahgre Wilder11 ness. Any reference to the Big Blue Wilderness in any law,

12 regulation, map, document, record, or other paper of the

13 United States shall be considered to be a reference to the

14 Uncompahgre Wilderness.

15 (g)(1) For the purpose of section 7 of the Land and

16 Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 4601–

17 9), the boundaries of affected National Forests, as modi18 fied by this subsection, shall be considered to be the

19 boundaries of such National Forests as of January 1,

20 1965.

21 (2) Nothing in this subsection shall affect valid exist22 ing rights of any person under the authority of law.

23 (3) Authorizations to use lands transferred by this

24 subsection which were issued prior to the date of enact25 ment of this Act, shall remain subject to the laws and reg-
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1 ulations under which they were issued, to the extent con2 sistent with this Act. Such authorizations shall be admin3 istered by the Secretary of Agriculture. Any renewal or

4 extension of such authorizations shall be subject to the

5 laws and regulations pertaining to the Forest Service, De6 partment of Agriculture, and the applicable law, including

7 this Act. The change of administrative jurisdiction result8 ing from the enactment of this subsection shall not in it9 self constitute a basis for denying or approving the re10 newal or reissuance of any such authorization.

11 SEC. 4. WILDERNESS RELEASE.

12 (a) REPEAL OF WILDERNESS STUDY PROVISIONS.—

13 Sections 105 and 106 of the Act of December 22, 1980

14 (Public Law 96–560), are hereby repealed.

15 (b) INITIAL PLANS.—Section 107(b)(2) of the Act of

16 December 22, 1980 (Public Law 96–560), is amended by

17 striking out ‘‘, except those lands remaining in further

18 planning upon enactment of this Act, areas listed in sec19 tion 105 and 106 of this Act, or previously congressionally

20 designated wilderness study areas,’’.

21 SEC. 5. FOSSIL RIDGE RECREATION MANAGEMENT AREA.

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) In order to conserve, pro23 tect, and enhance the scenic, wildlife, recreational, and

24 other natural resource values of the Fossil Ridge area,

25 there is hereby established the Fossil Ridge Recreation
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1 Management Area (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘recre2 ation management area’’).

3 (2) The recreation management area shall consist of

4 certain lands in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gun5 nison National Forests, Colorado, which comprise approxi6 mately 43,900 acres as generally depicted as ‘‘Area A’’

7 on a map entitled, ‘‘Fossil Ridge Wilderness Proposal’’,

8 dated January, 1993.

9 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture

10 shall administer the recreation management area in ac11 cordance with this section and the laws and regulations

12 generally applicable to the National Forest System.

13 (c) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights,

14 all lands within the recreation management area are here15 by withdrawn from all forms of entry, appropriation, or

16 disposal under the public land laws, from location, entry,

17 and patent under the mining laws, and from disposition

18 under the mineral and geothermal leasing laws, including

19 all amendments thereto.

20 (d) TIMBER HARVESTING.—No timber harvesting

21 shall be allowed within the recreation management area

22 except for any minimum necessary to protect the forest

23 from insects and disease, and for public safety.

24 (e) LIVESTOCK GRAZING.—The designation of the

25 recreation management area shall not be construed to pro-
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1 hibit, or change the administration of, the grazing of live2 stock within the recreation management area.

3 (f) DEVELOPMENT.—No developed campgrounds

4 shall be constructed within the recreation management

5 area. After the date of enactment of this Act, no new roads

6 or trails may be constructed within the recreation manage7 ment area.

8 (g) OFF-ROAD RECREATION.—Motorized travel shall

9 be permitted within the recreation management area only

10 on those designated trails and routes existing as of July

11 1, 1991.

12 SEC. 6. BOWEN GULCH PROTECTION AREA.

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) There is hereby estab14 lished in the Arapaho National Forest, Colorado, the

15 Bowen Gulch Protection Area (hereinafter in this Act re16 ferred to as the ‘‘protection area’’).

17 (2) The protection area shall consist of certain lands

18 in the Arapaho National Forest, Colorado, which comprise

19 approximately 11,600 acres as generally depicted as ‘‘Area

20 A’’ on a map entitled ‘‘Bowen Gulch Additions to Never

21 Summer Wilderness Proposal’’, dated January, 1993.

22 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall admin23 ister the protection area in accordance with this section

24 and the laws and regulations generally applicable to the

25 National Forest System.
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1 (c) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights,

2 all lands within the protection area are hereby withdrawn

3 from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under

4 the public land laws, from location, entry, and patent

5 under the mining laws, and from disposition under the

6 mineral and geothermal leasing laws, including all amend7 ments thereto.

8 (d) DEVELOPMENT.—No developed campgrounds

9 shall be constructed within the protection area. After the

10 date of enactment of this Act, no new roads or trails may

11 be constructed within the protection area.

12 (e) TIMBER HARVESTING.—No timber harvesting

13 shall be allowed within the protection area except for any

14 minimum necessary to protect the forest from insects and

15 disease, and for public safety.

16 (f) MOTORIZED TRAVEL.—Motorized travel shall be

17 permitted within the protection area only on those des18 ignated trails and routes existing as of July 1, 1991, and

19 only during periods of adequate snow cover. At all other

20 times, mechanized, non-motorized travel shall be per21 mitted within the protection area.

22 (g) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—During the preparation of

23 the revision of the Land and Resource Management Plan

24 for the Arapaho National Forest, the Forest Service shall
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1 develop a management plan for the protection area, after

2 providing for public consultation.

3 SEC. 7. OTHER LANDS.

4 Nothing in this Act shall affect ownership or use of

5 lands or interests therein not owned by the United States

6 or access to such lands available under other applicable

7 law.

8 SEC. 8. WATER.

9 (a) FINDINGS, PURPOSE, AND DEFINITIONS.—(1)

10 Congress finds that—

11 (A) the lands designated as wilderness by this

12 Act are located at the headwaters of the streams

13 and rivers on those lands, with few, if any, actual or

14 proposed water resource facilities located upstream

15 from such lands and few, if any, opportunities for

16 diversion, storage, or other uses of water occurring

17 outside such lands that would adversely affect the

18 wilderness values of such lands; and

19 (B) the lands designated as wilderness by this

20 Act are not suitable for use for development of new

21 water resource facilities, or for the expansion of ex22 isting facilities; and

23 (C) therefore, it is possible to provide for prop24 er management and protection of the wilderness

25 value of such lands in ways different from those uti-
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1 lized in other legislation designating as wilderness

2 lands not sharing the attributes of the lands des3 ignated as wilderness by this Act.

4 (2) The purpose of this section is to protect the wil5 derness values of the lands designated as wilderness by

6 this Act by means other than those based on a federal

7 reserved water right.

8 (3) As used in this section, the term ‘‘water resource

9 facility’’ means irrigation and pumping facilities, res10 ervoirs, water conservation works, aqueducts, canals,

11 ditches, pipelines, wells, hydropower projects, and trans12 mission and other ancillary facilities, and other water di13 version, storage, and carriage structures.

14 (b) RESTRICTIONS ON RIGHTS AND DISCLAIMER OF

15 EFFECT.—(1) Neither the Secretary, nor any other offi16 cer, employee, representative, or agent of the United

17 States, nor any other person, shall assert in any court or

18 agency, nor shall any court or agency consider, any claim

19 to or for water or water rights in the State of Colorado,

20 which is based on any construction of any portion of this

21 Act, or the designation of any lands as wilderness by this

22 Act, as constituting an express or implied reservation of

23 water or water rights.

24 (2)(A) Nothing in this Act shall constitute or be con25 strued to constitute either an express or implied reserva-
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1 tion of any water or water rights with respect to the

2 Piedra, Roubideau, and Tabeguache areas identified in

3 section 9 of this Act, or the Bowen Gulch Protection Area

4 or the Fossil Ridge Recreation Management Area identi5 fied in sections 5 and 6 of this Act.

6 (B) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as a cre7 ation, recognition, disclaimer, relinquishment, or reduction

8 of any water rights or the United States in the State of

9 Colorado existing before the date of enactment of this Act,

10 except as provided in subsection (g)(2) of this section.

11 (C) Except as provided in subsection (g) of this sec12 tion, nothing in this Act shall be construed as constituting

13 an interpretation of any other Act or any designation

14 made by or pursuant thereto.

15 (D) Nothing in this section shall be construed as es16 tablishing a precedent with regard to any future wilder17 ness designations.

18 (c) NEW OR EXPANDED PROJECTS.—(1) Notwith19 standing any other provision of law, on and after the date

20 of enactment of this Act neither the President nor any

21 other officer, employee, or agent of the United States shall

22 fund, assist, authorize, or issue a license or permit for the

23 development of any new water resource facility within the

24 areas described in sections 2, 5, 6 and 9 of this Act or
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1 the enlargement of any water resource facility within the

2 areas described in sections 2, 5, 6 and 9 of this Act.

3 (d) ACCESS AND OPERATION.—(1) Subject to the

4 provisions of this subsection (d), the Secretary shall allow

5 reasonable access to water resource facilities in existence

6 on the date of enactment of this Act within the areas de7 scribed in sections 2, 5, 6 and 9 of this Act, including

8 motorized access where necessary and customarily em9 ployed on routes existing as of the date of enactment of

10 this Act.

11 (2) Existing access routes within such areas cus12 tomarily employed as of the date of enactment of this Act

13 may be used, maintained, repaired, and replaced to the

14 extent necessary to maintain their present function, de15 sign, and serviceable operation, so long as such activities

16 have no increased adverse impacts on the resources and

17 values of the areas described in sections 2, 5, 6 and 9

18 of this Act than existed as of the date of enactment of

19 this Act.

20 (3) Subject to the provisions of subsections (c) and

21 (d), the Secretary shall allow water resource facilities ex22 isting on the date of enactment of this Act within areas

23 described in sections 2, 5, 6 and 9 of this Act to be used,

24 operated, maintained, repaired, and replaced to the extent

25 necessary for the continued exercise, in accordance with
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1 Colorado state law, of vested water rights adjudicated for

2 use in connection with such facilities by a court of com3 petent jurisdiction prior to the date of enactment of this

4 Act; Provided, That the impact of an existing facility on

5 the water resources and values of the area shall not be

6 increased as a result of changes in the adjudicated type

7 of use of such facility as of the date of enactment of this

8 Act.

9 (4) Water resource facilities, and access routes serv10 ing such facilities, existing within the areas described in

11 sections 2, 5, 6 and 9 of this Act on the date of enactment

12 of this Act shall be maintained and repaired when and

13 to the extent necessary to prevent increased adverse im14 pacts on the resources and values of the areas described

15 in sections 2, 5, 6 and 9 of this Act.

16 (e) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of

17 this section, the provisions of this Act related to the areas

18 described in sections 2, 5, 6, and 9 of this Act, and the

19 inclusion in the National wilderness Preservation System

20 of the areas described in section 2 of this Act, shall not

21 be construed to affect or limit the use, operation, mainte22 nance, repair, modification, or replacement of water re23 sources facilities in existence on the date of enactment of

24 this Act within the boundaries of the areas described in

25 sections 2, 5, 6, and 9 of this Act.
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1 (f) MONITORING AND IMPLEMENTATION.—The Sec2 retaries of Agriculture and the Interior shall monitor the

3 operation of and access to water resource facilities within

4 the areas described in sections 2, 5, 6, and 9 of this Act

5 and take all steps necessary to implement the provisions

6 of this section.

7 (g) INTERSTATE COMPACTS AND NORTH PLATTE

8 RIVER.—(1) Nothing in this Act, and nothing in any pre9 vious Act designating any lands as wilderness, shall be

10 construed as limiting, altering, modifying, or amending

11 any of the interstate compacts or equitable apportionment

12 decrees that apportion water among and between the State

13 of Colorado and other States. Except as expressly provided

14 in this section, nothing in this Act shall affect or limit

15 the development or use by existing and future holders of

16 vested water rights of Colorado’s full apportionment of

17 such waters.

18 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, nei19 ther the Secretary nor any other officer, employee, or

20 agent of the United States, or any other person, shall as21 sert in any court or agency of the United States or any

22 other jurisdiction any rights, and no court or agency of

23 the United States shall consider any claim or defense as24 serted by any person based upon such rights, which may

25 be determined to have been established for waters of the
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1 North Platte River for purposes of the Platte River Wil2 derness Area established by Public Law 98–550, located

3 on the Colorado-Wyoming state boundary, to the extent

4 such rights would limit the use or development of water

5 within Colorado by present and future holders of vested

6 water rights in the North Platte River and its tributaries,

7 to the full extent allowed under interstate compact or

8 United States Supreme Court equitable decree. Any such

9 rights shall be exercised as if junior to, in a manner so

10 as not to prevent, the use or development of Colorado’s

11 full entitlement to interstate waters of the North Platte

12 River and its tributaries within Colorado allowed under

13 interstate compact or United States Supreme Court equi14 table decree.

15 SEC. 9. PIEDRA, ROUBIDEAU, AND TABEGUACHE AREAS.

16 (a) AREAS.—The provisions of this section shall

17 apply to the following areas:

18 (1) Certain lands in the San Juan National

19 Forest, comprising approximately 62,550 acres as

20 generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Piedra

21 Area’’ dated January, 1993; and

22 (2) Certain lands in the Grand Mesa,

23 Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests, com24 prising approximately 19,650 acres, as generally de-
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1 picted on the map entitled ‘‘Roubideau Area’’ dated

2 January, 1993; and

3 (3) Certain lands in the Grand Mesa,

4 Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests and

5 in the Montrose District of the Bureau of Land

6 Management, comprising approximately 17,240

7 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled

8 ‘‘Tabeguache Area’’ dated January, 1993.

9 (b) MANAGEMENT.—(1) Subject to valid existing

10 rights, the areas described in subsection (a) are withdrawn

11 from all forms of location, leasing, patent, disposition, or

12 disposal under public land, mining, and mineral and geo13 thermal leasing laws of the United States.

14 (2) The areas described in subsection (a) shall not

15 be subject to any obligation to further study such lands

16 for wilderness designation.

17 (3) Until Congress determines otherwise, and subject

18 to the provisions of section 8 of this Act, activities within

19 such areas shall be managed by the Secretary of Agri20 culture and Secretary of the Interior so as to maintain

21 the areas’ presently existing wilderness character and po22 tential for the inclusion in the National Wilderness Preser23 vation System.

24 (4) Livestock grazing in such areas shall be permitted

25 and managed to the same extent and in the same manner
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1 as of the date of enactment of this Act. Except as provided

2 by this Act, mechanized or motorized travel shall not be

3 permitted in such areas; Provided, That the Secretary may

4 permit motorized travel on trail number 535 in the San

5 Juan National Forest during periods of adequate snow

6 cover.

7 (c) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary of Agri8 culture and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation

9 with the Colorado Water Conservation Board, shall com10 pile data concerning the water resources of the areas de11 scribed in subsection (a), and existing and proposed water

12 resource facilities affecting such values.

13 SEC. 10. SPANISH PEAKS FURTHER PLANNING AREA

14 STUDY.

15 (a) REPORT.—Not later than three years from the

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall report

17 to the Committee on Natural Resources of the United

18 States House of Representatives and the Committee on

19 Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Sen20 ate on the status of private property interests located

21 within the Spanish Peaks further planning area of the

22 Pike-San Isabel National Forest in Colorado.

23 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report required by

24 this section shall identify the location of all private prop25 erty situated within the exterior boundaries of the Spanish
25

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1 Peaks area; the nature of such property interests; the

2 acreage of such private property interests; and the Sec3 retary’s views on whether the owners of said properties

4 would be willing to enter into either a sale or exchange

5 of these properties at fair market value if such a trans6 action became available in the near future.

7 (c) No authorization of eminent domain. Nothing

8 contained in this Act authorizes, and nothing in this Act

9 shall be construed to authorize, the acquisition of real

10 property by eminent domain.

11 (d) For a period of three years from the date of en12 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall manage the Span13 ish Peaks Further Planning Area as provided by the Colo14 rado Wilderness Act of 1980.

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