I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 63

To establish the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area in Nevada,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. BILBRAY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area

in Nevada, 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 ‘‘Spring Mountains Na5 tional Recreation Area Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 As used in this Act:

8 (1) NATIONAL FOREST LANDS.—The term ‘‘Na9 tional Forest lands’’ means lands included in the

10 National Forest System (as defined in section 11(a)
2

HR 63 IH

1 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources

2 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))).

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

4 Area’’ means the Spring Mountains National Recre5 ation Area established by this Act.

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

7 the Secretary of Agriculture.

8 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

9 The purposes of this Act are to—

10 (1) preserve scenic, scientific, historic, cultural,

11 natural, wilderness, watershed, riparian, wildlife,

12 threatened and endangered species, and other values

13 contributing to public enjoyment and biological di14 versity in the Spring Mountains of Nevada;

15 (2) ensure appropriate conservation and man16 agement of natural recreation resources in the

17 Spring Mountains; and

18 (3) provide for the development of public recre19 ation opportunities in the Spring Mountains for the

20 enjoyment of present and future generations.

21 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF RECREATION AREA.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights,

23 there is established the Spring Mountains National Recre24 ation Area in Nevada.
3

HR 63 IH

1 (b) BOUNDARIES AND MAP.—The Recreation Area

2 shall consist of approximately 316,000 acres of federally

3 owned lands and waters in the Toiyabe National Forest,

4 as generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Spring Mountain

5 National Recreation Area—Proposed’’, numbered NV–

6 CH, and dated August 2, 1992.

7 (c) MAP FILING.—As soon as practicable after the

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall file a

9 map of the Recreation Area with the Committee on En10 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com11 mittee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of

12 Representatives.

13 (d) PUBLIC INSPECTION.—The map shall be on file

14 and available for public inspection in the offices of the

15 Chief of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture.

16 (e) DISCREPANCIES.—In the case of any discrepancy

17 between or among the acreage referred to in subsection

18 (b) and the map described in subsection (b), the map de19 scribed in subsection (b) shall control any question con20 cerning the boundaries of the Recreation Area.

21 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the

23 Chief of the Forest Service, shall manage the Recreation

24 Area in accordance with the laws, rules, and regulations
4

HR 63 IH

1 pertaining to the National Forest System and this Act to

2 provide for—

3 (1) the conservation of scenic, scientific, his4 toric, cultural, and other values contributing to pub5 lic enjoyment;

6 (2) the conservation of fish and wildlife popu7 lations and habitat, including the use of prescribed

8 fire to improve or maintain habitat;

9 (3) the protection of watersheds and the main10 tenance of free flowing streams and the quality of

11 ground and surface waters in accordance with appli12 cable Federal and State law;

13 (4) public outdoor recreation benefits, includ14 ing, but not limited to, hunting, fishing, trapping,

15 hiking, horseback riding, backpacking, rock climb16 ing, camping, and nature study;

17 (5) wilderness areas as designated by Congress;

18 and

19 (6) the management, utilization, and disposal of

20 natural resources in a manner compatible with the

21 purposes for which the Recreation Area is estab22 lished.

23 (b) HUNTING, TRAPPING, AND FISHING.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

25 the Secretary shall permit hunting, trapping, fishing,
5

HR 63 IH

1 and habitat management within the Recreation Area

2 in accordance with the laws of the United States and

3 the State of Nevada.

4 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary, after con5 sultation with the Nevada Department of Wildlife,

6 may designate zones where and periods when hunt7 ing, trapping, or fishing shall not be permitted for

8 reasons of public safety, administration, or public

9 use and enjoyment.

10 (c) GRAZING.—The grazing of livestock may be per11 mitted to continue pursuant to Federal law and subject

12 to such reasonable regulations, policies, and practices as

13 the Secretary considers necessary.

14 (d) PREVENTIVE MEASURES.—Nothing in this Act

15 shall preclude such reasonable measures as the Secretary

16 considers necessary to protect the land and resources from

17 fire or insect or disease infestation in the Recreation Area.

18 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—

20 (1) PROCEDURES.—Not later than 3 full fiscal

21 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the

22 Secretary shall develop a general management plan

23 for the Recreation Area as an amendment to the

24 Toiyabe National Forest Land and Resource Man25 agement Plan. Such an amendment shall reflect the
6

HR 63 IH

1 establishment of the Recreation Area and conform to

2 the provisions of this Act, except that nothing in this

3 Act shall require the Secretary to revise the Toiyabe

4 National Forest Land and Resource Management

5 Plan pursuant to section 6 of the Forest and Range6 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974.

7 The provisions of the national forest land and re8 source management plan relating to the recreation

9 area shall also be available to the public in a docu10 ment separate from the rest of the forest plan.

11 (2) CONTENTS.—The management plan de12 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be developed with full

13 public participation and shall include—

14 (A) implementation plans for a continuing

15 program of interpretation and public education

16 about the resources and values of the Recre17 ation Area;

18 (B) proposals for public facilities to be de19 veloped, expanded, or improved for the Recre20 ation Area, including one or more visitor cen21 ters to accommodate both local and out-of-State

22 visitors;

23 (C) plans for the management of natural

24 and cultural resources in the Recreation Area,

25 with emphasis on the preservation and long-
7

HR 63 IH

1 term scientific use of archaeological resources,

2 with priority in development given to the en3 forcement of the Archaeological Resources Pro4 tection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.)

5 and the National Historic Preservation Act (16

6 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) within the Recreation Area;

7 (D) wildlife and fish resource management

8 plans for the Recreation Area prepared in con9 sultation with appropriate departments of the

10 State of Nevada and using other available stud11 ies of the Recreation Area;

12 (E) recreation management plans for the

13 Recreation Area in consultation with appro14 priate departments of the State of Nevada;

15 (F) wild horse and burro herd manage16 ment plans for the Recreation Area prepared in

17 consultation with appropriate departments and

18 commissions of the State of Nevada; and

19 (G) an inventory of all lands within the

20 Recreation Area not presently managed as Na21 tional Forest lands that will permit the Sec22 retary to evaluate possible future acquisitions.

23 (3) CONSULTATION.—The plans for the man24 agement of natural and cultural resources described

25 in paragraph (2)(C) shall be prepared in consulta-
8

HR 63 IH

1 tion with the Advisory Council on Historic Preserva2 tion established by title II of the National Historic

3 Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470i et seq.) and the

4 Nevada State Department of Conservation and Nat5 ural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation

6 and Archaeology.

7 (b) WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS.—

8 (1) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The general manage9 ment plan for the Recreation Area shall include the

10 recommendations of the Bureau of Land Manage11 ment as to the suitability or nonsuitability for pres12 ervation as wilderness of the 89,270 acres identified

13 as the Mt. Stirling, La Madre Mountains, and Pine

14 Creek Wilderness Study Areas on the Bureau of

15 Land Management Wilderness Status Map, dated

16 March 1990.

17 (2) MANAGEMENT.—Pending submission of a

18 recommendation and until otherwise directed by Act

19 of Congress, the Secretary, acting through the Chief

20 of the Forest Service, shall manage the lands and

21 waters within the wilderness study areas referred to

22 in paragraph (1) so as to maintain their potential

23 for inclusion within the National Wilderness Preser24 vation System.
9

HR 63 IH

1 SEC. 7. ACQUISITION OF LANDS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to ac3 quire by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated

4 funds, exchange, bequest, or otherwise any lands, or lesser

5 interests therein, including mineral interests, water rights,

6 and scenic easements, which the Secretary determines are

7 needed for the purposes of this Act.

8 (b) EXCHANGES OUT OF FEDERAL OWNERSHIP.—

9 Federally owned lands, waters, or interests in lands or wa10 ters located within the Recreation Area may not be ex11 changed except in connection with an exchange for lands,

12 waters, or interests in lands or waters owned by the State

13 of Nevada or a political subdivision of the State.

14 (c) INCORPORATION OF ACQUIRED LANDS.—Any

15 lands, waters, or interests in lands or waters located with16 in the Recreation Area that are acquired by the United

17 States or administratively transferred to the Secretary

18 after the date of enactment of this Act shall be incor19 porated into the Recreation Area and managed in accord20 ance with the laws, rules, and regulations applicable to

21 the National Forest System and the provisions of this Act.

22 (d) LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND.—For

23 purposes of section 7 of the Land and Water Conservation

24 Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–9), where such bound25 aries are established for units of the National Forest Sys26 tem, such established boundaries shall be treated as if they
10

HR 63 IH

1 were the boundaries of the National Forests as of January

2 1, 1965. Money appropriated from the Land and Water

3 Conservation Fund shall be available for the acquisition

4 of lands, waters, and interests therein in furtherance of

5 the purposes of this Act.

6 SEC. 8. WITHDRAWAL.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights

8 and except for lands described in subsection (b), all Fed9 eral lands within the Recreation Area and all lands, wa10 ters, and interests in lands and waters within the Recre11 ation Area that are acquired by the United States after

12 the date of enactment of this Act are withdrawn from—

13 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal

14 under the public land laws;

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

16 laws; and

17 (3) operation under the mineral leasing and

18 geothermal leasing laws.

19 (b) EXCEPTION.—The lands referred to in subsection

20 (a) are described as follows:

S1⁄2 Sec. 22, W1⁄2E1⁄2 and W1⁄2 Sec. 27, E1⁄2E1 21 ⁄2

22 Sec. 28, T 23 S, R 58 E, Mt. Diablo Meridian.

23 SEC. 9. COORDINATED MANAGEMENT.

24 The Secretary shall coordinate the management of

25 the Recreation Area with the management of all proximate
11

HR 63 IH

1 lands in a manner that best meets the present and future

2 needs of the people of the United States.

3 SEC. 10. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.

4 In order to encourage unified and cost-effective man5 agement and interpretation of natural and cultural re6 sources in southern Nevada, the Secretary may enter into

7 cooperative agreements with other Federal, State, and

8 local agencies, and with nonprofit entities, that provide for

9 the management and interpretation of natural and cul10 tural resources in southern Nevada.

11 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

13 as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

Æ