II 

Calendar No. 172 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 159 

[Report No. 113–94] 

To designate the Wovoka Wilderness and provide for certain land conveyances 

in Lyon County, Nevada, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 28, 2013 

Mr. HELLER (for himself and Mr. REID) introduced the following bill; which 

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

Resources 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013 

Reported by Mr. WYDEN, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To designate the Wovoka Wilderness and provide for certain 

land conveyances in Lyon County, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Lyon County Economic Development and Conservation 

4 Act’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Land conveyance to Yerington, Nevada. 

Sec. 3. Addition to National Wilderness Preservation System. 

Sec. 4. Withdrawal. 

Sec. 5. Native American cultural and religious uses. 

7 SEC. 2. LAND CONVEYANCE TO YERINGTON, NEVADA. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) CITY.—The term ‘‘City’’ means the city of 

10 Yerington, Nevada. 

11 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

12 means the land located in Lyon County and Mineral 

13 County, Nevada, that is identified on the map as 

14 ‘‘City of Yerington Sustainable Development Con15 veyance Lands’’. 

16 (3) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en17 titled ‘‘Yerington Land Conveyance’’ and dated De18 cember 19, 2012. 

19 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of the Interior. 

21 (b) CONVEYANCES OF LAND TO CITY OF YERINGTON, 

22 NEVADA.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, subject to 

3 valid existing rights and to such terms and conditions 

4 as the Secretary determines to be necessary and not5 withstanding the land use planning requirements of 

6 sections 202 and 203 of the Federal Land Policy 

7 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712, 

8 1713), the Secretary shall convey to the City, sub9 ject to the agreement of the City, all right, title, and 

10 interest of the United States in and to the Federal 

11 land identified on the map. 

12 (2) APPRAISAL TO DETERMINE FAIR MARKET

13 VALUE.—The Secretary shall determine the fair 

14 market value of the Federal land to be conveyed— 

15 (A) in accordance with the Federal Land 

16 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

17 1701 et seq.); and 

18 (B) based on an appraisal that is con19 ducted in accordance with— 

20 (i) the Uniform Appraisal Standards 

21 for Federal Land Acquisition; and 

22 (ii) the Uniform Standards of Profes23 sional Appraisal Practice. 

24 (3) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be 

25 on file and available for public inspection in the apVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:51 Sep 10, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S159.RS S159

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1 propriate offices of the Bureau of Land Manage2 ment. 

3 (4) APPLICABLE LAW.—Beginning on the date 

4 on which the Federal land is conveyed to the City, 

5 the development of and conduct of activities on the 

6 Federal land shall be subject to all applicable Fed7 eral laws (including regulations). 

8 (5) COSTS.—As a condition of the conveyance 

9 of the Federal land under paragraph (1), the City 

10 shall pay— 

11 (A) an amount equal to the appraised 

12 value determined in accordance with paragraph 

13 (2); and 

14 (B) all costs related to the conveyance, in15 cluding all surveys, appraisals, and other ad16 ministrative costs associated with the convey17 ance of the Federal land to the City under 

18 paragraph (1). 

19 SEC. 3. ADDITION TO NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVA20 TION SYSTEM. 

21 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

22 (1) the area designated as the Wovoka Wilder23 ness by this section contains unique and spectacular 

24 natural resources, including— 


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1 (A) priceless habitat for numerous species 

2 of plants and wildlife; 

3 (B) thousands of acres of land that remain 

4 in a natural state; and 

5 (C) habitat important to the continued 

6 survival of the population of the greater sage 

7 grouse of western Nevada and eastern Cali8 fornia (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Bi9 State population of greater sage-grouse’’); 

10 (2) continued preservation of those areas would 

11 benefit the County and all of the United States by— 

12 (A) ensuring the conservation of eco13 logically diverse habitat; 

14 (B) protecting prehistoric cultural re15 sources; 

16 (C) conserving primitive recreational re17 sources; 

18 (D) protecting air and water quality; and 

19 (E) protecting and strengthening the Bi20 State population of greater sage-grouse; and 

21 (3) the Secretary of Agriculture should collabo22 rate with the Lyon County Commission and the local 

23 community on wildfire and forest management plan24 ning and implementation with the goal of preventing 

25 catastrophic wildfire and resource damage. 


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1 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 (1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means Lyon 

3 County, Nevada. 

4 (2) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en5 titled ‘‘Wovoka Wilderness Area’’ and dated Decem6 ber 18, 2012. 

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

8 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

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

10 of Nevada. 

11 (5) WILDERNESS.—The term ‘‘Wilderness’’ 

12 means the Wovoka Wilderness designated by sub13 section (c)(1). 

14 (c) ADDITIONS TO NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESER15 VATION SYSTEM.— 

16 (1) DESIGNATION.—In furtherance of the pur17 poses of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 

18 seq.), the Federal land managed by the Forest Serv19 ice, as generally depicted on the Map, is designated 

20 as wilderness and as a component of the National 

21 Wilderness Preservation System, to be known as the 

22 ‘‘Wovoka Wilderness’’. 

23 (2) BOUNDARY.—The boundary of any portion 

24 of the Wilderness that is bordered by a road shall 

25 be 150 feet from the centerline of the road. 


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1 (3) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec4 retary shall prepare a map and legal description 

5 of the Wilderness. 

6 (B) EFFECT.—The map and legal descrip7 tion prepared under subparagraph (A) shall 

8 have the same force and effect as if included in 

9 this section, except that the Secretary may cor10 rect any clerical and typographical errors in the 

11 map or legal description. 

12 (C) AVAILABILITY.—Each map and legal 

13 description prepared under subparagraph (A) 

14 shall be on file and available for public inspec15 tion in the appropriate offices of the Forest 

16 Service. 

17 (4) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing 

18 rights, the Wilderness is withdrawn from— 

19 (A) all forms of entry, appropriation, or 

20 disposal under the public land laws; 

21 (B) location, entry, and patent under the 

22 mining laws; and 

23 (C) disposition under all laws relating to 

24 mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral ma25 terials. 


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1 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

2 (1) MANAGEMENT.—Subject to valid existing 

3 rights, the Wilderness shall be administered by the 

4 Secretary in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 

5 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), except that any reference in 

6 that Act to the effective date shall be considered to 

7 be a reference to the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 (2) LIVESTOCK.—The grazing of livestock in 

9 the Wilderness, if established before the date of en10 actment of this Act, shall be allowed to continue, 

11 subject to such reasonable regulations, policies, and 

12 practices as the Secretary considers to be necessary, 

13 in accordance with— 

14 (A) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act 

15 (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)); and 

16 (B) the guidelines set forth in Appendix A 

17 of the report of the Committee on Interior and 

18 Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives 

19 accompanying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress 

20 (House Report 101–405). 

21 (3) INCORPORATION OF ACQUIRED LAND AND

22 INTERESTS.—Any land or interest in land within the 

23 boundary of the Wilderness that is acquired by the 

24 United States after the date of enactment of this 


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1 Act shall be added to and administered as part of 

2 the Wilderness. 

3 (4) ADJACENT MANAGEMENT.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Congress does not in5 tend for the designation of the Wilderness to 

6 create a protective perimeter or buffer zone 

7 around the Wilderness. 

8 (B) NONWILDERNESS ACTIVITIES.—The 

9 fact that nonwilderness activities or uses can be 

10 seen or heard from areas within the Wilderness 

11 shall not preclude the conduct of the activities 

12 or uses outside the boundary of the Wilderness. 

13 (5) OVERFLIGHTS.—Nothing in this section re14 stricts or precludes— 

15 (A) low-level overflights of aircraft over the 

16 Wilderness, including military overflights that 

17 can be seen or heard within the Wilderness; 

18 (B) flight testing and evaluation; or 

19 (C) the designation or creation of new 

20 units of special use airspace, or the establish21 ment of military flight training routes, over the 

22 Wilderness. 

23 (5) OVERFLIGHTS.— 

24 (A) MILITARY OVERFLIGHTS.—Nothing in 

25 this Act restricts or precludes— 


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1 (i) low-level overflights of military air2 craft over the Wilderness, including mili3 tary overflights that can been seen or heard 

4 within the Wilderness; 

5 (ii) flight testing and evaluation; or 

6 (iii) the designation or creation of new 

7 units of special airspace, or the establish8 ment of military flight training routes, over 

9 the Wilderness. 

10 (B) EXISTING AIRSTRIPS.—Nothing in this 

11 Act restricts or precludes low-level overflights by 

12 aircraft originating from airstrips in existence 

13 on the date of enactment of this Act that are lo14 cated within 5 miles of the proposed boundary of 

15 the Wilderness. 

16 (6) WILDFIRE, INSECT, AND DISEASE MANAGE17 MENT.—In accordance with section 4(d)(1) of the 

18 Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)), the Sec19 retary may take any measures in the Wilderness 

20 that the Secretary determines to be necessary for 

21 the control of fire, insects, and diseases, including, 

22 as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the 

23 coordination of the activities with a State or local 

24 agency. 

25 (7) WATER RIGHTS.— 


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1 (A) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

2 (i) the Wilderness is located— 

3 (I) in the semiarid region of the 

4 Great Basin; and 

5 (II) at the headwaters of the 

6 streams and rivers on land with re7 spect to which there are few— 

8 (aa) actual or proposed 

9 water resource facilities located 

10 upstream; and 

11 (bb) opportunities for diver12 sion, storage, or other uses of 

13 water occurring outside the land 

14 that would adversely affect the 

15 wilderness values of the land; 

16 (ii) the Wilderness is generally not 

17 suitable for use or development of new 

18 water resource facilities; and 

19 (iii) because of the unique nature of 

20 the Wilderness, it is possible to provide for 

21 proper management and protection of the 

22 wilderness and other values of land in ways 

23 different from those used in other laws. 

24 (B) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this para25 graph is to protect the wilderness values of the 


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1 Wilderness by means other than a federally re2 served water right. 

3 (C) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

4 in this paragraph— 

5 (i) constitutes an express or implied 

6 reservation by the United States of any 

7 water or water rights with respect to the 

8 Wilderness; 

9 (ii) affects any water rights in the 

10 State (including any water rights held by 

11 the United States) in existence on the date 

12 of enactment of this Act; 

13 (iii) establishes a precedent with re14 gard to any future wilderness designations; 

15 (iv) affects the interpretation of, or 

16 any designation made under, any other 

17 Act; or 

18 (v) limits, alters, modifies, or amends 

19 any interstate compact or equitable appor20 tionment decree that apportions water 

21 among and between the State and other 

22 States. 

23 (D) NEVADA WATER LAW.—The Secretary 

24 shall follow the procedural and substantive re25 quirements of State law in order to obtain and 


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1 hold any water rights not in existence on the 

2 date of enactment of this Act with respect to 

3 the Wilderness. 

4 (E) NEW PROJECTS.— 

5 (i) DEFINITION OF WATER RESOURCE

6 FACILITY.— 

7 (I) IN GENERAL.—In this sub8 paragraph, the term ‘‘water resource 

9 facility’’ means irrigation and pump10 ing facilities, reservoirs, water con11 servation works, aqueducts, canals, 

12 ditches, pipelines, wells, hydropower 

13 projects, transmission and other ancil14 lary facilities, and other water diver15 sion, storage, and carriage structures. 

16 (II) EXCLUSION.—In this sub17 paragraph, the term ‘‘water resource 

18 facility’’ does not include wildlife guz19 zlers. 

20 (ii) RESTRICTION ON NEW WATER RE21 SOURCE FACILITIES.— 

22 (I) IN GENERAL.—Except as oth23 erwise provided in this section, on or 

24 after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act, no officer, employee, or agent of 


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1 the United States shall fund, assist, 

2 authorize, or issue a license or permit 

3 for the development of any new water 

4 resource facility within the Wilder5 ness, any portion of which is located 

6 in the County. 

7 (II) EXCEPTION.—If a permittee 

8 within the Bald Mountain grazing al9 lotment submits an application for the 

10 development of water resources for 

11 the purpose of livestock watering by 

12 the date that is 10 years after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the 

14 Secretary shall issue a water develop15 ment permit within the non-wilderness 

16 boundaries of the Bald Mountain 

17 grazing allotment for the purposes of 

18 carrying out activities under para19 graph (2). 

20 (8) NONWILDERNESS ROADS.—Nothing in this 

21 Act prevents the Secretary from implementing or 

22 amending a final travel management plan. 

23 (e) WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with section 

25 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 


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1 1133(d)(7)), nothing in this section affects or dimin2 ishes the jurisdiction of the State with respect to 

3 fish and wildlife management, including the regula4 tion of hunting, fishing, and trapping, in the Wilder5 ness. 

6 (2) MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.—In furtherance 

7 of the purposes and principles of the Wilderness Act 

8 (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the Secretary may conduct 

9 any management activities in the Wilderness that 

10 are necessary to maintain or restore fish and wildlife 

11 populations and the habitats to support the popu12 lations, if the activities are carried out— 

13 (A) consistent with relevant wilderness 

14 management plans; and 

15 (B) in accordance with— 

16 (i) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 

17 1131 et seq.); and 

18 (ii) appropriate policies, such as those 

19 set forth in Appendix B of the report of 

20 the Committee on Interior and Insular Af21 fairs of the House of Representatives ac22 companying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Con23 gress (House Report 101–405), including 

24 the occasional and temporary use of motor25 ized vehicles and aircraft, if the use, as deVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:51 Sep 10, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S159.RS S159

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1 termined by the Secretary, would promote 

2 healthy, viable, and more naturally distrib3 uted wildlife populations that would en4 hance wilderness values with the minimal 

5 impact necessary to reasonably accomplish 

6 those tasks. 

7 (3) EXISTING ACTIVITIES.—Consistent with 

8 section 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 

9 1133(d)(1)) and in accordance with appropriate poli10 cies such as those set forth in Appendix B of House 

11 Report 101–405, the State may continue to use air12 craft, including helicopters, to survey, capture, 

13 transplant, monitor, and provide water for wildlife 

14 populations in the Wilderness. 

15 (4) HUNTING, FISHING, AND TRAPPING.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may des17 ignate areas in which, and establish periods 

18 during which, for reasons of public safety, ad19 ministration, or compliance with applicable 

20 laws, no hunting, fishing, or trapping will be 

21 permitted in the Wilderness. 

22 (B) CONSULTATION.—Except in emer23 gencies, the Secretary shall consult with the ap24 propriate State agency and notify the public beVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:51 Sep 10, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S159.RS S159

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1 fore making any designation under paragraph 

2 (1). 

3 (5) AGREEMENT.—The State, including a des4 ignee of the State, may conduct wildlife management 

5 activities in the Wilderness— 

6 (A) in accordance with the terms and con7 ditions specified in the cooperative agreement 

8 between the Secretary and the State entitled 

9 ‘‘Memorandum of Understanding: Inter10 mountain Region USDA Forest Service and the 

11 Nevada Department of Wildlife State of Ne12 vada’’ and signed by the designee of the State 

13 on February 6, 1984, and by the designee of 

14 the Secretary on January 24, 1984, including 

15 any amendments, appendices, or additions to 

16 the agreement agreed to by the Secretary and 

17 the State or a designee; and 

18 (B) subject to all applicable laws (including 

19 regulations). 

20 (f) WILDLIFE WATER DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.— 

21 Subject to subsection (d), the Secretary shall authorize 

22 structures and facilities, including existing structures and 

23 facilities, for wildlife water development projects (includ24 ing guzzlers) in the Wilderness if— 


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1 (1) the structures and facilities will, as deter2 mined by the Secretary, enhance wilderness values 

3 by promoting healthy, viable, and more naturally 

4 distributed wildlife populations; and 

5 (2) the visual impacts of the structures and fa6 cilities on the Wilderness can reasonably be mini7 mized. 

8 SEC. 4. WITHDRAWAL. 

9 (a) DEFINITION OF WITHDRAWAL AREA.—In this 

10 section, the term ‘‘Withdrawal Area’’ means the land ad11 ministered by the Forest Service and identified as ‘‘With12 drawal Area’’ on the map described in section 3(b)(2). 

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

14 all Federal land within the Withdrawal Area is withdrawn 

15 from all forms of— 

16 (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the 

17 public land laws; 

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

19 laws; and 

20 (3) operation of the mineral laws, geothermal 

21 leasing laws, and mineral materials laws. 

22 (c) MOTORIZED AND MECHANICAL VEHICLES.— 

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

24 use of motorized and mechanical vehicles in the 

25 Withdrawal Area shall be permitted only on roads 


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1 and trails designated for the use of those vehicles, 

2 unless the use of those vehicles is needed— 

3 (A) for administrative purposes; or 

4 (B) to respond to an emergency. 

5 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not apply 

6 to aircraft (including helicopters). 

7 SEC. 5. NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS 

8 USES. 

9 Nothing in this Act alters or diminishes the treaty 

10 rights of any Indian tribe. 


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Calendar No. 172 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 159 

[Report No. 113–94] 

A BILL 

To designate the Wovoka Wilderness and provide 

vada, and for other purposes. for certain land conveyances in Lyon County, NeSEPTEMBER 10, 2013 

Reported with amendments 


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