II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1270

To establish the Cache La Poudre River National Water Heritage Area

in the State of Colorado.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 21 (legislative day, JUNE 30), 1993

Mr. BROWN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish the Cache La Poudre River National Water

Heritage Area in the State of Colorado.

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 ‘‘Cache La Poudre River

5 Basin Heritage Study Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the Cache La Poudre River basin contains

9 significant historical, recreational, scenic, cultural,

10 natural, economic, and scientific resources; and
2

S 1270 IS

1 (2) sites and structures within the Cache La

2 Poudre River Basin represent—

3 (A) the development and management of

4 water resources critical to the westward expan5 sion of the Nation; and

6 (B) the sociocultural evolution of a work7 ing river, from aboriginal tribes through early

8 exploration, nineteenth century settlement, de9 velopment of a water dependent agricultural

10 economy, through the ongoing transition to

11 present day urban development.

12 (b) The purposes of this Act are—

13 (1) to identify and assess the management al14 ternatives encompassing the resources and themes of

15 western water development in the United States; and

16 (2) to evaluate strategies for multiobjective uses

17 and protection of the Cache La Poudre floodplain

18 through development of a River Greenway Plan.

19 SEC. 3. CACHE LA POUDRE RIVER BASIN HERITAGE STUDY.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior

21 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall prepare

22 a study of alternatives for the Cache La Poudre River

23 Basin in the State of Colorado. The study shall include,

24 but not be limited to—
3

S 1270 IS

1 (1) an inventory and assessment of significant

2 cultural, natural, recreational, and scenic resources

3 throughout the Cache La Poudre River Basin, using

4 existing information where available;

5 (2) an evaluation of properties to determine po6 tential eligibility for inclusion on the National Reg7 ister of Historic Places;

8 (3) the suitability and feasibility of designating

9 the Cache La Poudre River Basin as a National

10 Heritage Area;

11 (4) the identification of themes, resources, and

12 events which illustrate how settlement of the West

13 was dependent upon and dictated by the develop14 ment and management of water;

15 (5) the development of a Greenway Plan for the

16 floodplain of the Cache La Poudre River that ad17 dresses—

18 (A) appropriate and compatible rec19 reational opportunities;

20 (B) protection of fish and wildlife habitat;

21 (C) maintenance or improvement of water

22 quality;

23 (D) protection of wetlands;

24 (E) maintenance of natural hydrological

25 processes;
4

S 1270 IS

1 (F) maintenance of riparian vegetation;

2 and

3 (G) flood protection through resource pro4 tection and development;

5 (6) an evaluation of the demonstration project

6 undertaken by the Secretary pursuant to subsection

7 (d), including recommendations for the disposition of

8 any lands acquired pursuant to such project;

9 (7) the identification of interpretive opportuni10 ties and methods;

11 (8) the identification of preservation strategies

12 for resources located with the Cache La Poudre

13 River Basin; and

14 (9) management alternatives and funding op15 tions for the implementation of such preservation

16 strategies.

17 (b) CONSULTATION.—The study referred to in sub18 section (a) shall be prepared in consultation with the

19 Cache La Poudre River Basin Heritage Advisory Commis20 sion established pursuant to section 4, affected units of

21 local governments, and other interested public and private

22 entities.

23 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The study shall be com24 pleted no later than two years after the date funds are

25 made available for the purposes of this section. Upon com-
5

S 1270 IS

1 pletion, the Secretary shall transmit such report to the

2 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Unit3 ed States Senate and the Committee on Interior and Insu4 lar Affairs of the United States House of Representatives.

5 (d) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—(1) In furtherance

6 of the purposes of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation

7 with the Cache La Poudre River Heritage Commission es8 tablished by section 4, is authorized to undertake a dem9 onstration project to evaluate the potential of using vol10 untary land exchanges within the Cache La Poudre River

11 floodplain (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘floodplain’’) as

12 a means to provide for the long-term preservation and

13 management of the lands within the floodplain.

14 (2) During the period of the study, the Secretary or

15 the head of a Federal agency is authorized to acquire

16 lands within the floodplain in Larimer and Weld Counties

17 in the State of Colorado only through voluntary land ex18 changes: Provided, That such land exchanges shall be on

19 an equal value basis, and shall be conducted in accordance

20 with applicable law.

21 (3) Lands acquired pursuant to this subsection shall

22 be managed in a manner that does not preclude the imple23 mentation of any management alternative identified in the

24 study of alternatives or the Greenway Plan referred to in

25 subsection (a).
6

S 1270 IS

1 (4) Where appropriate, the Secretary shall seek to

2 enter into memoranda of agreement with other Federal

3 agencies to manage land administered by such agencies

4 within the floodplain, consistent with the purposes of this

5 Act.

6 SEC. 4. CACHE LA POUDRE RIVER BASIN HERITAGE ADVI7 SORY COMMISSION.

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the

9 Cache La Poudre River Basin Heritage Advisory Commis10 sion (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’), to ad11 vise the Secretary on the preparation of the study referred

12 to in section 3(a).

13 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com14 posed of 15 members appointed by the Secretary as fol15 lows—

16 (1) the Director of the National Park Service,

17 or the Director’s designee, ex officio;

18 (2) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through

19 the Chief of the Forest Service, or the Chief’s des20 ignee, ex officio;

21 (3) nine members from recommendations sub22 mitted by the Governor of the State of Colorado, in23 cluding one member each to represent—

24 (A) the State;

25 (B) Colorado State University;
7

S 1270 IS

1 (C) the Northern Colorado Water Conser2 vancy District;

3 (D) the city of Fort Collins;

4 (E) Larimer County;

5 (F) the city of Greeley; and

6 (G) Weld County;

7 and two members to represent the general public,

8 who reside in the study area.

9 (c) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the Commission

10 shall elect a chairperson from among its members.

11 (d) VACANCIES.—Vacancies on the Commission shall

12 be filled in the same manner in which the original appoint13 ment was made.

14 (e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the

15 call of the Chairperson.

16 (f) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commission

17 shall receive no compensation on account of their service

18 on the Commission. While away from their homes or regu19 lar places of business in the performance of services for

20 the Commission, members shall be allowed travel expenses,

21 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same man22 ner as persons employed intermittently in the Government

23 service are allowed expenses under section 5703 of title

24 5, United States Code.
8

S 1270 IS

1 (g) WAIVER.—The provisions of section 14(b) of the

2 Act of October 6, 1972 (86 Stat. 776), are hereby waived

3 with respect to this Commission.

4 (h) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Commission shall pub5 lish and submit to the Secretary and the Governor of the

6 State of Colorado an annual report concerning the Com7 mission’s activities.

8 (i) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate

9 upon the completion of the study referred to in section

10 3.

11 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

13 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

Æ