I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 38

To establish the Jemez National Recreation Area in the State of New Mexico,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

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

Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

To establish the Jemez National Recreation Area in the

State of New Mexico, 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. ESTABLISHMENT.

4 (a) PURPOSE AND ESTABLISHMENT.—In order to

5 conserve, protect, and restore the recreational, ecological,

6 cultural, religious, and wildlife resource values of the

7 Jemez Mountains, there is hereby established the Jemez

8 National Recreational Area (hereinafter in this Act re9 ferred to as the ‘‘recreation area’’), to be administered by
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1 the Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter in this Act re2 ferred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’).

3 (b) AREA INCLUDED.—The recreation area shall be

4 comprised of approximately 57,000 acres of lands and in5 terests in lands within the Santa Fe National Forest as

6 generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Jemez National

7 Recreation Area—Proposed’’ and dated September 1992.

8 The map shall be on file and available for public inspection

9 in the offices of the Chief of the Forest Service, Depart10 ment of Agriculture, Washington, District of Columbia.

11 The Secretary may from time to time make minor revi12 sions in the boundary of the recreation area to promote

13 management effectiveness and efficiency in furtherance of

14 the purposes of this Act.

15 (c) MAP AND DESCRIPTION.—As soon as practicable

16 after enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall file a map

17 and legal description of the recreation area with the Com18 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Representa19 tives and with the Committee on Energy and Natural Re20 sources of the Senate. Each such map and description

21 shall have the same force and effect as if included in this

22 Act, except that correction of clerical and typographical

23 errors in such legal description and map may be made.

24 Each such map and legal description shall be on file and
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1 available for public inspection in the Office of the Chief

2 of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture.

3 SEC. 2. ADMINISTRATION.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer

5 the recreation area in accordance with this Act and the

6 laws, rules, and regulations applicable to National Forest

7 System lands in a manner that will further the purposes

8 of the recreation area. Management of the natural re9 sources within the recreation area shall be permitted only

10 to the extent that such management is compatible with

11 and does not impair the purposes for which the recreation

12 area is established. Recreational activities within the

13 recreation area shall include (but not be limited to) hiking,

14 camping, hunting, fishing, skiing, backpacking, rock

15 climbing, and swimming.

16 (b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Secretary shall, no

17 later than 5 years after the enactment of this Act, develop

18 a management plan for the recreation area, as an amend19 ment to the Santa Fe National Forest Land and Resource

20 Management Plan, to reflect the establishment of the

21 recreation area and to conform to the provisions of this

22 Act. Nothing in this Act shall require the Secretary to re23 vise the Santa Fe Forest Land and Resource Management

24 Plan pursuant to section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland

25 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974. During devel-
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1 opment of the management plan for the recreation area,

2 the Secretary shall study newly designated land within the

3 recreation area, and adjacent national forest land. The

4 Secretary shall, no later than 5 years after enactment of

5 this Act, submit recommendations with respect to future

6 boundaries for the recreation area.

7 (c) CULTURAL RESOURCES.—In administering the

8 recreation area, the Secretary shall give particular empha9 sis to the preservation, stabilization, and protection of cul10 tural resources located within the recreation area in fur11 therance of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act

12 of 1979 and the National Historic Preservation Act.

13 (d) NATIVE AMERICANS.—(1) In recognition of the

14 past use of portions of the recreation area by Indian peo15 ples for traditional cultural and religious purposes, the

16 Secretary shall protect religious and cultural sites and pro17 vide access from time to time to those sites by Indian peo18 ples for traditional cultural and religious purposes. Such

19 access shall be consistent with the purpose and intent of

20 the Act of August 11, 1978 (42 U.S.C. 1991) (commonly

21 referred to as the ‘‘American Indian Religious Freedom

22 Act’’). The Secretary, in accordance with such Act, upon

23 request of an Indian tribe or pueblo, may from time to

24 time temporarily close to general public use one or more

25 specific portions of the recreational area in order to pro-
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1 tect the privacy of religious activities and cultural uses in

2 such portion by Indian peoples. Any such closure shall be

3 made so as to affect the smallest practicable area for the

4 minimum period necessary for such purposes.

5 (2) In preparing and implementing management

6 plans for the recreation area, the Secretary shall request

7 that the Governor of the Pueblo of Jemez and the chief

8 executive officers of other appropriate Indian tribes and

9 pueblos make recommendations on methods of—

10 (A) assuring access to religious and cultural

11 sites;

12 (B) enhancing the privacy and continuity of

13 traditional cultural and religious activities in the

14 recreation area; and

15 (C) protecting traditional cultural and religious

16 sites in the recreation area.

17 (e) WILDLIFE RESOURCES.—In administering the

18 recreation area, the Secretary shall give particular empha19 sis to the conservation and protection of wildlife resources,

20 including species listed as sensitive by the United States

21 Forest Service, within the recreation area and shall com22 ply with applicable Federal and State laws relating to

23 wildlife, including the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

24 (f) HUNTING.—The Secretary shall permit hunting

25 and fishing on lands and waters under the jurisdiction of
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1 the Secretary within the recreation area in accordance

2 with applicable Federal and State law. The Secretary may

3 designate zones where, and establish periods when, such

4 activities will not be permitted for reasons of public safety,

5 administration, fish and wildlife management, or public

6 use and enjoyment. Except in emergencies such designa7 tion by the Secretary under this subsection shall be put

8 into effect only after consultation with the appropriate

9 State agencies responsible for hunting and fishing activi10 ties.

11 (g) TIMBER HARVESTING.—The Secretary may per12 mit timber harvesting in the recreation area for commer13 cial purposes, including (but not limited to) vigas, latillas,

14 the gathering of fuelwood, and for purposes of public safe15 ty, recreation, wildlife, and administration, insofar as the

16 harvesting is compatible with the purposes of the recre17 ation area. Trees damaged or downed due to fire, disease,

18 or insect infestation may be utilized, salvaged, or removed

19 from the recreation area as authorized by the Secretary

20 in furtherance of the purposes of this Act. Nothing in this

21 Act shall be construed to affect the timber sales under

22 contract on the date of enactment of this Act. Nothing

23 in this Act shall be construed to effect the Los Griegos

24 timber sale in the Los Griegos Diversity Unit number

25 0322 as shown on the West Half Diversity Unit map of
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1 the Santa Fe National Forest dated November 1991; ex2 cept that the Secretary shall manage such sale using un3 even aged management including the individual tree selec4 tion method.

5 (h) GRAZING.—The Secretary may permit grazing

6 within the recreation area in accordance with regulations

7 prescribed by the Secretary. Riparian areas shall be man8 aged in such a manner as to protect their important re9 source values.

10 (i) TRANSPORTATION PLAN.—(1) Within 1 year after

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall pre12 pare a transportation plan that provides for the most effi13 cient use of existing roads and trails to accomplish the

14 purposes of this Act. The plan shall provide for a com15 prehensive trails system that provides for dispersed recre16 ation while minimizing impact on significant archaeologi17 cal and religious sites.

18 (2) The Secretary shall construct, maintain, and close

19 roads within the recreation area only in accordance with

20 such plan.

21 (j) RECREATIONAL FACILITIES.—The Secretary shall

22 provide for recreational facilities within the recreation

23 area. Such facilities shall be constructed so as to minimize

24 impacts on scenic beauty and the natural character of the

25 recreation area.
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1 (k) VISITOR FACILITIES.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish a visitor center and interpretive facilities in or near

3 the recreation area for the purpose of providing for edu4 cation relating to the interpretation of cultural and natu5 ral resources of the recreation area.

6 (l) POWER TRANSMISSION LINES.—In accordance

7 with Federal and State laws and regulations, the Sec8 retary may permit a utility corridor for high power electric

9 transmission lines within the recreation area only when

10 the Secretary determines that—

11 (1) there is not a feasible alternative for the lo12 cation of such corridor;

13 (2) damage to the recreational and scenic qual14 ity of the recreation area will not be significant;

15 (3) it is in the public interest that such corridor

16 be located in the recreation area; and

17 (4) a plan to minimize harm to the resources of

18 the recreation area has been developed.

19 (m) SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS.—The Secretary

20 may permit scientific investigations within the recreation

21 area upon the Secretary’s determination that such inves22 tigations are in the public interest and are compatible with

23 the purposes of this Act.
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1 SEC. 3. ACQUISITION OF LAND.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to ac3 quire lands and interests therein within the boundaries of

4 the recreation area by donation, purchase with donated

5 or appropriated funds, or exchange. No lands or interests

6 therein may be acquired except with the consent of the

7 owner thereof.

8 (b) STATE LANDS.—Lands or interests therein

9 owned by the State of New Mexico or any political subdivi10 sion thereof may be acquired only by donation or ex11 change.

12 (c) OFFERS TO SELL.—The Secretary shall give

13 prompt and careful consideration to any offer made by any

14 person owning property within the boundaries of the recre15 ation area to sell such property.

16 (d) NO ADDITIONAL LANDS.—No lands or interests

17 therein outside of the boundaries of the recreation area

18 may be added to the recreation area without specific au19 thorization by Congress.

20 SEC. 4. MINERALS AND MINING.

21 (a) LIMITATION ON PATENT ISSUANCE.—(1) Not22 withstanding any other provision of law, no patents shall

23 be issued after the date of May 30, 1991 for any location

24 or claim made in the recreation area under the mining

25 laws of the United States.
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1 (2) Notwithstanding any statute of limitations or

2 similar restriction otherwise applicable, any party claiming

3 to have been deprived of any property right by enactment

4 of paragraph (1) may file in the United States Claims

5 Court a claim against the United States within 1 year

6 after the date of enactment of this Act seeking compensa7 tion for such property right. The United States Claims

8 Court shall have jurisdiction to render judgment upon any

9 such claim in accordance with section 1491 of title 28,

10 United States Code.

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

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, lands within the

13 recreation area are withdrawn from location under the

14 general mining laws and from the operation of the mineral

15 leasing, geothermal leasing, and mineral material disposal

16 laws.

17 (c) RECLAMATION.—No mining activity involving any

18 surface disturbance of lands or waters within such area,

19 including disturbance through subsidence, shall be per20 mitted except in accordance with requirements imposed by

21 the Secretary, including requirements for reasonable rec22 lamation of disturbed lands to a visual and hydrological

23 condition as close as practical to their premining condi24 tion.
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1 (d) MINING CLAIM VALIDITY REVIEW.—The Sec2 retary of Agriculture shall undertake and complete within

3 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act an expe4 dited program to examine all unpatented mining claims,

5 including those for which a patent application has been

6 filed, within the recreation area. Upon determination by

7 the Secretary of Agriculture that the elements of a contest

8 are present, the Secretary of the Interior shall imme9 diately determine the validity of such claims. If a claim

10 is determined to be invalid, the Secretary shall promptly

11 declare the claim to be null and void.

12 (e) PUBLIC PURPOSES.—The Secretary may utilize

13 mineral materials from within the recreation area for pub14 lic purposes such as maintenance and construction of

15 roads, trails, and facilities as long as such use is compat16 ible with the purposes of the recreation area.

17 SEC. 5. ADJOINING LANDS.

18 The Secretary may from time to time evaluate lands

19 adjoining the recreation area for possible inclusion in the

20 recreation area and make recommendations to Congress,

21 including (but not limited to) that area authorized for

22 study by section 5 of Public Law 101–556, known as the

23 Baca Location Number 1.
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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

3 may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

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