I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4935 

To designate as wilderness certain lands within the Rocky Mountain National 

Park and to adjust the boundaries of the Indian Peaks Wilderness 

and the Arapaho National Recreation Area on the Arapaho National 

Forest in the State of Colorado. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2006 

Mr. UDALL of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Resources 

A BILL 

To designate as wilderness certain lands within the Rocky 

Mountain National Park and to adjust the boundaries 

of the Indian Peaks Wilderness and the Arapaho National Recreation Area on the Arapaho National Forest 

in the State of Colorado. 

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 AND PURPOSE. 

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

5 ‘‘Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness and Indian 

6 Peaks Wilderness Expansion Act’’. 


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1 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to include 

2 in the National Wilderness Preservation System certain 

3 lands within the Rocky Mountain National Park, Colo4 rado, in order to protect the enduring scenic and historic 

5 wilderness character and unique wildlife values of the 

6 lands as well as the scientific, educational, inspirational, 

7 and recreational resources, values, and opportunities of 

8 the lands; and to adjust the boundaries of the Indian 

9 Peaks Wilderness and the Arapaho National Recreation 

10 Area on the Arapaho National Forest in Colorado. 

11 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL 

12 PARK WILDERNESS. 

13 (a) DESIGNATION.—In furtherance of the purposes of 

14 the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), certain lands 

15 within the Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, 

16 which comprise approximately 249,339 acres, as generally 

17 depicted on the map titled ‘‘Rocky Mountain National 

18 Park, Colorado Wilderness Boundaries’’ and dated Feb19 ruary 2006, are hereby designated as wilderness and, 

20 therefore, as a component of the National Wilderness 

21 Preservation System. The designated lands shall be known 

22 as the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness. 

23 (b) MAP AND DESCRIPTION.— 

24 (1) PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION.—As soon 

25 as practicable after the date of the enactment of this 


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1 Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall prepare a 

2 map and a boundary description of the Rocky Moun3 tain National Park Wilderness designated by sub4 section (a) and file the map and boundary descrip5 tion with the Committee on Resources of the House 

6 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 

7 and Natural Resources of the Senate. The map and 

8 boundary description shall be on file and available 

9 for public inspection in the office of the Director of 

10 the National Park Service, Department of the Inte11 rior. 

12 (2) TREATMENT.—The map and boundary de13 scription prepared under paragraph (1) shall have 

14 the same force and effect as if included in this Act. 

15 The Secretary of the Interior may correct clerical 

16 and typographical errors in the map and description. 

17 (c) POTENTIAL WILDERNESS LANDS.— 

18 (1) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term 

19 ‘‘potential wilderness lands’’ means— 

20 (A) lands identified as potential wilderness 

21 on the map referred to in subsection (a); and 

22 (B) lands and interests therein acquired by 

23 the United States on or after the date of the 

24 enactment of this Act that are located within 

25 the boundaries of the Rocky Mountain National 


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1 Park and are contiguous with lands designated 

2 as wilderness by this Act. 

3 (2) INCLUSION IN WILDERNESS.—Upon publi4 cation in the Federal Register of a notice by the 

5 Secretary of the Interior that all uses of a parcel of 

6 potential wilderness lands inconsistent with the Wil7 derness Act have ceased, the parcel shall be included 

8 in the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness 

9 designated by subsection (a) and managed as pro10 vided in section 3. The Secretary of the Interior 

11 shall modify the map and boundary description pre12 pared under subsection (b) to reflect the inclusion of 

13 the parcel in the Rocky Mountain National Park 

14 Wilderness. 

15 (d) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN LANDS.—The bound16 aries of the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness 

17 and the potential wilderness lands specifically exclude the 

18 following: 

19 (1) The Grand Ditch (including both the main 

20 canal of the Grand Ditch and a branch thereof 

21 known as the specimen Ditch) and its right-of-way 

22 as well as associated appurtenances, structures, 

23 buildings, camps, and worksites in existence as of 

24 June 1, 1998. 


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1 (2) Lands owned by the St. Vrain & Left Hand 

2 Water Conservancy District, including Copeland 

3 Reservoir and the Inlet Ditch to such reservoir from 

4 the North St. Vrain Creek, amounting to approxi5 mately 35.38 acres. 

6 (3) Lands owned by the Wincentsen-Harms 

7 Trust, amounting to approximately 2.75 acres. 

8 (4) Lands within the area depicted as ‘‘East 

9 Shore Trail Area’’ on the map described in sub10 section (b). 

11 (e) EAST SHORE TRAIL AREA.— 

12 (1) ALIGNMENT LINE AND TRAIL.— 

13 (A) Not later than one year after the date 

14 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

15 establish an alignment line for a trail, to be 

16 known as the East Shore Trail, located within 

17 the East Shore Trail Area, to maximize the op18 portunity for sustained use of the trail without 

19 harm to affected resources or conflicts among 

20 users. After establishing the alignment line, the 

21 Secretary shall identify the boundaries of the 

22 trail, but the trail shall not extend more than 

23 25 feet east of the alignment line or be located 

24 within the Rocky Mountain National Park Wil25 derness. 


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1 (B) Nothing in this Act shall be construed 

2 to require the construction of a trail along the 

3 alignment line established pursuant to this 

4 paragraph or to limit the extent to which any 

5 otherwise applicable laws or policies shall apply 

6 with respect to any decision regarding construc7 tion of such a trail. 

8 (2) MAP ADJUSTMENT.—After establishing the 

9 alignment line of the East Shore Trail, the Secretary 

10 shall adjust the map of the wilderness area des11 ignated by subsection (a) so that the western bound12 ary of the wilderness is 50 feet east of the alignment 

13 line. 

14 (3) OTHER ADJUSTMENTS.—To the extent nec15 essary to protect National Park resources, the Sec16 retary from time to time may adjust the boundaries 

17 of the East Shore Trail, but no adjustment shall 

18 have the effect of placing any portion of such trail 

19 within the boundary of the wilderness area. 

20 (4) TIME LIMITATION FOR AUTHORIZATION OF

21 USE BY NONMOTORIZED BICYCLES.—If the East 

22 Shore Trail has not been constructed and authorized 

23 for use by nonmotorized bicycles on or before the 

24 date that is 25 years after the date of the enactment 

25 of this Act, the East Shore Trail Area shall be inVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:36 Mar 10, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4935.IH H4935

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1 cluded in the Rocky Mountain National Park Wil2 derness designated by subsection (a) and managed 

3 as provided in section 3, and the Secretary shall 

4 modify the map and boundary description of such 

5 wilderness area to reflect the inclusion of such lands 

6 in wilderness. 

7 (f) RELATION TO LANDS OUTSIDE WILDERNESS.— 

8 (1) USE OF LANDS.—Except as provided in this 

9 subsection, nothing in this Act shall affect the man10 agement or use of any lands not included within the 

11 boundaries of the Rocky Mountain National Park 

12 Wilderness or the potential wilderness lands. 

13 (2) USE OF MOTORIZED VEHICLES.—Until the 

14 date that is 25 years after the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act, no use of motorized vehicles or other 

16 motorized machinery not permitted on March 1, 

17 2006, shall be allowed in the East Shore Trail Area, 

18 except as may be necessary for constructing or 

19 maintaining the East Shore Trail, if such construc20 tion is authorized by the Secretary. 

21 (3) MANAGEMENT OF PENDING WILDERNESS.— 

22 Pending their inclusion in wilderness pursuant to 

23 subsection (c)(2), the potential wilderness lands shall 

24 be managed to protect any wilderness characteristics 


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1 and to maintain their suitability for inclusion in wil2 derness. 

3 SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL 

4 PARK WILDERNESS. 

5 (a) MANAGEMENT GENERALLY.—Subject to valid ex6 isting rights, lands designated as wilderness by section 

7 2(a) or subsequently included in the Rocky Mountain Na8 tional Park Wilderness by section 2(c) shall be managed 

9 by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the 

10 Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this Act. 

11 With respect to the lands designated as wilderness by sec12 tion 2(a), any reference in the Wilderness Act to the effec13 tive date of the Wilderness Act shall be deemed to be a 

14 reference to the date of the enactment of this Act. With 

15 respect to the lands subsequently included in the Rocky 

16 Mountain National Park Wilderness by section 2(c), any 

17 reference in the Wilderness Act to the effective date of 

18 the Wilderness Act shall be deemed to be a reference to 

19 the date on which the lands were included in the wilder20 ness area. 

21 (b) WATER RIGHTS.— 

22 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

23 (A) According to decisions of the courts of 

24 the State of Colorado, the United States has exVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:36 Mar 10, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4935.IH H4935

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1 isting rights to water within the Rocky Moun2 tain National Park. 

3 (B) Those rights are sufficient for the pur4 poses of the Rocky Mountain National Park 

5 Wilderness as designated by section 2. 

6 (C) In light of the findings in subpara7 graphs (A) and (B), there is no need for this 

8 Act to effect a reservation by the United States 

9 of any additional water rights to fulfill the pur10 poses for which the Rocky Mountain National 

11 Park Wilderness is designated. 

12 (2) NO RESERVATION.—Nothing in this Act or 

13 any action taken pursuant to this Act shall con14 stitute either an express or implied reservation of 

15 water or water rights for any purpose. 

16 (c) COLORADO-BIG THOMPSON PROJECT.— 

17 (1) CURRENT ACTIVITIES.—Activities on, 

18 under, or affecting the lands designated as wilder19 ness by section 2 relating to the monitoring, oper20 ation, maintenance, repair, replacement, and use of 

21 the Colorado-Big Thompson Project and its facilities 

22 which were allowed as of June 1, 1998, shall be al23 lowed to continue and shall not be affected by the 

24 designation of the lands as wilderness. 


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1 (2) NEW ACTIVITIES.—In addition to the activi2 ties described in paragraph (1), any other activities 

3 on, under, or affecting the lands designated as wil4 derness by section 2 that because of emergencies or 

5 catastrophic events become necessary for the oper6 ation, maintenance, repair, replacement, and contin7 ued use of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project and 

8 its facilities shall be allowed, subject only to reason9 able restrictions which are established by the Sec10 retary of the Interior to protect the wilderness val11 ues of the lands. In implementing this paragraph, 

12 the Secretary shall not establish any restrictions on 

13 the activities that would prevent the occurrence of 

14 such necessary activities or that would reduce the 

15 water supply provided by the Colorado-Big Thomp16 son Project or the Windy Gap Project. 

17 (3) RELATION TO AUTHORITY IN ACT ESTAB18 LISHING PARK.—Nothing in the first section of the 

19 Act of January 26, 1915 (16 U.S.C. 191), shall be 

20 construed to allow development within the lands des21 ignated as wilderness by section 2 of any reclama22 tion project not in existence as of the date of the en23 actment of this Act. 

24 (d) NO BUFFER ZONES.—Congress does not intend 

25 that the designation by this Act of the Rocky Mountain 


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1 National Park Wilderness creates or implies the creation 

2 of protective perimeters or buffer zones around the wilder3 ness area. The fact that nonwilderness activities or uses 

4 can be seen or heard from within the wilderness area shall 

5 not, of itself, preclude such activities or uses up to the 

6 boundary of the wilderness area. 

7 SEC. 4. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT OF INDIAN PEAKS WIL8 DERNESS AND ARAPAHO NATIONAL RECRE9 ATION AREA. 

10 (a) INDIAN PEAKS WILDERNESS.—Section 3(a) of 

11 Public Law 95–450 is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘seventy thousand acres’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘74,195 acres’’ ; and 

14 (2) by striking ‘‘dated July 1978’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘dated February 2006’’. 

16 (b) ARAPAHO NATIONAL RECREATION AREA.—Sec17 tion 4(a) of Public Law 95–450 is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘thirty-six thousand two hun19 dred thirty-five acres’’ and inserting ‘‘35,235 acres’’; 

20 and 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘dated July 1978’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘dated February 2006’’. 

23 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO LEASE LEIFFER PROPERTY. 

24 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The provisions of section 

25 802(a) of Public Law 105–391 (16 U.S.C. 1a–2k) shall 


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1 apply to the tract of land described in subsection (b) to 

2 the same extent as if such property was part of the Na3 tional Park System. 

4 (b) LAND DESCRIBED.—Subsection (a) applies to the 

5 tract of land near the eastern boundary of Rocky Moun6 tain National Park in Larimer County, Colorado, adminis7 tered by the National Park Service and known as the 

8 Leiffer tract. 

Æ 


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