II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 183 

To establish the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area and the 

Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 8, 2009 

Mr. SALAZAR (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 establish the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation 

Area and the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area. 

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 ‘‘Dominguez-Escalante 

5 National Conservation Area and Dominguez Canyon Wil6 derness Area Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) CONSERVATION AREA.—The term ‘‘Con10 servation Area’’ means the Dominguez-Escalante 


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1 National Conservation Area established by section 

2 3(a)(1). 

3 (2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

4 Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area 

5 Advisory Council established under section 8. 

6 (3) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage7 ment plan’’ means the management plan developed 

8 under section 7. 

9 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map en10 titled ‘‘Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation 

11 Area’’ and dated September 10, 2008. 

12 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of the Interior. 

14 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

15 of Colorado. 

16 (7) WILDERNESS.—The term ‘‘Wilderness’’ 

17 means the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area des18 ignated by section 4(a). 

19 SEC. 3. DOMINGUEZ-ESCALANTE NATIONAL CONSERVA20 TION AREA. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established the 

23 Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area in 

24 the State. 


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1 (2) AREA INCLUDED.—The Conservation Area 

2 shall consist of approximately 209,600 acres of pub3 lic land, as generally depicted on the Map. 

4 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Conservation 

5 Area are to conserve and protect for the benefit and enjoy6 ment of present and future generations— 

7 (1) the unique and important resources and val8 ues of the land, including the geological, cultural, ar9 chaeological, paleontological, natural, scientific, rec10 reational, wilderness, wildlife, riparian, historical, 

11 educational, and scenic resources of the public land; 

12 and 

13 (2) the water resources of area streams, based 

14 on seasonally available flows, that are necessary to 

15 support aquatic, riparian, and terrestrial species and 

16 communities. 

17 (c) MANAGEMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage 

19 the Conservation Area— 

20 (A) as a component of the National Land21 scape Conservation System; 

22 (B) in a manner that conserves, protects, 

23 and enhances the resources and values of the 

24 Conservation Area described in subsection (b); 

25 and 


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1 (C) in accordance with— 

2 (i) the Federal Land Policy and Man3 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 

4 seq.); 

5 (ii) this Act; and 

6 (iii) any other applicable laws. 

7 (2) USES.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

9 allow only such uses of the Conservation Area 

10 as the Secretary determines would further the 

11 purposes for which the Conservation Area is es12 tablished. 

13 (B) USE OF MOTORIZED VEHICLES.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

15 in clauses (ii) and (iii), use of motorized 

16 vehicles in the Conservation Area shall be 

17 allowed— 

18 (I) before the effective date of 

19 the management plan, only on roads 

20 and trails designated for use of motor 

21 vehicles in the management plan that 

22 applies on the date of the enactment 

23 of this Act to the public land in the 

24 Conservation Area; and 


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1 (II) after the effective date of the 

2 management plan, only on roads and 

3 trails designated in the management 

4 plan for the use of motor vehicles. 

5 (ii) ADMINISTRATIVE AND EMER6 GENCY RESPONSE USE.—Clause (i) shall 

7 not limit the use of motor vehicles in the 

8 Conservation Area for administrative pur9 poses or to respond to an emergency. 

10 (iii) LIMITATION.—This subparagraph 

11 shall not apply to the Wilderness. 

12 SEC. 4. DOMINGUEZ CANYON WILDERNESS AREA. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the Wilderness 

14 Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the approximately 66,280 

15 acres of public land in Mesa, Montrose, and Delta Coun16 ties, Colorado, as generally depicted on the Map, is des17 ignated as wilderness and as a component of the National 

18 Wilderness Preservation System, to be known as the 

19 ‘‘Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area’’. 

20 (b) ADMINISTRATION OF WILDERNESS.—The Wilder21 ness shall be managed by the Secretary in accordance with 

22 the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this Act, 

23 except that— 


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1 (1) any reference in the Wilderness Act to the 

2 effective date of that Act shall be considered to be 

3 a reference to the date of enactment of this Act; and 

4 (2) any reference in the Wilderness Act to the 

5 Secretary of Agriculture shall be considered to be a 

6 reference to the Secretary of the Interior. 

7 SEC. 5. MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the 

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

10 map and a legal description of the Conservation Area and 

11 the Wilderness with— 

12 (1) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re13 sources of the Senate; and 

14 (2) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

15 House of Representatives. 

16 (b) FORCE AND EFFECT.—The Map and legal de17 scriptions filed under subsection (a) shall have the same 

18 force and effect as if included in this Act, except that the 

19 Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in 

20 the Map and legal descriptions. 

21 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Map and legal de22 scriptions filed under subsection (a) shall be available for 

23 public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Bureau 

24 of Land Management. 


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1 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT OF CONSERVATION AREA AND WIL2 DERNESS. 

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

4 all Federal land within the Conservation Area and the Wil5 derness and all land and interests in land acquired by the 

6 United States within the Conservation Area or the Wilder7 ness is withdrawn from— 

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

9 under the public land laws; 

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

11 laws; and 

12 (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 

13 materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 

14 (b) GRAZING.— 

15 (1) GRAZING IN CONSERVATION AREA.—Except 

16 as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 

17 issue and administer any grazing leases or permits 

18 in the Conservation Area in accordance with the 

19 laws (including regulations) applicable to the 

20 issuance and administration of such leases and per21 mits on other land under the jurisdiction of the Bu22 reau of Land Management. 

23 (2) GRAZING IN WILDERNESS.—The grazing of 

24 livestock in the Wilderness, if established as of the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, shall be permitted to 

26 continue— 


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1 (A) subject to any reasonable regulations, 

2 policies, and practices that the Secretary deter3 mines to be necessary; and 

4 (B) in accordance with— 

5 (i) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness 

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

7 (ii) the guidelines set forth in Appen8 dix A of the report of the Committee on 

9 Interior and Insular Affairs of the House 

10 of Representatives accompanying H.R. 

11 2570 of the 101st Congress (H. Rept. 

12 101–405). 

13 (c) NO BUFFER ZONES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act creates 

15 a protective perimeter or buffer zone around the 

16 Conservation Area. 

17 (2) ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE CONSERVATION

18 AREA.—The fact that an activity or use on land out19 side the Conservation Area can be seen or heard 

20 within the Conservation Area shall not preclude the 

21 activity or use outside the boundary of the Conserva22 tion Area. 

23 (d) ACQUISITION OF LAND.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may acquire 

25 non-Federal land within the boundaries of the ConVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:52 Jan 11, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S183.IS S183

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1 servation Area or the Wilderness only through ex2 change, donation, or purchase from a willing seller. 

3 (2) MANAGEMENT.—Land acquired under para4 graph (1) shall— 

5 (A) become part of the Conservation Area 

6 and, if applicable, the Wilderness; and 

7 (B) be managed in accordance with this 

8 Act and any other applicable laws. 

9 (e) FIRE, INSECTS, AND DISEASES.—Subject to such 

10 terms and conditions as the Secretary determines to be 

11 desirable and appropriate, the Secretary may undertake 

12 such measures as are necessary to control fire, insects, 

13 and diseases— 

14 (1) in the Wilderness, in accordance with sec15 tion 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 

16 1133(d)(1)); and 

17 (2) except as provided in paragraph (1), in the 

18 Conservation Area in accordance with this Act and 

19 any other applicable laws. 

20 (f) ACCESS.—The Secretary shall continue to provide 

21 private landowners adequate access to inholdings in the 

22 Conservation Area. 

23 (g) INVASIVE SPECIES AND NOXIOUS WEEDS.—In 

24 accordance with any applicable laws and subject to such 

25 terms and conditions as the Secretary determines to be 


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1 desirable and appropriate, the Secretary may prescribe 

2 measures to control nonnative invasive plants and noxious 

3 weeds within the Conservation Area. 

4 (h) WATER RIGHTS.— 

5 (1) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act— 

6 (A) affects the use or allocation, in exist7 ence on the date of enactment of this Act, of 

8 any water, water right, or interest in water; 

9 (B) affects any vested absolute or decreed 

10 conditional water right in existence on the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, including any water 

12 right held by the United States; 

13 (C) affects any interstate water compact in 

14 existence on the date of enactment of this Act; 

15 (D) authorizes or imposes any new re16 served Federal water rights; or 

17 (E) shall be considered to be a relinquish18 ment or reduction of any water rights reserved 

19 or appropriated by the United States in the 

20 State on or before the date of enactment of this 

21 Act. 

22 (2) WILDERNESS WATER RIGHTS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall en24 sure that any water rights within the Wilder25 ness required to fulfill the purposes of the WilVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:52 Jan 11, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S183.IS S183

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1 derness are secured in accordance with sub2 paragraphs (B) through (G). 

3 (B) STATE LAW.— 

4 (i) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 Any water rights within the Wilderness for 

6 which the Secretary pursues adjudication 

7 shall be adjudicated, changed, and admin8 istered in accordance with the procedural 

9 requirements and priority system of State 

10 law. 

11 (ii) ESTABLISHMENT OF WATER

12 RIGHTS.— 

13 (I) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro14 vided in subclause (II), the purposes 

15 and other substantive characteristics 

16 of the water rights pursued under this 

17 paragraph shall be established in ac18 cordance with State law. 

19 (II) EXCEPTION.—Notwith20 standing subclause (I) and in accord21 ance with this Act, the Secretary may 

22 appropriate and seek adjudication of 

23 water rights to maintain surface water 

24 levels and stream flows on and across 


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1 the Wilderness to fulfill the purposes 

2 of the Wilderness. 

3 (C) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall 

4 promptly, but not earlier than January 2009, 

5 appropriate the water rights required to fulfill 

6 the purposes of the Wilderness. 

7 (D) REQUIRED DETERMINATION.—The 

8 Secretary shall not pursue adjudication for any 

9 instream flow water rights unless the Secretary 

10 makes a determination pursuant to subpara11 graph (E)(ii) or (F). 

12 (E) COOPERATIVE ENFORCEMENT.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

14 not pursue adjudication of any Federal 

15 instream flow water rights established 

16 under this paragraph if— 

17 (I) the Secretary determines, 

18 upon adjudication of the water rights 

19 by the Colorado Water Conservation 

20 Board, that the Board holds water 

21 rights sufficient in priority, amount, 

22 and timing to fulfill the purposes of 

23 the Wilderness; and 

24 (II) the Secretary has entered 

25 into a perpetual agreement with the 


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1 Colorado Water Conservation Board 

2 to ensure the full exercise, protection, 

3 and enforcement of the State water 

4 rights within the Wilderness to reli5 ably fulfill the purposes of the Wilder6 ness. 

7 (ii) ADJUDICATION.—If the Secretary 

8 determines that the provisions of clause (i) 

9 have not been met, the Secretary shall ad10 judicate and exercise any Federal water 

11 rights required to fulfill the purposes of 

12 the Wilderness in accordance with this 

13 paragraph. 

14 (F) INSUFFICIENT WATER RIGHTS.—If the 

15 Colorado Water Conservation Board modifies 

16 the instream flow water rights obtained under 

17 subparagraph (E) to such a degree that the 

18 Secretary determines that water rights held by 

19 the State are insufficient to fulfill the purposes 

20 of the Wilderness, the Secretary shall adju21 dicate and exercise Federal water rights re22 quired to fulfill the purposes of the Wilderness 

23 in accordance with subparagraph (B). 

24 (G) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—The Secretary 

25 shall promptly act to exercise and enforce the 


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1 water rights described in subparagraph (E) if 

2 the Secretary determines that— 

3 (i) the State is not exercising its 

4 water rights consistent with subparagraph 

5 (E)(i)(I); or 

6 (ii) the agreement described in sub7 paragraph (E)(i)(II) is not fulfilled or com8 plied with sufficiently to fulfill the pur9 poses of the Wilderness. 

10 (3) WATER RESOURCE FACILITY.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

12 other provision of law and subject to subpara13 graph (B), beginning on the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, neither the President nor any other 

15 officer, employee, or agent of the United States 

16 shall fund, assist, authorize, or issue a license 

17 or permit for the development of any new irri18 gation and pumping facility, reservoir, water 

19 conservation work, aqueduct, canal, ditch, pipe20 line, well, hydropower project, transmission, 

21 other ancillary facility, or other water, diver22 sion, storage, or carriage structure in the Wil23 derness. 

24 (B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub25 paragraph (A), the Secretary may allow conVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:52 Jan 11, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S183.IS S183

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1 struction of new livestock watering facilities 

2 within the Wilderness in accordance with— 

3 (i) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness 

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

5 (ii) the guidelines set forth in Appen6 dix A of the report of the Committee on 

7 Interior and Insular Affairs of the House 

8 of Representatives accompanying H.R. 

9 2570 of the 101st Congress (H. Rept. 

10 101–405). 

11 (4) CONSERVATION AREA WATER RIGHTS.— 

12 With respect to water within the Conservation Area, 

13 nothing in this Act— 

14 (A) authorizes any Federal agency to ap15 propriate or otherwise acquire any water right 

16 on the mainstem of the Gunnison River; or 

17 (B) prevents the State from appropriating 

18 or acquiring, or requires the State to appro19 priate or acquire, an instream flow water right 

20 on the mainstem of the Gunnison River. 

21 (5) WILDERNESS BOUNDARIES ALONG GUNNI22 SON RIVER.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—In areas in which the 

24 Gunnison River is used as a reference for definVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:52 Jan 11, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S183.IS S183

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1 ing the boundary of the Wilderness, the bound2 ary shall— 

3 (i) be located at the edge of the river; 

4 and 

5 (ii) change according to the river 

6 level. 

7 (B) EXCLUSION FROM WILDERNESS.—Re8 gardless of the level of the Gunnison River, no 

9 portion of the Gunnison River is included in the 

10 Wilderness. 

11 (i) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act— 

12 (1) diminishes the jurisdiction of the State with 

13 respect to fish and wildlife in the State; or 

14 (2) imposes any Federal water quality standard 

15 upstream of the Conservation Area or within the 

16 mainstem of the Gunnison River that is more re17 strictive than would be applicable had the Conserva18 tion Area not been established. 

19 (j) VALID EXISTING RIGHTS.—The designation of 

20 the Conservation Area and Wilderness is subject to valid 

21 rights in existence on the date of enactment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 7. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop 


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1 a comprehensive management plan for the long-term pro2 tection and management of the Conservation Area. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The management plan shall— 

4 (1) describe the appropriate uses and manage5 ment of the Conservation Area; 

6 (2) be developed with extensive public input; 

7 (3) take into consideration any information de8 veloped in studies of the land within the Conserva9 tion Area; and 

10 (4) include a comprehensive travel management 

11 plan. 

12 SEC. 8. ADVISORY COUNCIL. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es15 tablish an advisory council, to be known as the 

16 ‘‘Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Advi17 sory Council’’. 

18 (b) DUTIES.—The Council shall advise the Secretary 

19 with respect to the preparation and implementation of the 

20 management plan. 

21 (c) APPLICABLE LAW.—The Council shall be subject 

22 to— 

23 (1) the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

24 U.S.C. App.); and 


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1 (2) the Federal Land Policy and Management 

2 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

3 (d) MEMBERS.—The Council shall include 10 mem4 bers to be appointed by the Secretary, of whom, to the 

5 extent practicable— 

6 (1) 1 member shall be appointed after consid7 ering the recommendations of the Mesa County 

8 Commission; 

9 (2) 1 member shall be appointed after consid10 ering the recommendations of the Montrose County 

11 Commission; 

12 (3) 1 member shall be appointed after consid13 ering the recommendations of the Delta County 

14 Commission; 

15 (4) 1 member shall be appointed after consid16 ering the recommendations of the permittees holding 

17 grazing allotments within the Conservation Area or 

18 the Wilderness; and 

19 (5) 5 members shall reside in, or within reason20 able proximity to, Mesa County, Delta County, or 

21 Montrose County, Colorado, with backgrounds that 

22 reflect— 

23 (A) the purposes for which the Conserva24 tion Area or Wilderness was established; and 


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1 (B) the interests of the stakeholders that 

2 are affected by the planning and management 

3 of the Conservation Area and Wilderness. 

4 (e) REPRESENTATION.—The Secretary shall ensure 

5 that the membership of the Council is fairly balanced in 

6 terms of the points of view represented and the functions 

7 to be performed by the Council. 

8 (f) DURATION.—The Council shall terminate on the 

9 date that is 1 year from the date on which the manage10 ment plan is adopted by the Secretary. 

11 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

13 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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