IB 

Union Calendar No. 345 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3914 

[Report No. 111–600] 

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

Colorado, as wilderness, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 22, 2009 

Mr. SALAZAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 

Additional sponsors: Ms. MARKEY of Colorado and Ms. DEGETTE

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 

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 October 22, 2009] 


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A BILL 

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

Juan Counties, Colorado, as wilderness, and for other 

purposes. 


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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 of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

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

9 means— 

10 (A) lands designated as wilderness under 

11 section 3 or section 4; and 

12 (B) lands designated as a special manage13 ment area under section 4. 

14 (2) NONCONFORMING USE.—The term ‘‘noncon15 forming use’’ means any commercial helicopter-as16 sisted skiing or snowboarding activities within the 

17 lands designated as a special management area under 

18 section 4 that have been authorized by the Secretary 

19 as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

20 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agri22 culture, as appropriate. 

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

24 of Colorado. 


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1 SEC. 3. ADDITIONS TO THE WILDERNESS PRESERVATION 

2 SYSTEM. 

3 (a) DESIGNATION.—In accordance with the Wilderness 

4 Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the following areas in the State 

5 are designated as wilderness areas and as components of 

6 the National Wilderness Preservation System: 

7 (1) Certain lands in the Grand Mesa, 

8 Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests com9 prising approximately 3,170 acres, as generally de10 picted on a map titled ‘‘Proposed Wilson, Sunshine, 

11 Black Face and San Bernardo Additions to the Liz12 ard Head Wilderness’’, dated January 26, 2010, and 

13 which are hereby incorporated into the Lizard Head 

14 Wilderness area. 

15 (2) Certain lands in the Grand Mesa, 

16 Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests com17 prising approximately 8,375 acres, as generally de18 picted on a map titled ‘‘Proposed Liberty Bell and 

19 Last Dollar Additions to the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness’’, 

20 dated January 26, 2010, and which are hereby incor21 porated into the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness area. 

22 (3) Certain lands in the Grand Mesa, 

23 Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests com24 prising approximately 13,224 acres, as generally de25 picted on a map titled ‘‘Whitehouse Additions to the 

26 Mt. Sneffels Wilderness’’, dated January 26, 2010, 


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1 and which are hereby incorporated into the Mt. 

2 Sneffels Wilderness area. 

3 (4)(A) Certain lands in the San Juan Resource 

4 Area of the Bureau of Land Management comprising 

5 approximately 8,614 acres, as generally depicted on a 

6 map titled ‘‘McKenna Peak Wilderness’’, dated April 

7 15, 2010, and which shall be known as the McKenna 

8 Peak Wilderness. 

9 (B) The lands designated under subparagraph 

10 (A) shall be administered as a component of the Na11 tional Landscape Conservation System. 

12 (b) MAP AND DESCRIPTION.— 

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

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

15 shall file a map and a legal description of each wil16 derness area designated by this Act with— 

17 (A) the Committee on Natural Resources of 

18 the House of Representatives; and 

19 (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

20 Resources of the Senate. 

21 (2) FORCE OF LAW.—A map and legal descrip22 tion filed under paragraph (1) shall have the same 

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

24 the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical 

25 errors in the map and legal description. 


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1 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Each map and legal 

2 description filed under paragraph (1) shall be filed 

3 and made available for public inspection in the Office 

4 of the Director of the Bureau of Land Management 

5 and in the Office of the Chief of the Forest Service, 

6 as appropriate. 

7 SEC. 4. SHEEP MOUNTAIN SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA. 

8 (a) DESIGNATION.—Certain lands in the Grand Mesa, 

9 Uncompahgre, and Gunnison and San Juan National For10 ests comprising approximately 21,697 acres as generally de11 picted on a map titled ‘‘Proposed Sheep Mountain Special 

12 Management Area’’ and dated January 26, 2010, are here13 by designated as the Sheep Mountain Special Management 

14 Area. 

15 (b) MAPS AND DESCRIPTIONS.— 

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

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

18 file maps and legal descriptions of the Federal land 

19 described in subsection (a) with— 

20 (A) the Committee on Natural Resources of 

21 the House of Representatives; and 

22 (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

23 Resources of the Senate. 

24 (2) FORCE OF LAW.—The maps and legal de25 scriptions filed under paragraph (1) shall have the 


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1 same force and effect as if included in this Act, except 

2 that the Secretary may correct typographical errors 

3 in the maps and legal descriptions. 

4 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Each map and legal 

5 description filed under paragraph (1) shall be on file 

6 and available for public inspection in the appropriate 

7 offices of the United States Forest Service. 

8 (c) MANAGEMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Until Congress determines 

10 otherwise, activities within the area designated in 

11 subsection (a) shall be managed by the Secretary of 

12 Agriculture so as to maintain the area’s presently ex13 isting wilderness character and potential for inclusion 

14 in the National Wilderness Preservation System. 

15 (2) PROHIBITIONS.—The following shall be pro16 hibited on the Federal land described in subsection 

17 (a): 

18 (A) Permanent roads. 

19 (B) Except as necessary to meet the min20 imum requirements for the administration of the 

21 Federal land and to protect public health and 

22 safety— 

23 (i) the use of motor vehicles, motorized 

24 equipment, or mechanical transport, except 


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1 as described in paragraph (3) or section 5; 

2 and 

3 (ii) the establishment of temporary 

4 roads. 

5 (3) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 

6 may allow activities, including helisking, that have 

7 been authorized as of the date of the enactment of this 

8 Act to continue within the area designated in sub9 section (a). The designation under subsection (a) shall 

10 not impact future permit processes relating to such 

11 activities. 

12 (4) APPLICABLE LAW.—Any uses of the Federal 

13 land described in subsection (a), including activities 

14 described in paragraph (3), shall be in accordance 

15 with applicable law. 

16 (d) DESIGNATION AS WILDERNESS.—Lands described 

17 in subsection (a) shall be designated as wilderness on the 

18 date on which the Secretary publishes in the Federal Reg19 ister notice that the nonconforming use has terminated. 

20 (e) ADMINISTRATION AS WILDERNESS.—Upon its des21 ignation as wilderness under subsection (e), the Sheep 

22 Mountain Special Management Area shall be— 

23 (1) known as the Sheep Mountain Wilderness; 

24 and 


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1 (2) administered in accordance with the Wilder2 ness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133 et seq.) and section 3. 

3 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

5 (1) Subject to valid rights in existence on the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, land designated as 

7 wilderness under section 3 or section 4 shall be ad8 ministered by the Secretary in accordance with— 

9 (A) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 

10 seq.); and 

11 (B) this Act. 

12 (2) The Secretary may continue to authorize the 

13 competitive running event permitted since 1992 in the 

14 vicinity of the boundaries of the Sheep Mountain Spe15 cial Management Area designated by section 4(a), the 

16 Sheep Mountain Wilderness Area designated by sec17 tion 4(f), and the Liberty Bell addition to the Mt. 

18 Sneffels Wilderness designated by section 3(a)(2) in a 

19 manner compatible with the preservation of such 

20 areas as wilderness. 

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE WILDERNESS ACT.— 

22 With respect to land designated as wilderness under section 

23 3 or section 4, any reference in the Wilderness Act (16 

24 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) to the effective date of the Wilderness 

25 Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the date of the enactVerDate Mar 15 2010 20:58 Sep 16, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3914.RH H3914

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1 ment of this Act or the date of the Secretary designating 

2 the land as wilderness. 

3 (c) FISH AND WILDLIFE.—Nothing in this Act shall 

4 affect the jurisdiction or responsibility of the State with re5 spect to wildlife and fish. 

6 (d) NO BUFFER ZONES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall cre8 ate a protective perimeter or buffer zone around cov9 ered land. 

10 (2) ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE WILDERNESS.—The fact 

11 that a nonwilderness activity or use can be seen or 

12 heard from within covered land shall not preclude the 

13 conduct of the activity or use outside the boundary of 

14 the covered land. 

15 (e) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid rights in existence 

16 on the date of the enactment of this Act, covered land is 

17 withdrawn from all forms of— 

18 (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under pub19 lic land laws; 

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

21 laws; and 

22 (3) disposition under all laws pertaining to min23 eral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials. 

24 (f) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—The Secretary may ac25 quire non-Federal land within the boundaries of the Special 


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1 Management Area or the Wilderness only through exchange, 

2 donation, or purchase from a willing seller. 

3 (g) ACQUIRED LAND.—Any land or interest in land 

4 located inside the boundaries of covered land that is ac5 quired by the United States after the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act shall become part of the relevant wilderness or 

7 special management area and shall be managed in accord8 ance with this Act and other applicable law. 

9 (h) STATE LAND.—The Secretary is authorized to ac10 quire by donation or exchange from the State of Colorado 

11 the parcel identified as ‘‘McKenna Peak Adjacent Parcel’’ 

12 on the map titled ‘‘McKenna Peak Wilderness’’ and dated 

13 April 15, 2010. 

14 (i) STATE TRUST LAND.—Any portion of the State 

15 Trust land parcel identified as ‘‘Proposed McKenna Peak 

16 Wilderness Addition’’ on the map titled ‘‘McKenna Peak 

17 Wilderness’’ and dated April 15, 2010, that is acquired by 

18 the United States after the date of the enactment of this 

19 Act shall become part of the McKenna Peak Wilderness and 

20 shall be managed in accordance with this Act and other 

21 applicable laws. 

22 (j) GRAZING.—Within the covered lands in which graz23 ing was established before the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act, grazing shall be allowed to continue, subject to such 


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1 reasonable regulations, policies, and practices as the Sec2 retary determines to be necessary, in accordance with— 

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

4 U.S.C. 1131(d)(4)); 

5 (2) with respect to wilderness areas administered 

6 by the Secretary of Agriculture, the provisions of sec7 tion 108 of Public Law 96-560; and 

8 (3) with respect to wilderness areas administered 

9 by the Secretary of the Interior, the guidelines de10 scribed in appendix A of House Report 101-405 of the 

11 101st Congress. 

12 (k) AMES HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT.—The inclusion 

13 in the National Wilderness Preservation System or designa14 tion under section 4 of this Act as a Special Management 

15 Area as described in section 4 of this Act, shall not be con16 strued to interfere with the operation and maintenance of 

17 the Ames Hydroelectric Project, as currently licensed by the 

18 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or as relicensed 

19 within the project boundaries set forth in the license on the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act, including reasonable use 

21 of National Wilderness Preservation System lands or Spe22 cial Management Area for any necessary repair or replace23 ment of existing facilities, transport of water and aerial 

24 or land access. All means of access to the project that are 


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1 currently permitted by the Secretary on the date of enact2 ment of this Act shall be maintained. 

3 (l) PREVENTION OF WILDFIRES.—The inclusion in the 

4 National Wilderness Preservation System under section 3 

5 or designation under section 4 as a Special Management 

6 Area under this Act shall not be construed to interfere with 

7 the authority of the Secretary to authorize mechanical 

8 thinning of trees or underbrush to prevent or control the 

9 spread of wildfires. 

10 (m) FACILITATION OF RESPONSIBLE SPORT HUNT11 ING.—The use of wheeled, muscle-powered carts for the re12 moval of shot game is authorized in the areas designated 

13 under sections 3 and 4 of this Act. 

14 SEC. 6. WATER. 

15 (a) FINDINGS; PURPOSE; DEFINITION.— 

16 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

17 (A) the lands designated as wilderness or a 

18 Special Management Area by this Act are lo19 cated at the headwaters of the streams and rivers 

20 on those lands with few, if any, actual or pro21 posed water resource facilities located upstream 

22 from such lands and few, if any, opportunities 

23 for diversion, storage, or other uses of water oc24 curring outside such lands that would adversely 

25 affect the wilderness values of such lands; 


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1 (B) the lands designated as wilderness or 

2 Special Management Area by this Act are not 

3 suitable for use for development of new water re4 source facilities, or for the expansion of existing 

5 facilities; and 

6 (C) therefore, it is possible to provide for 

7 proper management and protection of the wilder8 ness value of such lands in ways different from 

9 those used in other legislation designating as 

10 wilderness lands not sharing the attributes of the 

11 lands designated as wilderness or a Special 

12 Management Area by this Act. 

13 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to 

14 protect the wilderness values of the lands designated 

15 as wilderness or Special Management Area by this 

16 Act by means other than those based on a Federal re17 served water right. 

18 (3) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the 

19 term ‘‘water resource facility’’ means irrigation and 

20 pumping facilities, reservoirs, water conservation 

21 works, aqueducts, canals, ditches, pipelines, wells, hy22 dropower projects, and transmission and other ancil23 lary facilities, and other water diversion, storage, and 

24 carriage structures. 


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1 (b) RESTRICTIONS ON RIGHTS AND DISCLAIMER OF

2 EFFECT.— 

3 (1) WATER RIGHTS CLAIMS.—Neither the Sec4 retary of Agriculture nor the Secretary of the Interior, 

5 nor any other officer, employee, representative, or 

6 agent of the United States, nor any other person, 

7 shall assert in any court or agency, nor shall any 

8 court or agency consider, any claim to or for water 

9 or water rights in the State of Colorado, which is 

10 based on any construction of any portion of this Act, 

11 or the designation of any lands as wilderness or Spe12 cial Management Area by this Act, as constituting an 

13 express or implied reservation of water or water 

14 rights. 

15 (2) NO AFFECT ON WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in 

16 this Act shall be construed as a creation, recognition, 

17 disclaimer, relinquishment, or reduction of any water 

18 rights of the United States in the State of Colorado 

19 existing before the date of enactment of this Act. 

20 (3) NO INTERPRETATION OR DESIGNATION.—Ex21 cept as provided in subsection (g), nothing in this Act 

22 shall be construed as constituting an interpretation of 

23 any other Act or any designation made by or pursu24 ant thereto. 


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1 (4) NO PRECEDENT.—Nothing in this section 

2 shall be construed as establishing a precedent with re3 gard to any future wilderness designations. 

4 (c) NEW OR EXPANDED PROJECTS.—Notwithstanding 

5 any other provision of law, on and after the date of enact6 ment of this Act neither the President nor any other officer, 

7 employee, or agent of the United States shall fund, assist, 

8 authorize, or issue a license or permit for the development 

9 of any new water resource facility within the areas de10 scribed in sections 3 and 4 or the enlargement of any water 

11 resource facility within the areas described in sections 3 

12 and 4. 

13 (d) ACCESS AND OPERATION.— 

14 (1) ACCESS TO WATER RESOURCE FACILITIES.— 

15 Subject to the provisions of this subsection, the Sec16 retary shall allow reasonable access to water resource 

17 facilities in existence on the date of enactment of this 

18 Act within the areas described in sections 3 and 4, in19 cluding motorized access where necessary and custom20 arily employed on routes existing as of the date of en21 actment of this Act. 

22 (2) ACCESS ROUTES.—Existing access routes 

23 within such areas customarily employed as of the date 

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1 tain their present function, design, and serviceable 

2 operation, so long as such activities have no increased 

3 adverse impacts on the resources and values of the 

4 areas described in sections 3 and 4 than existed as of 

5 the date of enactment of this Act. 

6 (3) USE OF WATER RESOURCE FACILITIES.— 

7 Subject to the provisions of subsections (c) and (d), 

8 the Secretary shall allow water resource facilities ex9 isting on the date of enactment of this Act within 

10 areas described in sections 3 and 4 to be used, oper11 ated, maintained, repaired, and replaced to the extent 

12 necessary for the continued exercise, in accordance 

13 with Colorado State law, of vested water rights adju14 dicated for use in connection with such facilities by 

15 a court of competent jurisdiction prior to the date of 

16 enactment of this Act. The impact of an existing facil17 ity on the water resources and values of the area shall 

18 not be increased as a result of changes in the adju19 dicated type of use of such facility as of the date of 

20 enactment of this Act. 

21 (4) REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE.—Water resource 

22 facilities, and access routes serving such facilities, ex23 isting within the areas described in sections 3 and 4 

24 on the date of enactment of this Act shall be main25 tained and repaired when and to the extent necessary 


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1 to prevent increased adverse impacts on the resources 

2 and values of the areas described in sections 3 and 4. 

3 (e) EXISTING PROJECTS.—Except as provided in sub4 sections (c) and (d), the provisions of this Act related to 

5 the areas described in sections 3 and 4, and the inclusion 

6 in the National Wilderness Preservation System of the areas 

7 described in section 3 and 4, shall not be construed to affect 

8 or limit the use, operation, maintenance, repair, modifica9 tion, or replacement of water resources facilities in existence 

10 on the date of enactment of this Act within the boundaries 

11 of the areas described in sections 3 and 4. 

12 (f) MONITORING AND IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secre13 taries of Agriculture and the Interior shall monitor the op14 eration of and access to water resource facilities within the 

15 areas described in sections 3 and 4 and take all steps nec16 essary to implement the provisions of this section. 

17 (g) INTERSTATE COMPACTS.—Nothing in this Act, and 

18 nothing in any previous Act designating any lands as wil19 derness, shall be construed as limiting, altering, modifying, 

20 or amending any of the interstate compacts or equitable ap21 portionment decrees that apportion water among and be22 tween the State of Colorado and other States. Except as ex23 pressly provided in this section, nothing in this Act shall 

24 affect or limit the development or use by existing and future 


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1 holders of vested water rights of Colorado’s full apportion2 ment of such waters. 

3 SEC. 7. NATURITA CANYON MANAGEMENT PROVISIONS. 

4 (a) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid rights in existence 

5 on the date of the enactment of this Act, land described in 

6 subsection (b) is withdrawn from all forms of— 

7 (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under pub8 lic land laws; 

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

10 laws; and 

11 (3) disposition under all laws pertaining to min12 eral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials. 

13 (b) LAND DESCRIBED.—The land to be protected under 

14 subsection (a) is the approximately 6,596 acres depicted on 

15 the map titled ‘‘Naturita Canyon Mineral Withdrawal 

16 Area’’ and dated January 26, 2010. 


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Union Calendar No. 345 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3914 

[Report No. 111–600] 

A BILL 

To designate certain lands in San Miguel, Ouray, 

and for other purposes. and San Juan Counties, Colorado, as wilderness, 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 

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


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