I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 696 

To designate the Wovoka Wilderness and provide for certain land conveyances 

in Lyon County, Nevada, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2013 

Mr. HORSFORD (for himself, Mr. AMODEI, and Mr. HECK of Nevada) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources 

A BILL 

To designate the Wovoka Wilderness and provide for certain 

land conveyances in Lyon County, Nevada, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Lyon County Economic Development and Conservation 

6 Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Land conveyance to Yerington, Nevada. 


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Sec. 3. Addition to National Wilderness Preservation System. 

Sec. 4. Withdrawal. 

Sec. 5. Native American cultural and religious uses. 

1 SEC. 2. LAND CONVEYANCE TO YERINGTON, NEVADA. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 (1) CITY.—The term ‘‘City’’ means the city of 

4 Yerington, Nevada. 

5 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

6 means the land located in Lyon County and Mineral 

7 County, Nevada, that is identified on the map as 

8 ‘‘City of Yerington Sustainable Development Con9 veyance Lands’’. 

10 (3) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en11 titled ‘‘Yerington Land Conveyance’’ and dated De12 cember 19, 2012. 

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

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 (b) CONVEYANCES OF LAND TO CITY OF YERINGTON, 

16 NEVADA.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, subject to 

19 valid existing rights and notwithstanding the land 

20 use planning requirements of sections 202 and 203 

21 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

22 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712, 1713), the Secretary shall 

23 convey to the City, subject to the agreement of the 

24 City, all right, title, and interest of the United 


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1 States in and to the Federal land identified on the 

2 map. 

3 (2) APPRAISAL TO DETERMINE FAIR MARKET

4 VALUE.—The Secretary shall determine the fair 

5 market value of the Federal land to be conveyed— 

6 (A) in accordance with the Federal Land 

7 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

8 1701 et seq.); and 

9 (B) based on an appraisal that is con10 ducted in accordance with— 

11 (i) the Uniform Appraisal Standards 

12 for Federal Land Acquisition; and 

13 (ii) the Uniform Standards of Profes14 sional Appraisal Practice. 

15 (3) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be 

16 on file and available for public inspection in the ap17 propriate offices of the Bureau of Land Manage18 ment. 

19 (4) APPLICABLE LAW.—Beginning on the date 

20 on which the Federal land is conveyed to the City, 

21 the development of and conduct of activities on the 

22 Federal land shall be subject to all applicable Fed23 eral laws (including regulations). 


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1 (5) COSTS.—As a condition of the conveyance 

2 of the Federal land under paragraph (1), the City 

3 shall pay— 

4 (A) an amount equal to the appraised 

5 value determined in accordance with paragraph 

6 (2); and 

7 (B) all costs related to the conveyance, in8 cluding all surveys, appraisals, and other ad9 ministrative costs associated with the convey10 ance of the Federal land to the City under 

11 paragraph (1). 

12 SEC. 3. ADDITION TO NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVA13 TION SYSTEM. 

14 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

15 (1) the area designated as the Wovoka Wilder16 ness by this section contains unique and spectacular 

17 natural resources, including— 

18 (A) priceless habitat for numerous species 

19 of plants and wildlife; 

20 (B) thousands of acres of land that remain 

21 in a natural state; and 

22 (C) habitat important to the continued 

23 survival of the population of the greater sage 

24 grouse of western Nevada and eastern CaliVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:21 Feb 26, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H696.IH H696

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1 fornia (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Bi2 State population of greater sage-grouse’’); 

3 (2) continued preservation of those areas would 

4 benefit the County and all of the United States by— 

5 (A) ensuring the conservation of eco6 logically diverse habitat; 

7 (B) protecting prehistoric cultural re8 sources; 

9 (C) conserving primitive recreational re10 sources; 

11 (D) protecting air and water quality; and 

12 (E) protecting and strengthening the Bi13 State population of greater sage-grouse; and 

14 (3) the Secretary of Agriculture should collabo15 rate with the Lyon County Commission and the local 

16 community on wildfire and forest management plan17 ning and implementation with the goal of preventing 

18 catastrophic wildfire and resource damage. 

19 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means Lyon 

21 County, Nevada. 

22 (2) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en23 titled ‘‘Wovoka Wilderness Area’’ and dated Decem24 ber 18, 2012. 


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

2 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

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

4 of Nevada. 

5 (5) WILDERNESS.—The term ‘‘Wilderness’’ 

6 means the Wovoka Wilderness designated by sub7 section (c)(1). 

8 (c) ADDITIONS TO NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESER9 VATION SYSTEM.— 

10 (1) DESIGNATION.—In furtherance of the pur11 poses of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 

12 seq.), the Federal land managed by the Forest Serv13 ice, as generally depicted on the Map, is designated 

14 as wilderness and as a component of the National 

15 Wilderness Preservation System, to be known as the 

16 ‘‘Wovoka Wilderness’’. 

17 (2) BOUNDARY.—The boundary of any portion 

18 of the Wilderness that is bordered by a road shall 

19 be 150 feet from the centerline of the road. 

20 (3) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary shall prepare a map and legal description 

24 of the Wilderness. 


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1 (B) EFFECT.—The map and legal descrip2 tion prepared under subparagraph (A) shall 

3 have the same force and effect as if included in 

4 this section, except that the Secretary may cor5 rect any clerical and typographical errors in the 

6 map or legal description. 

7 (C) AVAILABILITY.—Each map and legal 

8 description prepared under subparagraph (A) 

9 shall be on file and available for public inspec10 tion in the appropriate offices of the Forest 

11 Service. 

12 (4) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing 

13 rights, the Wilderness is withdrawn from— 

14 (A) all forms of entry, appropriation, or 

15 disposal under the public land laws; 

16 (B) location, entry, and patent under the 

17 mining laws; and 

18 (C) disposition under all laws relating to 

19 mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral ma20 terials. 

21 (d) ADMINISTRATION.— 

22 (1) MANAGEMENT.—Subject to valid existing 

23 rights, the Wilderness shall be administered by the 

24 Secretary in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 

25 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), except that any reference in 


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1 that Act to the effective date shall be considered to 

2 be a reference to the date of enactment of this Act. 

3 (2) LIVESTOCK.—The grazing of livestock in 

4 the Wilderness, if established before the date of en5 actment of this Act, shall be allowed to continue, 

6 subject to such reasonable regulations, policies, and 

7 practices as the Secretary considers to be necessary, 

8 in accordance with— 

9 (A) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act 

10 (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)); and 

11 (B) the guidelines set forth in Appendix A 

12 of the report of the Committee on Interior and 

13 Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives 

14 accompanying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress 

15 (House Report 101–405). 

16 (3) INCORPORATION OF ACQUIRED LAND AND

17 INTERESTS.—Any land or interest in land within the 

18 boundary of the Wilderness that is acquired by the 

19 United States after the date of enactment of this 

20 Act shall be added to and administered as part of 

21 the Wilderness. 

22 (4) ADJACENT MANAGEMENT.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Congress does not in24 tend for the designation of the Wilderness to 


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1 create a protective perimeter or buffer zone 

2 around the Wilderness. 

3 (B) NONWILDERNESS ACTIVITIES.—The 

4 fact that nonwilderness activities or uses can be 

5 seen or heard from areas within the Wilderness 

6 shall not preclude the conduct of the activities 

7 or uses outside the boundary of the Wilderness. 

8 (5) OVERFLIGHTS.—Nothing in this section re9 stricts or precludes— 

10 (A) low-level overflights of aircraft over the 

11 Wilderness, including military overflights that 

12 can be seen or heard within the Wilderness; 

13 (B) flight testing and evaluation; or 

14 (C) the designation or creation of new 

15 units of special use airspace, or the establish16 ment of military flight training routes, over the 

17 Wilderness. 

18 (6) WILDFIRE, INSECT, AND DISEASE MANAGE19 MENT.—In accordance with section 4(d)(1) of the 

20 Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)), the Sec21 retary may take any measures in the Wilderness 

22 that the Secretary determines to be necessary for 

23 the control of fire, insects, and diseases, including, 

24 as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the 


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1 coordination of the activities with a State or local 

2 agency. 

3 (7) WATER RIGHTS.— 

4 (A) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

5 (i) the Wilderness is located— 

6 (I) in the semiarid region of the 

7 Great Basin; and 

8 (II) at the headwaters of the 

9 streams and rivers on land with re10 spect to which there are few— 

11 (aa) actual or proposed 

12 water resource facilities located 

13 upstream; and 

14 (bb) opportunities for diver15 sion, storage, or other uses of 

16 water occurring outside the land 

17 that would adversely affect the 

18 wilderness values of the land; 

19 (ii) the Wilderness is generally not 

20 suitable for use or development of new 

21 water resource facilities; and 

22 (iii) because of the unique nature of 

23 the Wilderness, it is possible to provide for 

24 proper management and protection of the 


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1 wilderness and other values of land in ways 

2 different from those used in other laws. 

3 (B) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this para4 graph is to protect the wilderness values of the 

5 Wilderness by means other than a federally re6 served water right. 

7 (C) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

8 in this paragraph— 

9 (i) constitutes an express or implied 

10 reservation by the United States of any 

11 water or water rights with respect to the 

12 Wilderness; 

13 (ii) affects any water rights in the 

14 State (including any water rights held by 

15 the United States) in existence on the date 

16 of enactment of this Act; 

17 (iii) establishes a precedent with re18 gard to any future wilderness designations; 

19 (iv) affects the interpretation of, or 

20 any designation made under, any other 

21 Act; or 

22 (v) limits, alters, modifies, or amends 

23 any interstate compact or equitable appor24 tionment decree that apportions water 


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1 among and between the State and other 

2 States. 

3 (D) NEVADA WATER LAW.—The Secretary 

4 shall follow the procedural and substantive re5 quirements of State law in order to obtain and 

6 hold any water rights not in existence on the 

7 date of enactment of this Act with respect to 

8 the Wilderness. 

9 (E) NEW PROJECTS.— 

10 (i) DEFINITION OF WATER RESOURCE

11 FACILITY.— 

12 (I) IN GENERAL.—In this sub13 paragraph, the term ‘‘water resource 

14 facility’’ means irrigation and pump15 ing facilities, reservoirs, water con16 servation works, aqueducts, canals, 

17 ditches, pipelines, wells, hydropower 

18 projects, transmission and other ancil19 lary facilities, and other water diver20 sion, storage, and carriage structures. 

21 (II) EXCLUSION.—In this sub22 paragraph, the term ‘‘water resource 

23 facility’’ does not include wildlife guz24 zlers. 


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1 (ii) RESTRICTION ON NEW WATER RE2 SOURCE FACILITIES.— 

3 (I) IN GENERAL.—Except as oth4 erwise provided in this section, on or 

5 after the date of enactment of this 

6 Act, no officer, employee, or agent of 

7 the United States shall fund, assist, 

8 authorize, or issue a license or permit 

9 for the development of any new water 

10 resource facility within the Wilder11 ness, any portion of which is located 

12 in the County. 

13 (II) EXCEPTION.—If a permittee 

14 within the Bald Mountain grazing al15 lotment submits an application for the 

16 development of water resources for 

17 the purpose of livestock watering by 

18 the date that is 10 years after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the 

20 Secretary shall issue a water develop21 ment permit within the non-wilderness 

22 boundaries of the Bald Mountain 

23 grazing allotment for the purposes of 

24 carrying out activities under para25 graph (2). 


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1 (8) NONWILDERNESS ROADS.—Nothing in this 

2 Act prevents the Secretary from implementing or 

3 amending a final travel management plan. 

4 (e) WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with section 

6 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 

7 1133(d)(7)), nothing in this section affects or dimin8 ishes the jurisdiction of the State with respect to 

9 fish and wildlife management, including the regula10 tion of hunting, fishing, and trapping, in the Wilder11 ness. 

12 (2) MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.—In furtherance 

13 of the purposes and principles of the Wilderness Act 

14 (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the Secretary may conduct 

15 any management activities in the Wilderness that 

16 are necessary to maintain or restore fish and wildlife 

17 populations and the habitats to support the popu18 lations, if the activities are carried out— 

19 (A) consistent with relevant wilderness 

20 management plans; and 

21 (B) in accordance with— 

22 (i) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 

23 1131 et seq.); and 

24 (ii) appropriate policies, such as those 

25 set forth in Appendix B of the report of 


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1 the Committee on Interior and Insular Af2 fairs of the House of Representatives ac3 companying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Con4 gress (House Report 101–405), including 

5 the occasional and temporary use of motor6 ized vehicles and aircraft, if the use, as de7 termined by the Secretary, would promote 

8 healthy, viable, and more naturally distrib9 uted wildlife populations that would en10 hance wilderness values with the minimal 

11 impact necessary to reasonably accomplish 

12 those tasks. 

13 (3) EXISTING ACTIVITIES.—Consistent with 

14 section 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 

15 1133(d)(1)) and in accordance with appropriate poli16 cies such as those set forth in Appendix B of House 

17 Report 101–405, the State may continue to use air18 craft, including helicopters, to survey, capture, 

19 transplant, monitor, and provide water for wildlife 

20 populations in the Wilderness. 

21 (4) HUNTING, FISHING, AND TRAPPING.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may des23 ignate areas in which, and establish periods 

24 during which, for reasons of public safety, ad25 ministration, or compliance with applicable 


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1 laws, no hunting, fishing, or trapping will be 

2 permitted in the Wilderness. 

3 (B) CONSULTATION.—Except in emer4 gencies, the Secretary shall consult with the ap5 propriate State agency and notify the public be6 fore making any designation under paragraph 

7 (1). 

8 (5) AGREEMENT.—The State, including a des9 ignee of the State, may conduct wildlife management 

10 activities in the Wilderness— 

11 (A) in accordance with the terms and con12 ditions specified in the cooperative agreement 

13 between the Secretary and the State entitled 

14 ‘‘Memorandum of Understanding: Inter15 mountain Region USDA Forest Service and the 

16 Nevada Department of Wildlife State of Ne17 vada’’ and signed by the designee of the State 

18 on February 6, 1984, and by the designee of 

19 the Secretary on January 24, 1984, including 

20 any amendments, appendices, or additions to 

21 the agreement agreed to by the Secretary and 

22 the State or a designee; and 

23 (B) subject to all applicable laws (including 

24 regulations). 


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1 (f) WILDLIFE WATER DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.— 

2 Subject to subsection (d), the Secretary shall authorize 

3 structures and facilities, including existing structures and 

4 facilities, for wildlife water development projects (includ5 ing guzzlers) in the Wilderness if— 

6 (1) the structures and facilities will, as deter7 mined by the Secretary, enhance wilderness values 

8 by promoting healthy, viable, and more naturally 

9 distributed wildlife populations; and 

10 (2) the visual impacts of the structures and fa11 cilities on the Wilderness can reasonably be mini12 mized. 

13 SEC. 4. WITHDRAWAL. 

14 (a) DEFINITION OF WITHDRAWAL AREA.—In this 

15 section, the term ‘‘Withdrawal Area’’ means the land ad16 ministered by the Forest Service and identified as ‘‘With17 drawal Area’’ on the map described in section 3(b)(2). 

18 (b) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 

19 all Federal land within the Withdrawal Area is withdrawn 

20 from all forms of— 

21 (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the 

22 public land laws; 

23 (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining 

24 laws; and 


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1 (3) operation of the mineral laws, geothermal 

2 leasing laws, and mineral materials laws. 

3 (c) MOTORIZED AND MECHANICAL VEHICLES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

5 use of motorized and mechanical vehicles in the 

6 Withdrawal Area shall be permitted only on roads 

7 and trails designated for the use of those vehicles, 

8 unless the use of those vehicles is needed— 

9 (A) for administrative purposes; or 

10 (B) to respond to an emergency. 

11 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not apply 

12 to aircraft (including helicopters). 

13 SEC. 5. NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS 

14 USES. 

15 Nothing in this Act alters or diminishes the treaty 

16 rights of any Indian tribe. 

Æ 


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