II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 841 

To designate certain Federal land in the San Juan National Forest in the 

State of Colorado as wilderness, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 25, 2013 

Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. UDALL of Colorado) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate certain Federal land in the San Juan National 

Forest in the State of Colorado as wilderness, 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 ‘‘Hermosa Creek Water5 shed Protection Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the ecological health and integrity of the 

9 Hermosa Creek Watershed and the economic health 


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1 of the surrounding communities that rely on the Wa2 tershed are connected; 

3 (2) the Watershed— 

4 (A) is the only area in the State that is not 

5 a unit of National Wilderness Preservation Sys6 tem to achieve a designation of outstanding 

7 waters by the State; 

8 (B) provides a crucial source of clean 

9 drinking water for the residents of the Animas 

10 River Valley and the city of Durango, Colorado; 

11 and 

12 (C) provides high quality agricultural 

13 water supplies from Hermosa Creek and the 

14 Animas River; 

15 (3) the Watershed helps ensure the economic 

16 prosperity of local communities in the area that de17 pend on the Watershed for water supplies, recre18 ation, hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, camping, ski19 ing and related winter activities, off-road vehicle 

20 travel, scientific research, mineral extraction, and 

21 sustainable natural resource development; 

22 (4) the world-class Hermosa Creek trail net23 work contains outstanding single track mountain 

24 bike riding, backcountry hiking, equestrian riding, 

25 and motorcycle riding; 


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1 (5) the Watershed provides visitors the oppor2 tunity to enjoy the tremendous scenic, natural, cul3 tural, and recreational resources of the area; 

4 (6) ecologically sustainable grazing has been 

5 conducted in a manner that has preserved the high 

6 quality of the Watershed; 

7 (7) the native Colorado River cutthroat trout 

8 fishery located in the Watershed— 

9 (A) is one of the most important fisheries 

10 in the State; 

11 (B) is crucial for the long-term survival of 

12 the cutthroat trout; and 

13 (C) provides an opportunity for anglers to 

14 have a catch and release fishery for the cut15 throat trout; 

16 (8) the work of Colorado Parks and Wildlife to 

17 enhance the fishery referred to in paragraph (7) has 

18 been a tremendous success and a great example of 

19 cooperative conservation efforts to recover an imper20 iled species of fish; 

21 (9) the Watershed— 

22 (A) provides some of the best backcountry 

23 elk habitat in the State; and 

24 (B) supports outstanding hunting opportu25 nities; 


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1 (10) the large areas of undisturbed forest in the 

2 Watershed (including some of the best stands of old 

3 growth ponderosa pine in the State) provide excel4 lent wildlife habitat and excellent opportunities for 

5 solitude and backcountry recreation; and 

6 (11) designation of the Hermosa Creek Wilder7 ness Area, Watershed Protection Area, and Special 

8 Management Area would protect those areas in per9 petuity for the benefit of the people of the United 

10 States. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means La 

14 Plata County, Colorado. 

15 (2) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map en16 titled ‘‘Hermosa Creek Proposed Watershed Protec17 tion Area, 2012’’ and dated March 28, 2012. 

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

19 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

20 (4) SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA.—The term 

21 ‘‘Special Management Area’’ means the Hermosa 

22 Creek Special Management Area designated by sec23 tion 5(a). 

24 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

25 of Colorado. 


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1 (6) WATERSHED PROTECTION AREA.—The 

2 term ‘‘Watershed Protection Area’’ means the 

3 Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Area des4 ignated by section 4(a). 

5 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF HERMOSA CREEK WATERSHED 

6 PROTECTION AREA. 

7 (a) DESIGNATION.—Certain Federal land in the San 

8 Juan National Forest comprising approximately 107,886 

9 acres, as generally depicted on the Map, is designated as 

10 the ‘‘Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Area’’. 

11 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Watershed Pro12 tection Area are— 

13 (1) to maintain the cultural, economic, and eco14 logical health of the Hermosa Creek Watershed and 

15 the surrounding communities that rely on the Wa16 tershed; 

17 (2) to protect the purity of water that comes 

18 from the Hermosa Creek Watershed and supplies 

19 residents of the Animas River Valley and the city of 

20 Durango, Colorado, with clean drinking water; 

21 (3) to protect the purity of, and water supply 

22 from, the Hermosa Creek Watershed for agricultural 

23 purposes, including irrigation and stockwater uses; 

24 (4) to enhance the economic prosperity of local 

25 communities in the area who depend on the area for 


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1 water, recreation, and sustainable natural resource 

2 uses; 

3 (5) to protect and provide visitors the oppor4 tunity to enjoy the recreational, geological, cultural, 

5 natural, scientific, recreational, wildlife, riparian, 

6 historical, educational, and scenic resources of the 

7 Watershed; 

8 (6) to provide world class opportunities for ski9 ing, biking, hiking, fishing, hunting, horseback 

10 riding, snowmobiling, motorcycle riding, 

11 snowshoeing, and camping; 

12 (7) to provide for economic and natural re13 source development (including sustainable grazing, 

14 vegetation management, beneficial uses of water, 

15 and mineral extraction) in a manner consistent with 

16 protecting the overall integrity of the Watershed; 

17 (8) to protect the native Colorado River cut18 throat trout fishery located in the Watershed; 

19 (9) to designate the Hermosa Creek Wilderness 

20 Area and the Special Management Area; and 

21 (10) to conserve, protect, and manage for a 

22 healthy Hermosa Creek Watershed for the long-term 

23 ecological integrity of the Watershed and the long24 term economic health of surrounding communities 

25 by allowing sustainable economic development and 


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1 traditional natural resource development in a matter 

2 consistent with the purposes described in paragraphs 

3 (1) through (9). 

4 SEC. 5. DESIGNATION OF HERMOSA CREEK SPECIAL MAN5 AGEMENT AREA. 

6 (a) DESIGNATION.—Subject to valid existing rights, 

7 certain Federal land in the San Juan National Forest 

8 comprising approximately 68,289 acres, as generally de9 picted on the Map, is designated as the ‘‘Hermosa Creek 

10 Special Management Area’’. 

11 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Special Manage12 ment Area is to conserve and protect for the benefit of 

13 present and future generations the watershed, geological, 

14 cultural, natural, scientific, recreational, wildlife, riparian, 

15 historical, educational, and scenic resources and values of 

16 the Special Management Area. 

17 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin19 ister the Special Management Area— 

20 (A) in a manner that— 

21 (i) conserves, protects, and enhances 

22 the resources and values of the Special 

23 Management Area described in subsection 

24 (b); and 


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1 (ii) protects a viable population of 

2 Colorado River Cutthroat Trout; and 

3 (B) in accordance with— 

4 (i) the National Forest Management 

5 Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.); 

6 (ii) this Act; and 

7 (iii) any other applicable laws. 

8 (2) USES.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

10 allow only such uses of the Special Management 

11 Area that the Secretary determines would fur12 ther the purposes described in subsection (b). 

13 (B) MOTORIZED VEHICLES.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

15 in clause (ii) and as needed for administra16 tive purposes or to respond to an emer17 gency, the use of motorized vehicles in the 

18 Special Management Area shall be per19 mitted only on roads and trails designated 

20 for use by such vehicles by the Secretary. 

21 (ii) OVER-SNOW VEHICLES.—The Sec22 retary may authorize the use of snowmo23 biles and other over-snow vehicles within 

24 the Special Management Area— 


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1 (I) during periods of adequate 

2 snow cover during the winter season; 

3 and 

4 (II) subject to such terms and 

5 conditions as the Secretary may re6 quire. 

7 (C) GRAZING.—The Secretary shall permit 

8 grazing within the Special Management Area, 

9 where established before the date of enactment 

10 of this Act subject to all applicable laws (includ11 ing regulations) and Executive orders. 

12 (D) PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.—Within the 

13 area of the Special Management Area identified 

14 on the Map as ‘‘East Hermosa Area’’ the fol15 lowing activities shall be prohibited: 

16 (i) New permanent or temporary road 

17 construction or the renovation of existing 

18 nonsystem roads, except as allowed under 

19 the final rule entitled ‘‘Special Areas; 

20 Roadless Area Conservation; Applicability 

21 to the National Forests in Colorado’’ (77 

22 Fed. Reg. 39576 (July 3, 2012)). 

23 (ii) Projects undertaken for the pur24 pose of harvesting commercial timber 

25 (other than activities relating to the harVerDate Mar 15 2010 17:39 May 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S841.IS S841

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1 vest of merchantable products that are by2 products of activities conducted for ecologi3 cal restoration or to further the purposes 

4 described in this Act). 

5 (d) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

8 shall prepare a map and a legal description of the 

9 Special Management Area. 

10 (2) FORCE OF LAW.—The map and legal de11 scription prepared under paragraph (1) shall have 

12 the same force and effect as if included in this Act, 

13 except that the Secretary may correct clerical and 

14 typographical errors in the map and legal descrip15 tion. 

16 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The map and legal 

17 description prepared under paragraph (1) shall be 

18 on file and available for public inspection in the ap19 propriate offices of the Forest Service. 

20 (e) INCORPORATION OF ACQUIRED LAND AND INTER21 ESTS IN LAND.—Any land or interest in land that is ac22 quired by the United States within the boundary of the 

23 Special Management Area shall— 

24 (1) become part of the Special Management 

25 Area; 


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1 (2) be withdrawn in accordance with subsection 

2 (h); and 

3 (3) be managed in accordance with— 

4 (A) this Act; and 

5 (B) any other applicable laws. 

6 (f) FISH AND WILDLIFE.—Nothing in this Act af7 fects the jurisdiction or responsibility of the State with 

8 respect to fish and wildlife in the State. 

9 (g) STATE AND FEDERAL WATER MANAGEMENT.— 

10 Nothing in this section affects the potential for develop11 ment, operation, or maintenance of a water storage res12 ervoir at the site in the Special Management Area that 

13 is identified in— 

14 (1) pages 17 through 20 of the Statewide 

15 Water Supply Initiative studies prepared by the Col16 orado Water Conservation Board and issued by the 

17 State in November 2004; and 

18 (2) page 27 of the Colorado Dam Site Inven19 tory prepared by the Colorado Water Conservation 

20 Board and dated August 1996. 

21 (h) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid rights in exist22 ence on the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal 

23 land within the Special Management Area is withdrawn 

24 from— 


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1 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and dis2 posal under the public land laws; 

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

4 laws; and 

5 (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 

6 materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 

7 (i) ADJACENT MANAGEMENT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Special Management 

9 Area designated by subsection (a) or the wilderness 

10 designated by section 2(a)(22) of the Colorado Wil11 derness Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public 

12 Law 103–77; 107 Stat. 756, 114 Stat. 1955, 116 

13 Stat. 1055) (as added by section 6(a)) shall not cre14 ate a protective perimeter or buffer zone around the 

15 Special Management Area or wilderness. 

16 (2) NONWILDERNESS ACTIVITIES.—The fact 

17 that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or 

18 heard from areas within the wilderness designated 

19 by section 2(a)(22) of the Colorado Wilderness Act 

20 of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 103–77; 

21 107 Stat. 756, 114 Stat. 1955, 116 Stat. 1055) (as 

22 added by section 6(a)) shall not preclude the con23 duct of the activities or uses outside the boundary 

24 of the wilderness. 


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1 (j) WINTER SKIING AND RELATED WINTER ACTIVI2 TIES.—Nothing in this Act alters or limits— 

3 (1) a permit held by a ski area; 

4 (2) the implementation of the activities gov5 erned by a ski area permit; or 

6 (3) the authority of the Secretary to modify or 

7 expand an existing ski area permit. 

8 (k) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.—Nothing in this 

9 section prevents the Secretary from conducting vegetation 

10 management projects within the Special Management 

11 Area— 

12 (1) subject to— 

13 (A) such reasonable regulations, policies, 

14 and practices as the Secretary determines ap15 propriate; and 

16 (B) all applicable laws (including regula17 tions); and 

18 (2) in a manner consistent with— 

19 (A) the purposes described in subsection 

20 (b); and 

21 (B) this section. 

22 (l) WILDFIRE, INSECT, AND DISEASE MANAGE23 MENT.—Consistent with this section, the Secretary may 

24 take any measures that the Secretary determines to be 

25 necessary to control fire, insects, and diseases in the SpeVerDate Mar 15 2010 17:39 May 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S841.IS S841

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1 cial Management Area, including, as the Secretary deter2 mines to be appropriate, the coordination of the measures 

3 with the State or a local agency. 

4 (m) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 3 years 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

6 develop a management plan for the long-term protection 

7 and management of the Special Management Area that— 

8 (1) takes into account public input; and 

9 (2) includes a certification by the Secretary 

10 that there are adequate opportunities in the Special 

11 Management Area for each of the recreational op12 portunities referred to in section 4(b)(6). 

13 SEC. 6. ADDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRES14 ERVATION SYSTEM. 

15 (a) DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS.—Section 2(a) of 

16 the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1132 

17 note; Public Law 103–77; 107 Stat. 756, 114 Stat. 1955, 

18 116 Stat. 1055) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(22) Certain land within the San Juan Na21 tional Forest which comprise approximately 37,236 

22 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled 

23 ‘Hermosa Creek Proposed Watershed Protection 

24 Area, 2012’ and dated March 28, 2012, and which 


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1 shall be known as the ‘Hermosa Creek Wilder2 ness’.’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Any reference in the Wilder4 ness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) to the effective date 

5 of that Act shall be considered to be a reference to the 

6 date of enactment of this Act for purposes of admin7 istering the wilderness area designated by section 2(a)(22) 

8 of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1132 

9 note; Public Law 103–77; 107 Stat. 756, 114 Stat. 1955, 

10 116 Stat. 1055) (as added by subsection (a)). 

11 (c) FIRE, INSECTS, AND DISEASES.—As provided in 

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

13 1133(d)(1)), within the wilderness areas designated by 

14 section 2(a)(22) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 

15 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 103–77; 107 Stat. 756, 

16 114 Stat. 1955, 116 Stat. 1055) (as added by subsection 

17 (a)), the Secretary may take any measure that the Sec18 retary determines to be necessary to control fire, insects, 

19 and diseases, subject to such terms and conditions as the 

20 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

21 SEC. 7. DURANGO AREA MINERAL WITHDRAWAL. 

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

23 the land and mineral interests described in subsection (b) 

24 are withdrawn from all forms of— 


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1 (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under pub2 lic land laws; 

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

4 laws; and 

5 (3) disposition under all laws relating to min6 eral leasing, geothermal leasing, or mineral mate7 rials. 

8 (b) DESCRIPTION OF LAND AND MINERAL INTER9 ESTS.—The land and mineral interests referred to in sub10 section (a) are— 

11 (1) the approximately 13,086 acres of Federal 

12 land depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Perins Peak & 

13 Animas City Mountain, Horse Gulch and Lake 

14 Nighthorse mineral withdrawal’’ and dated April 5, 

15 2013; and 

16 (2) all Federal mineral interests contained with17 in the boundaries of the map described in paragraph 

18 (1). 

19 (c) BUFFER.—Nothing in this section may require— 

20 (1) the creation of a protective perimeter or 

21 buffer area outside the boundaries of the withdrawal 

22 area described in subsection (b); or 

23 (2) any prohibition on activities outside of the 

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1 section (b) that can be seen or heard from within 

2 the boundaries of the withdrawal area. 

3 SEC. 8. CONVEYANCE OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT 

4 LAND TO LA PLATA COUNTY. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—On the expiration of the permit 

6 numbered COC 64651 (09) and dated February 24, 2009, 

7 the Secretary of the Interior shall convey to the County, 

8 without consideration and subject to valid existing rights, 

9 all right, title, and interest of the United States in and 

10 to the land described in subsection (b). 

11 (b) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The land referred to in 

12 subsection (a) consists of approximately 111 acres of land 

13 managed by the Bureau of Land Management, Tres Rios 

14 District, Colorado, as generally depicted on the map enti15 tled ‘‘La Plata County Grandview Conveyance’’ and dated 

16 March 27, 2013. 

17 (c) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

20 the Interior shall finalize the legal description of the 

21 parcel to be conveyed under this section. 

22 (2) MINOR ERRORS.—The Secretary of the In23 terior may correct any minor error in— 

24 (A) the map; or 

25 (B) the legal description. 


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1 (3) AVAILABILITY.—The map and legal descrip2 tion shall be on file and available for public inspec3 tion in the appropriate offices of the Bureau of 

4 Land Management. 

5 (d) USE OF CONVEYED LAND.—The land conveyed 

6 under this section shall be used only for any public pur7 pose consistent with uses allowed under the Act of June 

8 14, 1926 (commonly known as the ‘‘Recreation and Public 

9 Purposes Act’’) (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.). 

10 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Secretary of the 

11 Interior shall require the County to pay all survey costs 

12 and other administrative costs necessary for the prepara13 tion and completion of any patents for, and transfers of 

14 title to, the land described in subsection (b). 

15 (f) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of the conveyance 

16 under subsection (a), the County shall agree in writing 

17 to pay any administrative costs associated with the convey18 ance including the costs of any environmental, wildlife, 

19 cultural, or historical resources studies. 

20 SEC. 9. RELEASE OF WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS. 

21 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that the land de22 scribed in subsection (c) has been adequately studied for 

23 wilderness designation under section 603 of the Federal 

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

25 1782). 


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1 (b) RELEASE.—The land described in subsection 

2 (c)— 

3 (1) is no longer subject to section 603(c) of the 

4 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

5 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)); and 

6 (2) shall be managed in accordance with land 

7 management plans adopted under section 202 of 

8 that Act (43 U.S.C. 1712). 

9 (c) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The land referred to in 

10 subsections (a) and (b) is the approximately 461 acres of 

11 land in the West Needles Contiguous Wilderness Study 

12 Area of San Juan County, Colorado, that is depicted on 

13 the map entitled ‘‘West Needles Contiguous Wilderness 

14 Study Area Release Area’’ and dated April 5, 2013. 

Æ 


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