II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 848

To designate a portion of the Otay Mountain region of California as

wilderness.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 21, 1999

Mrs. FEINSTEIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To designate a portion of the Otay Mountain region of

California as wilderness.

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 ‘‘Otay Mountain Wilder5 ness Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) the public land in the Otay Mountain region

9 of California is one of the last remaining pristine lo10 cations in western San Diego County, California;
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1 (2) this rugged mountain adjacent to the

2 United States-Mexico border is internationally

3 known for having a diversity of unique and sensitive

4 plants;

5 (3) this area plays a critical role in San Diego’s

6 multi-species conservation plan, a national model

7 made for maintaining biodiversity;

8 (4) due to the proximity of the Otay Mountain

9 region to the international border, this area is the

10 focus of important law enforcement and border

11 interdiction efforts necessary to curtail illegal immi12 gration and protect the area’s wilderness values; and

13 (5) the illegal immigration traffic, combined

14 with the rugged topography, present unique fire

15 management challenges for protecting lives and re16 sources.

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

18 In this Act:

19 (1) PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘public land’’

20 has the meaning given the term ‘‘public lands’’ in

21 section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage22 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702).

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

24 the Secretary of the Interior.
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1 (3) WILDERNESS AREA.—The term ‘‘Wilderness

2 Area’’ means the Otay Mountain Wilderness des3 ignated by section 4.

4 SEC. 4. DESIGNATION.

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

6 Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), there is designated as wil7 derness and as a component of the National Wilderness

8 Preservation System certain public land in the California

9 Desert District of the Bureau of Land Management, Cali10 fornia, comprising approximately 18,500 acres as gen11 erally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Otay Mountain Wilder12 ness’’ and dated May 7, 1998.

13 (b) OTAY MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS.—The area des14 ignated under subsection (a) shall be known as the Otay

15 Mountain Wilderness.

16 SEC. 5. MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.

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

18 date of enactment of this Act, a map and a legal descrip19 tion for the Wilderness Area shall be filed by the Secretary

20 with—

21 (1) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re22 sources of the Senate; and

23 (2) the Committee on Resources of the House

24 of Representatives.
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1 (b) FORCE AND EFFECT.—The map and legal de2 scription shall have the same force and effect as if in3 cluded in this Act, except that the Secretary, as appro4 priate, may correct clerical and typographical errors in the

5 map and legal description.

6 (c) AVAILABILITY.—The map and legal description

7 for the Wilderness Area shall be on file and available for

8 public inspection in the offices of the Director and Cali9 fornia State Director of the Bureau of Land Management.

10 (d) UNITED STATES-MEXICO BORDER.—In carrying

11 out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that the south12 ern boundary of the Wilderness Area is—

13 (1) 100 feet north of the trail depicted on the

14 map referred to in subsection (a); and

15 (2) not less than 100 feet from the United

16 States-Mexico international border.

17 SEC. 6. WILDERNESS REVIEW.

18 All public land not designated as wilderness within

19 the boundaries of the Southern Otay Mountain Wilderness

20 Study Area (CA–060–029) and the Western Otay Moun21 tain Wilderness Study Area (CA–060–028) managed by

22 the Bureau of Land Management and reported to the Con23 gress in 1991—

24 (1) have been adequately studied for wilderness

25 designation under section 603 of the Federal Land
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1 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.

2 1782); and

3 (2) shall no longer be subject to the require4 ments contained in section 603(c) of that Act per5 taining to the management of wilderness study areas

6 in a manner that does not impair the suitability of

7 those areas for preservation as wilderness.

8 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION OF WILDERNESS AREA.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights

10 and to subsection (b), the Wilderness Area shall be admin11 istered by the Secretary in accordance with the Wilderness

12 Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), except that for the purposes

13 of the Wilderness Area—

14 (1) any reference in that Act to the effective

15 date of that Act shall be considered to be a reference

16 to the effective date of this Act; and

17 (2) any reference in that Act to the Secretary

18 of Agriculture shall be considered to be a reference

19 to the Secretary of the Interior.

20 (b) BORDER ENFORCEMENT, DRUG INTERDICTION,

21 AND WILDLAND FIRE PROTECTION.—Because of the

22 proximity of the Wilderness Area to the United States23 Mexico international border, drug interdiction, border op24 erations, and wildland fire management operations are

25 common management actions throughout the area encom-
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1 passing the Wilderness Area. This Act recognizes the need

2 to continue such management actions so long as such

3 management actions are conducted in accordance with the

4 Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and are subject

5 to such conditions as the Secretary considers appropriate.

6 SEC. 8. FURTHER ACQUISITIONS.

7 Any land within the boundaries of the Wilderness

8 Area that is acquired by the United States after the date

9 of enactment of this Act shall—

10 (1) become part of the Wilderness Area; and

11 (2) be managed in accordance with this Act and

12 other laws applicable to wilderness areas.

13 SEC. 9. NO BUFFER ZONES.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The designation of the Wilderness

15 Area by this Act shall not lead to the creation of protective

16 perimeters or buffer zones outside the boundary of the

17 Wilderness Area.

18 (b) NONWILDERNESS ACTIVITIES.—The fact that

19 nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard from

20 areas within the Wilderness Area shall not, in and of itself,

21 preclude nonwilderness activities or uses outside the

22 boundary of the Wilderness Area.

Æ