Union Calendar No. 185

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 323

[Report No. 106–307]

AN ACT

To redesignate the Black Canyon of the Gunnison

tion Area, and for other purposes.tablish the Gunnison Gorge National ConservaNational Monument as a national park and esSEPTEMBER 8, 1999

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,
IB

Union Calendar No. 185

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 323

[Report No. 106–307]

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 12, 1999

Referred to the Committee on Resources

SEPTEMBER 8, 1999

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 12, 1999]

AN ACT

To redesignate the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National

Monument as a national park and establish the Gunnison

Gorge National Conservation Area, 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.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Black Canyon of the

3 Gunnison National Park and Gunnison Gorge National

4 Conservation Area Act of 1999’’.

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

6 Congress finds that—

7 (1) Black Canyon of the Gunnison National

8 Monument was established for the preservation of its

9 spectacular gorges and additional features of scenic,

10 scientific, and educational interest;

11 (2) the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and ad12 jacent upland include a variety of unique ecological,

13 geological, scenic, historical, and wildlife components

14 enhanced by the serenity and rural western setting

15 of the area;

16 (3) the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and ad17 jacent land provide extensive opportunities for edu18 cational and recreational activities, and are publicly

19 used for hiking, camping, and fishing, and for wil20 derness value, including solitude;

21 (4) adjacent public land downstream of the

22 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument

23 has wilderness value and offers unique geological,

24 paleontological, scientific, educational, and rec25 reational resources;
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1 (5) public land adjacent to the Black Canyon of

2 the Gunnison National Monument contributes to the

3 protection of the wildlife, viewshed, and scenic quali4 ties of the Black Canyon;

5 (6) some private land adjacent to the Black

6 Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument has ex7 ceptional natural and scenic value that would be

8 threatened by future development pressures;

9 (7) the benefits of designating public and pri10 vate land surrounding the national monument as a

11 national park include greater long-term protection of

12 the resources and expanded visitor use opportunities;

13 and

14 (8) land in and adjacent to the Black Canyon

15 of the Gunnison Gorge is—

16 (A) recognized for offering exceptional

17 multiple use opportunities;

18 (B) recognized for offering natural, cul19 tural, scenic, wilderness, and recreational re20 sources; and

21 (C) worthy of additional protection as a

22 national conservation area, and with respect to

23 the Gunnison Gorge itself, as a component of

24 the national wilderness system.
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act:

3 (1) CONSERVATION AREA.—The term ‘‘Con4 servation Area’’ means the Gunnison Gorge National

5 Conservation Area, consisting of approximately

6 57,725 acres surrounding the Gunnison Gorge as

7 depicted on the Map.

8 (2) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map en9 titled ‘‘Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

10 and Gunnison Gorge NCA—1/22/99’’. The map

11 shall be on file and available for public inspection in

12 the offices of the Department of the Interior.

13 (3) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the Black

14 Canyon of the Gunnison National Park established

15 under section 4 and depicted on the Map.

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

17 the Secretary of the Interior.

18 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF BLACK CANYON OF THE GUN19 NISON NATIONAL PARK.

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established

21 the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in the

22 State of Colorado as generally depicted on the map identi23 fied in section 3. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison Na24 tional Monument is hereby abolished as such, the lands

25 and interests therein are incorporated within and made

26 part of the new Black Canyon of the Gunnison National
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1 Park, and any funds available for purposes of the monu2 ment shall be available for purposes of the park.

3 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Upon enactment of this title,

4 the Secretary shall transfer the lands under the jurisdic5 tion of the Bureau of Land Management which are identi6 fied on the map for inclusion in the park to the adminis7 trative jurisdiction of the National Park Service. The Sec8 retary shall administer the park in accordance with this

9 Act and laws generally applicable to units of the National

10 Park System, including the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to estab11 lish a National Park Service, and for other purposes’’, ap12 proved August 25, 1916 (16 U.S.C. 1, 2–4), and the Act

13 entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the preservation of historic

14 American sites, buildings, objects, and antiquities of na15 tional significance, and for other purposes, approved Au16 gust 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.).

17 (c) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—As soon as

18 practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the

19 Secretary shall file maps and a legal description of the

20 park with the Committee on Energy and Natural Re21 sources of the United States Senate and the Committee

22 on Resources of the United States House of Representa23 tives. Such maps and legal description shall have the same

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

25 Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in
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1 such legals description and maps. The maps and legal de2 scription shall be on file and available for public inspection

3 in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service.

4 (d) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights,

5 all Federal lands within the park are hereby withdrawn

6 from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under

7 the public land laws; from location, entry, and patent

8 under the mining laws; and from disposition under all laws

9 relating to mineral and geothermal leasing, and all amend10 ments thereto.

11 (e) GRAZING.—(1)(A) Consistent with the require12 ments of this subsection, including the limitation in para13 graph (3), the Secretary shall allow the grazing of live14 stock within the park to continue where authorized under

15 permits or leases in existence as of the date of enactment

16 of this Act. Grazing shall be at no more than the current

17 level, and subject to applicable laws and National Park

18 Service regulations.

19 (B) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as

20 extending grazing privileges for any party or their as21 signee in any area of the park where, prior to the date

22 of enactment of this Act, such use was scheduled to expire

23 according to the terms of a settlement by the U.S. Claims

24 Court affecting property incorporated into the boundary

25 of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument.
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1 (C) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the Sec2 retary from accepting the voluntary termination of leases

3 or permits for grazing within the park.

4 (2) Within areas of the park designated as wilder5 ness, the grazing of livestock, where authorized under per6 mits in existence as of the date of enactment of this Act,

7 shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable

8 regulations, policies, and practices as the Secretary deems

9 necessary, consistent with this Act, the Wilderness Act,

10 and other applicable laws and National Park Service regu11 lations.

12 (3) With respect to the grazing permits and leases

13 referenced in this subsection, the Secretary shall allow

14 grazing to continue, subject to periodic renewal—

15 (A) with respect to a permit or lease issued to

16 an individual, for the lifetime of the individual who

17 was the holder of the permit or lease on the date of

18 the enactment of this Act; and

19 (B) with respect to a permit or lease issued to

20 a partnership, corporation, or other legal entity, for

21 a period which shall terminate on the same date that

22 the last permit or lease held under subparagraph (A)

23 terminates, unless the partnership, corporation, or

24 legal entity dissolves or terminates before such time,
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1 in which case the permit or lease shall terminate

2 with the partnership, corporation, or legal entity.

3 SEC. 5. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY AND MINOR BOUND4 ARY ADJUSTMENTS.

5 (a) ADDITIONAL ACQUISITIONS.—

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

7 land or interests in land depicted on the Map as pro8 posed additions.

9 (2) METHOD OF ACQUISITION.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Land or interests in

11 land may be acquired by—

12 (i) donation;

13 (ii) transfer;

14 (iii) purchase with donated or appro15 priated funds; or

16 (iv) exchange.

17 (B) CONSENT.—No land or interest in

18 land may be acquired without the consent of

19 the owner of the land.

20 (b) BOUNDARY REVISION.—After acquiring land for

21 the Park, the Secretary shall—

22 (1) revise the boundary of the Park to include

23 newly-acquired land within the boundary; and

24 (2) administer newly-acquired land subject to

25 applicable laws (including regulations).
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1 (c) BOUNDARY SURVEY.—As soon as practicable and

2 subject to the availability of funds the Secretary shall com3 plete an official boundary survey of the Park.

4 (d) HUNTING ON PRIVATELY OWNED LANDS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may permit

6 hunting on privately owned land added to the Park

7 under this Act, subject to limitations, conditions, or

8 regulations that may be prescribed by the Secretary.

9 (2) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—On the

10 date that the Secretary acquires fee ownership of

11 any privately owned land added to the Park under

12 this Act, the authority under paragraph (1) shall

13 terminate with respect to the privately owned land

14 acquired.

15 SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF THE BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNI16 SON WILDERNESS.

17 (a) EXPANSION OF BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNI18 SON WILDERNESS.—The Black Canyon of the Gunnison

19 Wilderness, as established by subsection (b) of the first

20 section of Public Law 94–567 (90 Stat. 2692), is ex21 panded to include the parcel of land depicted on the Map

22 as ‘‘Tract A’’ and consisting of approximately 4,419 acres.

23 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Black Canyon of the

24 Gunnison Wilderness shall be administered as a compo25 nent of the Park.
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1 SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GUNNISON GORGE NA2 TIONAL CONSERVATION AREA.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Gunnison

4 Gorge National Conservation Area, consisting of approxi5 mately 57,725 acres as generally depicted on the Map.

6 (b) MANAGEMENT OF CONSERVATION AREA.—The

7 Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of

8 Land Management, shall manage the Conservation Area

9 to protect the resources of the Conservation Area in ac10 cordance with—

11 (1) this Act;

12 (2) the Federal Land Policy and Management

13 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and

14 (3) other applicable provisions of law.

15 (c) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights,

16 all Federal lands within the Conservation Area are hereby

17 withdrawn from all forms of entry, appropriation or dis18 posal under the public land laws; from location, entry, and

19 patent under the mining laws; and from disposition under

20 all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing, and

21 all amendments thereto.

22 (d) HUNTING, TRAPPING AND FISHING.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall permit

24 hunting, trapping, and fishing within the Conserva25 tion Area in accordance with applicable laws (includ-
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1 ing regulations) of the United States and the State

2 of Colorado.

3 (2) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary, after con4 sultation with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, may

5 issue regulations designating zones where and estab6 lishing periods when no hunting or trapping shall be

7 permitted for reasons concerning—

8 (A) public safety;

9 (B) administration; or

10 (C) public use and enjoyment.

11 (e) USE OF MOTORIZED VEHICLES.—In addition to

12 the use of motorized vehicles on established roadways, the

13 use of motorized vehicles in the Conservation Area shall

14 be allowed—

15 (1) to the extent the use is compatible with off16 highway vehicle designations as described in the

17 management plan in effect on the date of enactment

18 of this Act; or

19 (2) to the extent the use is practicable under a

20 management plan prepared under this Act.

21 (f) CONSERVATION AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary

24 shall—
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1 (A) develop a comprehensive plan for the

2 long-range protection and management of the

3 Conservation Area; and

4 (B) transmit the plan to—

5 (i) the Committee on Energy and

6 Natural Resources of the Senate; and

7 (ii) the Committee on Resources of

8 the House of Representatives.

9 (2) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The plan—

10 (A) shall describe the appropriate uses and

11 management of the Conservation Area in ac12 cordance with this Act;

13 (B) may incorporate appropriate decisions

14 contained in any management or activity plan

15 for the area completed prior to the date of en16 actment of this Act;

17 (C) may incorporate appropriate wildlife

18 habitat management plans or other plans pre19 pared for the land within or adjacent to the

20 Conservation Area prior to the date of enact21 ment of this Act;

22 (D) shall be prepared in close consultation

23 with appropriate Federal, State, county, and

24 local agencies; and
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1 (E) may use information developed prior to

2 the date of enactment of this Act in studies of

3 the land within or adjacent to the Conservation

4 Area.

5 (g) BOUNDARY REVISIONS.—The Secretary may

6 make revisions to the boundary of the Conservation Area

7 following acquisition of land necessary to accomplish the

8 purposes for which the Conservation Area was designated.

9 SEC. 8. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS WITHIN THE CON10 SERVATION AREA.

11 (a) GUNNISON GORGE WILDERNESS.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within the Conservation

13 Area, there is designated as wilderness, and as a

14 component of the National Wilderness Preservation

15 System, the Gunnison Gorge Wilderness, consisting

16 of approximately 17,700 acres, as generally depicted

17 on the Map.

18 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—

19 (A) WILDERNESS STUDY AREA EXEMP20 TION.—The approximately 300-acre portion of

21 the wilderness study area depicted on the Map

22 for release from section 603 of the Federal

23 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43

24 U.S.C. 1782) shall not be subject to section

25 603(c) of that Act.
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1 (B) INCORPORATION INTO NATIONAL CON2 SERVATION AREA.—The portion of the wilder3 ness study area described in subparagraph (A)

4 shall be incorporated into the Conservation

5 Area.

6 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Subject to valid rights in ex7 istence on the date of enactment of this Act, the wilder8 ness areas designated under this Act shall be administered

9 by the Secretary in accordance with the Wilderness Act

10 (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) except that any reference in such

11 provisions to the effective date of the Wilderness Act shall

12 be deemed to be a reference to the effective date of this

13 Act and any reference to the Secretary of Agriculture shall

14 be deemed to be a reference to the Secretary of the Inte15 rior.

16 (c) STATE RESPONSIBILITY.—As provided in section

17 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)),

18 nothing in this Act or in the Wilderness Act shall affect

19 the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the State of Colorado

20 with respect to wildlife and fish on the public land located

21 in that State.

22 (d) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.—As soon as

23 practicable after the date of enactment of this section, the

24 Secretary of the Interior shall file a map and a legal de25 scription of the Gunnison Gorge Wilderness with the Com-
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1 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United

2 States Senate and the Committee on Resources of the

3 United States House of Representatives. This map and

4 description shall have the same force and effect as if in5 cluded in this Act. The Secretary of the Interior may cor6 rect clerical and typographical errors in the map and legal

7 description. The map and legal description shall be on file

8 and available in the office of the Director of the BLM.

9 SEC. 9. WITHDRAWAL.

10 Subject to valid existing rights, the Federal lands

11 identified on the Map as ‘‘BLM Withdrawal (Tract B)’’

12 (comprising approximately 1,154 acres) are hereby with13 drawn from all forms of entry, appropriation or disposal

14 under the public land laws; from location, entry, and pat15 ent under the mining laws; and from disposition under all

16 laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing, and all

17 amendments thereto.

18 SEC. 10. WATER RIGHTS.

19 (a) EFFECT ON WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this

20 Act shall—

21 (1) constitute an express or implied reservation

22 of water for any purpose; or

23 (2) affect any water rights in existence prior to

24 the date of enactment of this Act, including any

25 water rights held by the United States.
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1 (b) ADDITIONAL WATER RIGHTS.—Any new water

2 right that the Secretary determines is necessary for the

3 purposes of this Act shall be established in accordance

4 with the procedural and substantive requirements of the

5 laws of the State of Colorado.

6 SEC. 11. STUDY OF LANDS WITHIN AND ADJACENT TO

7 CURECANTI NATIONAL RECREATION AREA.

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

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting

10 through the Director of the National Park Service, shall

11 conduct a study concerning land protection and open space

12 within and adjacent to the area administered as the

13 Curecanti National Recreation Area.

14 (b) PURPOSE OF STUDY.—The study required to be

15 completed under subsection (a) shall—

16 (1) assess the natural, cultural, recreational

17 and scenic resource value and character of the land

18 within and surrounding the Curecanti National

19 Recreation Area (including open vistas, wildlife habi20 tat, and other public benefits);

21 (2) identify practicable alternatives that protect

22 the resource value and character of the land within

23 and surrounding the Curecanti National Recreation

24 Area;
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1 (3) recommend a variety of economically fea2 sible and viable tools to achieve the purposes de3 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2); and

4 (4) estimate the costs of implementing the ap5 proaches recommended by the study.

6 (c) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—Not later than 3 years

7 from the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

8 submit a report to Congress that—

9 (1) contains the findings of the study required

10 by subsection (a);

11 (2) makes recommendations to Congress with

12 respect to the findings of the study required by sub13 section (a); and

14 (3) makes recommendations to Congress re15 garding action that may be taken with respect to the

16 land described in the report.

17 (d) ACQUISITION OF ADDITIONAL LAND AND INTER18 ESTS IN LAND.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the completion of

20 the study required by subsection (a), the Secretary

21 may acquire certain private land or interests in land

22 as depicted on the Map entitled ‘Proposed Additions

23 to the Curecanti National Recreation Area,’ dated

24 01/25/99, totaling approximately 1,065 acres and

25 entitled ‘Hall and Fitti properties’.
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1 (2) METHOD OF ACQUISITION.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Land or an interest in

3 land under paragraph (1) may be acquired by—

4 (i) donation;

5 (ii) purchase with donated or appro6 priated funds; or

7 (iii) exchange.

8 (B) CONSENT.—No land or interest in

9 land may be acquired without the consent of

10 the owner of the land.

11 (C) BOUNDARY REVISIONS FOLLOWING AC12 QUISITION.—Following the acquisition of land

13 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

14 (i) revise the boundary of the

15 Curecanti National Recreation Area to in16 clude newly-acquired land; and

17 (ii) administer newly-acquired land ac18 cording to applicable laws (including regu19 lations).

20 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

22 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

Passed the Senate July 1, 1999.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.