I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 323

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 12, 1999

Referred to the Committee on Resources

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

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

5 Gunnison National Park and Gunnison Gorge National

6 Conservation Area Act of 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) Black Canyon of the Gunnison National

4 Monument was established for the preservation of its

5 spectacular gorges and additional features of scenic,

6 scientific, and educational interest;

7 (2) the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and ad8 jacent upland include a variety of unique ecological,

9 geological, scenic, historical, and wildlife components

10 enhanced by the serenity and rural western setting

11 of the area;

12 (3) the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and ad13 jacent land provide extensive opportunities for edu14 cational and recreational activities, and are publicly

15 used for hiking, camping, and fishing, and for wil16 derness value, including solitude;

17 (4) adjacent public land downstream of the

18 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument

19 has wilderness value and offers unique geological,

20 paleontological, scientific, educational, and rec21 reational resources;

22 (5) public land adjacent to the Black Canyon of

23 the Gunnison National Monument contributes to the

24 protection of the wildlife, viewshed, and scenic quali25 ties of the Black Canyon;
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1 (6) some private land adjacent to the Black

2 Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument has ex3 ceptional natural and scenic value that would be

4 threatened by future development pressures;

5 (7) the benefits of designating public and pri6 vate land surrounding the national monument as a

7 national park include greater long-term protection of

8 the resources and expanded visitor use opportunities;

9 and

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

11 of the Gunnison Gorge is—

12 (A) recognized for offering exceptional

13 multiple use opportunities;

14 (B) recognized for offering natural, cul15 tural, scenic, wilderness, and recreational re16 sources; and

17 (C) worthy of additional protection as a

18 national conservation area, and with respect to

19 the Gunnison Gorge itself, as a component of

20 the national wilderness system.

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

22 In this Act:

23 (1) CONSERVATION AREA.—The term ‘‘Con24 servation Area’’ means the Gunnison Gorge National

25 Conservation Area, consisting of approximately
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1 57,725 acres surrounding the Gunnison Gorge as

2 depicted on the Map.

3 (2) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map en4 titled ‘‘Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

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

6 shall be on file and available for public inspection in

7 the offices of the Department of the Interior.

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

9 Canyon of the Gunnison National Park established

10 under section 4 and depicted on the Map.

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

12 the Secretary of the Interior.

13 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF BLACK CANYON OF THE GUN14 NISON NATIONAL PARK.

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established

16 the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in the

17 State of Colorado as generally depicted on the map identi18 fied in section 3. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison Na19 tional Monument is hereby abolished as such, the lands

20 and interests therein are incorporated within and made

21 part of the new Black Canyon of the Gunnison National

22 Park, and any funds available for purposes of the monu23 ment shall be available for purposes of the park.

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

25 the Secretary shall transfer the lands under the jurisdic-
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1 tion of the Bureau of Land Management which are identi2 fied on the map for inclusion in the park to the adminis3 trative jurisdiction of the National Park Service. The Sec4 retary shall administer the park in accordance with this

5 Act and laws generally applicable to units of the National

6 Park System, including the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to estab7 lish a National Park Service, and for other purposes’’, ap8 proved August 25, 1916 (16 U.S.C. 1, 2–4), and the Act

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

10 American sites, buildings, objects, and antiquities of na11 tional significance, and for other purposes, approved Au12 gust 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.).

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

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

15 Secretary shall file maps and a legal description of the

16 park with the Committee on Energy and Natural Re17 sources of the United States Senate and the Committee

18 on Resources of the United States House of Representa19 tives. Such maps and legal description shall have the same

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

21 Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in

22 such legals description and maps. The maps and legal de23 scription shall be on file and available for public inspection

24 in the appropriate offices of the National Park Service.
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1 (d) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights,

2 all Federal lands within the park are hereby withdrawn

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

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

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

6 relating to mineral and geothermal leasing, and all amend7 ments thereto.

8 (e) GRAZING.—(1)(A) Consistent with the require9 ments of this subsection, including the limitation in para10 graph (3), the Secretary shall allow the grazing of live11 stock within the park to continue where authorized under

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

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

14 level, and subject to applicable laws and National Park

15 Service regulations.

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

17 extending grazing privileges for any party or their as18 signee in any area of the park where, prior to the date

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

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

21 Court affecting property incorporated into the boundary

22 of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument.

23 (C) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the Sec24 retary from accepting the voluntary termination of leases

25 or permits for grazing within the park.
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1 (2) Within areas of the park designated as wilder2 ness, the grazing of livestock, where authorized under per3 mits in existence as of the date of enactment of this Act,

4 shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable

5 regulations, policies, and practices as the Secretary deems

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

7 and other applicable laws and National Park Service regu8 lations.

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

10 referenced in this subsection, the Secretary shall allow

11 grazing to continue, subject to periodic renewal, for a pe12 riod equal to the lifetime of the holder of the grazing per13 mit or lease as of the date of enactment of this Act.

14 SEC. 5. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY AND MINOR BOUND15 ARY ADJUSTMENTS.

16 (a) ADDITIONAL ACQUISITIONS.—

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

18 land or interests in land depicted on the Map as pro19 posed additions.

20 (2) METHOD OF ACQUISITION.—

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

22 land may be acquired by—

23 (i) donation;

24 (ii) transfer;
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1 (iii) purchase with donated or appro2 priated funds; or

3 (iv) exchange.

4 (B) CONSENT.—No land or interest in

5 land may be acquired without the consent of

6 the owner of the land.

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

8 the Park, the Secretary shall—

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

10 newly-acquired land within the boundary; and

11 (2) administer newly-acquired land subject to

12 applicable laws (including regulations).

13 (c) BOUNDARY SURVEY.—As soon as practicable and

14 subject to the availability of funds the Secretary shall com15 plete an official boundary survey of the Park.

16 (d) HUNTING ON PRIVATELY OWNED LANDS.—

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

18 hunting on privately owned land added to the Park

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

20 regulations that may be prescribed by the Secretary.

21 (2) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—On the

22 date that the Secretary acquires fee ownership of

23 any privately owned land added to the Park under

24 this Act, the authority under paragraph (1) shall
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1 terminate with respect to the privately owned land

2 acquired.

3 SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF THE BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNI4 SON WILDERNESS.

5 (a) EXPANSION OF BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNI6 SON WILDERNESS.—The Black Canyon of the Gunnison

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

8 section of Public Law 94–567 (90 Stat. 2692), is ex9 panded to include the parcel of land depicted on the Map

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

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

12 Gunnison Wilderness shall be administered as a compo13 nent of the Park.

14 SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GUNNISON GORGE NA15 TIONAL CONSERVATION AREA.

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

17 Gorge National Conservation Area, consisting of approxi18 mately 57,725 acres as generally depicted on the Map.

19 (b) MANAGEMENT OF CONSERVATION AREA.—The

20 Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of

21 Land Management, shall manage the Conservation Area

22 to protect the resources of the Conservation Area in ac23 cordance with—

24 (1) this Act;
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1 (2) the Federal Land Policy and Management

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

3 (3) other applicable provisions of law.

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

5 all Federal lands within the Conservation Area are hereby

6 withdrawn from all forms of entry, appropriation or dis7 posal under the public land laws; from location, entry, and

8 patent under the mining laws; and from disposition under

9 all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing, and

10 all amendments thereto.

11 (d) HUNTING, TRAPPING AND FISHING.—

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

13 hunting, trapping, and fishing within the Conserva14 tion Area in accordance with applicable laws (includ15 ing regulations) of the United States and the State

16 of Colorado.

17 (2) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary, after con18 sultation with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, may

19 issue regulations designating zones where and estab20 lishing periods when no hunting or trapping shall be

21 permitted for reasons concerning—

22 (A) public safety;

23 (B) administration; or

24 (C) public use and enjoyment.
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1 (e) USE OF MOTORIZED VEHICLES.—In addition to

2 the use of motorized vehicles on established roadways, the

3 use of motorized vehicles in the Conservation Area shall

4 be allowed—

5 (1) to the extent the use is compatible with off6 highway vehicle designations as described in the

7 management plan in effect on the date of enactment

8 of this Act; or

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

10 management plan prepared under this Act.

11 (f) CONSERVATION AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

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

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary

14 shall—

15 (A) develop a comprehensive plan for the

16 long-range protection and management of the

17 Conservation Area; and

18 (B) transmit the plan to—

19 (i) the Committee on Energy and

20 Natural Resources of the Senate; and

21 (ii) the Committee on Resources of

22 the House of Representatives.

23 (2) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—The plan—
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1 (A) shall describe the appropriate uses and

2 management of the Conservation Area in ac3 cordance with this Act;

4 (B) may incorporate appropriate decisions

5 contained in any management or activity plan

6 for the area completed prior to the date of en7 actment of this Act;

8 (C) may incorporate appropriate wildlife

9 habitat management plans or other plans pre10 pared for the land within or adjacent to the

11 Conservation Area prior to the date of enact12 ment of this Act;

13 (D) shall be prepared in close consultation

14 with appropriate Federal, State, county, and

15 local agencies; and

16 (E) may use information developed prior to

17 the date of enactment of this Act in studies of

18 the land within or adjacent to the Conservation

19 Area.

20 (g) BOUNDARY REVISIONS.—The Secretary may

21 make revisions to the boundary of the Conservation Area

22 following acquisition of land necessary to accomplish the

23 purposes for which the Conservation Area was designated.
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1 SEC. 8. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS WITHIN THE CON2 SERVATION AREA.

3 (a) GUNNISON GORGE WILDERNESS.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within the Conservation

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

6 component of the National Wilderness Preservation

7 System, the Gunnison Gorge Wilderness, consisting

8 of approximately 17,700 acres, as generally depicted

9 on the Map.

10 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—

11 (A) WILDERNESS STUDY AREA EXEMP12 TION.—The approximately 300-acre portion of

13 the wilderness study area depicted on the Map

14 for release from section 603 of the Federal

15 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43

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

17 603(c) of that Act.

18 (B) INCORPORATION INTO NATIONAL CON19 SERVATION AREA.—The portion of the wilder20 ness study area described in subparagraph (A)

21 shall be incorporated into the Conservation

22 Area.

23 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Subject to valid rights in ex24 istence on the date of enactment of this Act, the wilder25 ness areas designated under this Act shall be administered

26 by the Secretary in accordance with the Wilderness Act
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1 (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) except that any reference in such

2 provisions to the effective date of the Wilderness Act shall

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

4 Act and any reference to the Secretary of Agriculture shall

5 be deemed to be a reference to the Secretary of the Inte6 rior.

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

8 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)),

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

10 the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the State of Colorado

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

12 in that State.

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

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

15 Secretary of the Interior shall file a map and a legal de16 scription of the Gunnison Gorge Wilderness with the Com17 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United

18 States Senate and the Committee on Resources of the

19 United States House of Representatives. This map and

20 description shall have the same force and effect as if in21 cluded in this Act. The Secretary of the Interior may cor22 rect clerical and typographical errors in the map and legal

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

24 and available in the office of the Director of the BLM.
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1 SEC. 9. WITHDRAWAL.

2 Subject to valid existing rights, the Federal lands

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

4 (comprising approximately 1,154 acres) are hereby with5 drawn from all forms of entry, appropriation or disposal

6 under the public land laws; from location, entry, and pat7 ent under the mining laws; and from disposition under all

8 laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing, and all

9 amendments thereto.

10 SEC. 10. WATER RIGHTS.

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

12 Act shall—

13 (1) constitute an express or implied reservation

14 of water for any purpose; or

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

16 the date of enactment of this Act, including any

17 water rights held by the United States.

18 (b) ADDITIONAL WATER RIGHTS.—Any new water

19 right that the Secretary determines is necessary for the

20 purposes of this Act shall be established in accordance

21 with the procedural and substantive requirements of the

22 laws of the State of Colorado.

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

24 CURECANTI NATIONAL RECREATION AREA.

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

26 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting
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1 through the Director of the National Park Service, shall

2 conduct a study concerning land protection and open space

3 within and adjacent to the area administered as the

4 Curecanti National Recreation Area.

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

6 completed under subsection (a) shall—

7 (1) assess the natural, cultural, recreational

8 and scenic resource value and character of the land

9 within and surrounding the Curecanti National

10 Recreation Area (including open vistas, wildlife habi11 tat, and other public benefits);

12 (2) identify practicable alternatives that protect

13 the resource value and character of the land within

14 and surrounding the Curecanti National Recreation

15 Area;

16 (3) recommend a variety of economically fea17 sible and viable tools to achieve the purposes de18 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2); and

19 (4) estimate the costs of implementing the ap20 proaches recommended by the study.

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

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

23 submit a report to Congress that—

24 (1) contains the findings of the study required

25 by subsection (a);
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1 (2) makes recommendations to Congress with

2 respect to the findings of the study required by sub3 section (a); and

4 (3) makes recommendations to Congress re5 garding action that may be taken with respect to the

6 land described in the report.

7 (d) ACQUISITION OF ADDITIONAL LAND AND INTER8 ESTS IN LAND.—

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

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

11 may acquire certain private land or interests in land

12 as depicted on the Map entitled ‘Proposed Additions

13 to the Curecanti National Recreation Area,’ dated

14 01/25/99, totaling approximately 1,065 acres and

15 entitled ‘Hall and Fitti properties’.

16 (2) METHOD OF ACQUISITION.—

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

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

19 (i) donation;

20 (ii) purchase with donated or appro21 priated funds; or

22 (iii) exchange.

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

24 land may be acquired without the consent of

25 the owner of the land.
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1 (C) BOUNDARY REVISIONS FOLLOWING AC2 QUISITION.—Following the acquisition of land

3 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

4 (i) revise the boundary of the

5 Curecanti National Recreation Area to in6 clude newly-acquired land; and

7 (ii) administer newly-acquired land ac8 cording to applicable laws (including regu9 lations).

10 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

12 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

Passed the Senate July 1, 1999.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.