II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2721 

To designate certain land in San Miguel, Ouray, and San Juan Counties, 

Colorado, as wilderness, to designate certain special management areas 

in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 19, 2018 

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

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate certain land in San Miguel, Ouray, and San 

Juan Counties, Colorado, as wilderness, to designate certain special management areas in the State of Colorado, 

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 ‘‘San Juan Mountains 

5 Wilderness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ 

2 means— 

3 (A) land designated as wilderness under 

4 paragraphs (23) through (25) of section 2(a) of 

5 the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (16 

6 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 103–77) (as 

7 added by section 3); and 

8 (B) land designated as a Special Manage9 ment Area. 

10 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

12 (3) SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA.—The term 

13 ‘‘Special Management Area’’ means each of— 

14 (A) the Sheep Mountain Special Manage15 ment Area designated by section 4(a)(1); and 

16 (B) the Liberty Bell East Special Manage17 ment Area designated by section 4(a)(2). 

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

19 of Colorado. 

20 SEC. 3. ADDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRES21 ERVATION SYSTEM. 

22 Section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 

23 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 103–77; 107 Stat. 756; 

24 114 Stat. 1955; 116 Stat. 1055; 127 Stat. 3824) is 

25 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(23) LIZARD HEAD WILDERNESS ADDITION.— 

2 Certain Federal land in the Grand Mesa, 

3 Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests com4 prising approximately 3,141 acres, as generally de5 picted on the map entitled ‘Proposed Wilson, Sun6 shine, Black Face and San Bernardo Additions to 

7 the Lizard Head Wilderness’ and dated March 8, 

8 2018, which is incorporated in, and shall be adminis9 tered as part of, the Lizard Head Wilderness. 

10 ‘‘(24) MOUNT SNEFFELS WILDERNESS ADDI11 TIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) LIBERTY BELL AND LAST DOLLAR

13 ADDITIONS.—Certain Federal land in the 

14 Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison Na15 tional Forests comprising approximately 7,279 

16 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled 

17 ‘Proposed Liberty Bell and Last Dollar Addi18 tions to the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness, Liberty 

19 Bell East Special Management Area’ and dated 

20 March 8, 2018, which is incorporated in, and 

21 shall be administered as part of, the Mount 

22 Sneffels Wilderness. 

23 ‘‘(B) WHITEHOUSE ADDITIONS.—Certain 

24 Federal land in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, 

25 and Gunnison National Forests comprising apVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:41 Apr 26, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2721.IS S2721

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1 proximately 12,468 acres, as generally depicted 

2 on the map entitled ‘Proposed Whitehouse Ad3 ditions to the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness’ and 

4 dated March 22, 2018, which is incorporated 

5 in, and shall be administered as part of, the 

6 Mount Sneffels Wilderness. 

7 ‘‘(25) MCKENNA PEAK WILDERNESS.—Certain 

8 Federal land in the State of Colorado comprising ap9 proximately 8,600 acres of Bureau of Land Manage10 ment land, as generally depicted on the map entitled 

11 ‘McKenna Peak Wilderness’ and dated April 14, 

12 2016, to be known as the ‘McKenna Peak Wilder13 ness’.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREAS. 

15 (a) DESIGNATION.— 

16 (1) SHEEP MOUNTAIN SPECIAL MANAGEMENT

17 AREA.—The Federal land in the Grand Mesa, 

18 Uncompahgre, and Gunnison and San Juan Na19 tional Forests in the State comprising approximately 

20 21,675 acres, as generally depicted on the map enti21 tled ‘‘Proposed Sheep Mountain Special Manage22 ment Area’’ and dated March 8, 2018, is designated 

23 as the ‘‘Sheep Mountain Special Management Area’’. 

24 (2) LIBERTY BELL EAST SPECIAL MANAGE25 MENT AREA.—The Federal land in the Grand Mesa, 


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1 Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests in 

2 the State comprising approximately 792 acres, as 

3 generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Proposed 

4 Liberty Bell and Last Dollar Additions to the Mt. 

5 Sneffels Wilderness, Liberty Bell East Special Man6 agement Area’’ and dated March 8, 2018, is des7 ignated as the ‘‘Liberty Bell East Special Manage8 ment Area’’. 

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Special Manage10 ment Areas is to conserve and protect for the benefit and 

11 enjoyment of present and future generations the geologi12 cal, cultural, archaeological, paleontological, natural, sci13 entific, recreational, wilderness, wildlife, riparian, histor14 ical, educational, and scenic resources of the Special Man15 agement Areas. 

16 (c) MANAGEMENT.— 

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

18 the Special Management Areas in a manner that— 

19 (A) conserves, protects, and enhances the 

20 resources and values of the Special Manage21 ment Areas described in subsection (b); 

22 (B) subject to paragraph (3), maintains or 

23 improves the wilderness character of the Special 

24 Management Areas and the suitability of the 

25 Special Management Areas for potential incluVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:41 Apr 26, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2721.IS S2721

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1 sion in the National Wilderness Preservation 

2 System; and 

3 (C) is 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) PROHIBITIONS.—The following shall be pro9 hibited in the Special Management Areas: 

10 (A) Permanent roads. 

11 (B) Except as necessary to meet the min12 imum requirements for the administration of 

13 the Federal land, to provide access for aban14 doned mine cleanup, and to protect public 

15 health and safety— 

16 (i) the use of motor vehicles, motor17 ized equipment, or mechanical transport 

18 (other than provided in paragraph (3)); 

19 and 

20 (ii) the establishment of temporary 

21 roads. 

22 (3) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

24 allow any activities (including helicopter access 

25 for recreation and maintenance and the comVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:41 Apr 26, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2721.IS S2721

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1 petitive running event permitted since 1992) 

2 that have been authorized by permit or license 

3 as of the date of enactment of this Act to con4 tinue within the Special Management Areas, 

5 subject to such terms and conditions as the 

6 Secretary may require. 

7 (B) PERMITTING.—The designation of the 

8 Special Management Areas by subsection (a) 

9 shall not affect the issuance of permits relating 

10 to the activities covered under subparagraph 

11 (A) after the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 (C) BICYCLES.—The Secretary may permit 

13 the use of bicycles in— 

14 (i) the portion of the Sheep Mountain 

15 Special Management Area identified as 

16 ‘‘Ophir Valley Area’’ on the map entitled 

17 ‘‘Proposed Sheep Mountain Special Man18 agement Area’’ and dated March 8, 2018; 

19 and 

20 (ii) the portion of the Liberty Bell 

21 East Special Management Area identified 

22 as ‘‘Liberty Bell Corridor’’ on the map en23 titled ‘‘Proposed Liberty Bell and Last 

24 Dollar Additions to the Mt. Sneffels WilVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:41 Apr 26, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2721.IS S2721

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1 derness, Liberty Bell East Special Manage2 ment Area’’ and dated March 8, 2018. 

3 (d) APPLICABLE LAW.—Water and water rights in 

4 the Special Management Areas shall be administered in 

5 accordance with section 8 of the Colorado Wilderness Act 

6 of 1993 (Public Law 103–77; 107 Stat. 762), except 

7 that— 

8 (1) any reference in that section to ‘‘the lands 

9 designated as wilderness by this Act’’, ‘‘the Piedra, 

10 Roubideau, and Tabeguache areas identified in sec11 tion 9 of this Act, or the Bowen Gulch Protection 

12 Area or the Fossil Ridge Recreation Management 

13 Area identified in sections 5 and 6 of this Act’’, or 

14 ‘‘the areas described in sections 2, 5, 6, and 9 of 

15 this Act’’ shall be considered to be a reference to the 

16 ‘‘the Special Management Areas’’; and 

17 (2) any reference in that section to ‘‘this Act’’ 

18 shall be considered to be a reference to ‘‘the San 

19 Juan Mountains Wilderness Act’’. 

20 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

21 (a) FISH AND WILDLIFE.—Nothing in this Act af22 fects the jurisdiction or responsibility of the State with 

23 respect to fish and wildlife in the State. 

24 (b) NO BUFFER ZONES.— 


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

2 a protective perimeter or buffer zone around covered 

3 land. 

4 (2) ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE WILDERNESS.—The 

5 fact that a nonwilderness activity or use on land out6 side of the covered land can be seen or heard from 

7 within covered land shall not preclude the conduct of 

8 the activity or use outside the boundary of the cov9 ered land. 

10 (c) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.— 

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

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary or 

13 the Secretary of the Interior, as appropriate, shall 

14 file a map and a legal description of each wilderness 

15 area designated by paragraphs (23) through (25) of 

16 section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 

17 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 103–77) (as 

18 added by section 3) and the Special Management 

19 Areas with— 

20 (A) the Committee on Natural Resources 

21 of the House of Representatives; and 

22 (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

23 Resources of the Senate. 

24 (2) FORCE OF LAW.—Each map and legal de25 scription filed under paragraph (1) shall have the 


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1 same force and effect as if included in this Act, ex2 cept that the Secretary or the Secretary of the Inte3 rior, as appropriate, may correct clerical and typo4 graphical errors in each map and legal description. 

5 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Each map and 

6 legal description filed under paragraph (1) shall be 

7 on file and available for public inspection in the ap8 propriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management 

9 and the Forest Service. 

10 (d) ACQUISITION OF LAND.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or the Sec12 retary of the Interior, as appropriate, may acquire 

13 any land or interest in land within the boundaries of 

14 a Special Management Area or the wilderness des15 ignated under paragraphs (23) through (25) of sec16 tion 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 

17 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 103–77) (as 

18 added by section 3) only through exchange, dona19 tion, or purchase from a willing seller. 

20 (2) MANAGEMENT.—Any land or interest in 

21 land acquired under paragraph (1) shall be incor22 porated into, and administered as a part of, the wil23 derness or Special Management Area in which the 

24 land or interest in land is located. 


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1 (e) GRAZING.—The grazing of livestock on covered 

2 land, if established before the date of enactment of this 

3 Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reason4 able regulations as are considered necessary by the Sec5 retary with jurisdiction over the covered land, in accord6 ance with— 

7 (1) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act (16 

8 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)); and 

9 (2) the applicable guidelines set forth in Appen10 dix A of the report of the Committee on Interior and 

11 Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives ac12 companying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress (H. 

13 Rept. 101–405) or H.R. 5487 of the 96th Congress 

14 (H. Rept. 96–617). 

15 (f) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid rights in exist16 ence on the date of enactment of this Act, the covered 

17 land and the approximately 6,590 acres generally depicted 

18 on the map entitled ‘‘Proposed Naturita Canyon Mineral 

19 Withdrawal Area’’ and dated March 8, 2018, is withdrawn 

20 from— 

21 (1) entry, appropriation, and disposal under the 

22 public land laws; 

23 (2) location, entry, and patent under mining 

24 laws; and 


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1 (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 

2 materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 

3 SEC. 6. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 

4 Subtitle E of title II of Public Law 111–11 (16 

5 U.S.C. 460zzz et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating section 2408 (16 U.S.C. 

7 460zzz–7) as section 2409; and 

8 (2) by inserting after section 2407 (16 U.S.C. 

9 460zzz–6) the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 2408. RELEASE. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Congress finds that, for the pur12 poses of section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and 

13 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)), the por14 tions of the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Study Area 

15 not designated as wilderness by this subtitle have been 

16 adequately studied for wilderness designation. 

17 ‘‘(b) RELEASE.—Any public land referred to in sub18 section (a) that is not designated as wilderness by this 

19 subtitle— 

20 ‘‘(1) is no longer subject to section 603(c) of 

21 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

22 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)); and 

23 ‘‘(2) shall be managed in accordance with this 

24 subtitle and any other applicable laws.’’. 

Æ 


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