I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4192 

To designate the Stornetta Public Lands as an Outstanding Natural Area 

to be administered as a part of the National Landscape Conservation 

System, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 3, 2009 

Mr. THOMPSON of California introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate the Stornetta Public Lands as an Outstanding 

Natural Area to be administered as a part of the National Landscape Conservation System, 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; DEFINITIONS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Stornetta Public Lands Outstanding Natural Area Act 

6 of 2009’’. 

7 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 


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1 (1) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public lands’’ 

2 has the meaning stated in section 103(e) of the Fed3 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

4 U.S.C. 1703(e)). 

5 (2) OUTSTANDING NATURAL AREA.—The term 

6 ‘‘Outstanding Natural Area’’ means the Stornetta 

7 Public Lands Outstanding Natural Area established 

8 under section 3. 

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

10 the Secretary of the Interior. 

11 (4) STORNETTA PUBLIC LANDS.—The term 

12 ‘‘Stornetta Public Lands’’ means the lands des13 ignated as such on the map referred to in section 

14 3(b). 

15 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

16 Congress finds as follows: 

17 (1) The publicly owned Stornetta Public Lands 

18 contains significant natural resources, including im19 portant wildlife habitat, several riparian corridors, 

20 extensive wetlands, ponds and other water sources, 

21 cypress groves, meadows, and sand dunes that 

22 should be preserved for present and future genera23 tions. 

24 (2) The ocean and coastal ecosystems adjacent 

25 to the Stornetta Public Lands are internationally 


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1 recognized as significant centers of coastal upwelling 

2 that support the diverse, abundant and productive 

3 marine ecosystems and wildlife underlying the local 

4 economy and identity of coastal communities. 

5 (3) The Stornetta Public Lands tell an impor6 tant story about California’s coastal prehistory and 

7 history in the context of the surrounding region and 

8 communities. 

9 (4) The coastal area surrounding the Stornetta 

10 Public Lands was traditionally used by Indian peo11 ple, including the Pomo Indian tribes. 

12 (5) The Stornetta Public Lands are historically 

13 associated with adjacent lands managed for the en14 joyment of current and future generations, including 

15 the Point Arena Lighthouse, California Coastal Na16 tional Monument, Arena Rock Marine Natural Pre17 serve and Manchester Beach State Park. 

18 (6) The Stornetta Public Lands represent a 

19 model partnership where future management can be 

20 successfully accomplished among the Federal Gov21 ernment, State of California, Mendocino County, 

22 local communities, and private groups. 

23 (7) The Stornetta Public Lands Outstanding 

24 Natural Area would make a significant addition to 

25 the National Landscape Conservation System adVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:41 Dec 04, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4192.IH H4192

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1 ministered by the Department of the Interior’s Bu2 reau of Land Management. 

3 (8) Statutory protection is needed for Stornetta 

4 Public Lands to ensure that it remains a part of our 

5 historic, cultural and natural heritage and a source 

6 of inspiration for the people of the United States. 

7 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF THE STORNETTA PUBLIC LANDS 

8 OUTSTANDING NATURAL AREA. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to protect, conserve, and 

10 enhance for the benefit and enjoyment of present and fu11 ture generations the unique and nationally important his12 torical, natural, cultural, scientific, educational, scenic, 

13 and recreational values of certain lands in and around the 

14 Stornetta Public Lands, in Mendocino County, California, 

15 while allowing certain recreational and research activities 

16 to continue, there is established, subject to valid existing 

17 rights, the Stornetta Public Lands Outstanding Natural 

18 Area. 

19 (b) MAP.—The Outstanding Natural Area shall con20 sist of the lands generally depicted as the Stornetta Out21 standing Natural Area on the map titled ‘‘Stornetta Out22 standing Natural Area’’ and dated December 3, 2009. The 

23 map shall be on file and available for public inspection 

24 in the Office of the Director, Bureau of Land Manage25 ment, United States Department of the Interior, and the 


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1 State office of the Bureau of Land Management in the 

2 State of California. 

3 (c) BASIS OF MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary shall 

4 manage the Outstanding Natural Area as part of the Na5 tional Landscape Conservation System to protect the re6 sources of the area, and shall allow only those uses that 

7 further the purposes for the establishment of the Out8 standing Natural Area, the Federal Land Policy and Man9 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), and other 

10 applicable laws. 

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

12 and in accordance with the existing withdrawal as set 

13 forth in Public Land Order 7501 (Oct. 12, 2001, Vol. 66, 

14 No. 198, Federal Register 52149), the Federal lands and 

15 interests in lands included within the Outstanding Natural 

16 Area are hereby withdrawn from— 

17 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal 

18 under the public land laws; 

19 (2) location, entry, and patent under the public 

20 land mining laws; and 

21 (3) operation of the mineral leasing and geo22 thermal leasing laws and the mineral materials laws. 


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1 SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT OF THE STORNETTA PUBLIC LANDS 

2 OUTSTANDING NATURAL AREA. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage the 

4 Outstanding Natural Area in a manner that conserves, 

5 protects, and enhances the unique and nationally impor6 tant historical, natural, cultural, scientific, educational, 

7 scenic, and recreational values of that area, consistent 

8 with the requirements section of 3(c). 

9 (b) USES.—Subject to valid existing rights, the Sec10 retary shall only allow such uses of the Outstanding Nat11 ural Area as the Secretary finds are likely to further the 

12 purposes for which the Outstanding Natural Area is estab13 lished as set forth in section 3(a). 

14 (c) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 3 years 

15 after funds are made available for this purpose, the Sec16 retary shall complete a comprehensive management plan 

17 consistent with the requirements of section 202 of the 

18 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

19 U.S.C. 1712) to provide long-term management guidance 

20 for the public lands within the Outstanding Natural Area 

21 and fulfill the purposes for which it is established, as set 

22 forth in section 3(a). The management plan shall be devel23 oped in consultation with appropriate Federal, State, and 

24 local government agencies, with full public participation, 

25 and shall include— 


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1 (1) provisions designed to ensure the protection 

2 of the resources and values described in section 3(a); 

3 (2) a proposal for minimal administrative and 

4 public facilities to be developed or improved at a 

5 level compatible with achieving the resources objec6 tives for the Outstanding Natural Area as described 

7 in subsection (a) and with other proposed manage8 ment activities to accommodate visitors and re9 searchers to the Outstanding Natural Area; and 

10 (3) cultural resources management strategies 

11 for the Outstanding Natural Area, prepared in con12 sultation with appropriate departments of the State 

13 of California, with emphasis on the preservation of 

14 the resources of the Outstanding Natural Area and 

15 the interpretive, education, and long-term scientific 

16 uses of the resources, giving priority to the enforce17 ment of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act 

18 of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.) and the National 

19 Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) 

20 within the Outstanding Natural Area. 

21 (d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—In order to better 

22 implement the management plan and to continue the suc23 cessful partnerships with local communities, the California 

24 Coastal National Monument and Manchester State Park, 

25 administered by the California Department of Parks and 


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1 Recreation, the Secretary may enter into cooperative 

2 agreements with the appropriate Federal, State, and local 

3 agencies pursuant to section 307(b) of the Federal Land 

4 Management Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

5 U.S.C. 1737(b)). 

6 (e) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—In order to continue the 

7 successful partnership with research organizations and 

8 agencies and to assist in the development and implementa9 tion of the management plan, the Secretary may authorize 

10 within the Outstanding Natural Area appropriate research 

11 activities for the purposes identified in section 3(a) and 

12 pursuant to section 307(a) of the Federal Land Policy and 

13 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1737(a)). 

14 (f) ACQUISITION.—State and privately held lands or 

15 interests in lands adjacent to the Outstanding Natural 

16 Area and identified as appropriate for acquisition in the 

17 management plan may be acquired by the Secretary as 

18 part of the Outstanding Natural Area only by— 

19 (1) donation; 

20 (2) exchange with a willing party; or 

21 (3) purchase from a willing seller. 

22 (g) ADDITIONS TO THE OUTSTANDING NATURAL

23 AREA.—Any lands or interest in lands adjacent to the 

24 Outstanding Natural Area acquired by the United States 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act shall be added 


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1 to and administered as part of the Outstanding Natural 

2 Area. 

3 (h) OVERFLIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act or the man4 agement plan shall be construed to— 

5 (1) restrict or preclude overflights, including 

6 low-level overflights, military, commercial, and gen7 eral aviation overflights that can be seen or heard 

8 within the Outstanding Natural Area; 

9 (2) restrict or preclude the designation or cre10 ation of new units of special use airspace or the es11 tablishment of military flight training routes over 

12 the Outstanding Natural Area; or 

13 (3) modify regulations governing low-level over14 flights above the adjacent Gulf of the Farallones Na15 tional Marine Sanctuary. 

16 (i) LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES.—Nothing in 

17 this Act shall be construed to preclude or otherwise affect 

18 coastal border security operations or other law enforce19 ment activities by the Coast Guard or other agencies with20 in the Department of Homeland Security, the Department 

21 of Justice, or any other Federal, State, and local law en22 forcement agencies within the Outstanding Natural Area. 

23 (j) NATIVE AMERICAN USES AND INTERESTS.—In 

24 recognition of the past use of the Outstanding Natural 

25 Area by Indians and Indian tribes for traditional cultural 


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1 and religious purposes, the Secretary shall ensure access 

2 to the Outstanding Natural Area by Indians and Indian 

3 tribes for such traditional cultural and religious purposes. 

4 In implementing this section, the Secretary, upon the re5 quest of a federally recognized Indian tribe or Indian reli6 gious community, shall temporarily close to the general 

7 public use of one or more specific portions of the Out8 standing Natural Area in order to protect the privacy of 

9 traditional cultural and religious activities in such areas 

10 by the federally recognized Indian tribe or Indian religious 

11 community. Any such closure shall be made to affect the 

12 smallest practicable area for the minimum period nec13 essary for such purposes. Such access shall be consistent 

14 with the purpose and intent of Public Law 95–341 (42 

15 U.S.C. 1996 et seq.; commonly referred to as the ‘‘Amer16 ican Indian Religious Freedom Act’’). 

17 (k) NO BUFFER ZONES.—The designation of the 

18 Outstanding Natural Area is not intended to lead to the 

19 creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones around 

20 the area. The fact that activities outside the Outstanding 

21 Natural Area and not consistent with the purposes of this 

22 Act can be seen or heard within the Outstanding Natural 

23 Area shall not, of itself, preclude such activities or uses 

24 up to the boundary of the Outstanding Natural Area. 

Æ 


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