IB 

Union Calendar No. 455 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1838 

[Report No. 114–585] 

To establish the Clear Creek National Recreation Area in San Benito and 

Fresno Counties, California, to designate the Joaquin Rocks Wilderness 

in such counties, to designate additional components of the National 

Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 16, 2015 

Mr. FARR (for himself, Mr. VALADAO, and Mr. DENHAM) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

MAY 23, 2016 

Additional sponsor: Mr. COOK

MAY 23, 2016 

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 April 16, 2015] 


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A BILL 

To establish the Clear Creek National Recreation Area in 

San Benito and Fresno Counties, California, to designate 

the Joaquin Rocks Wilderness in such counties, to designate additional components of the National Wild and 

Scenic Rivers System, 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 ‘‘Clear Creek National 

5 Recreation Area and Conservation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage9 ment plan’’ means the Plan for the Recreation Area 

10 prepared under section 4(c). 

11 (2) RECREATION AREA.—The term ‘‘Recreation 

12 Area’’ means the Clear Creek National Recreation 

13 Area. 

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

15 the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

17 of California. 

18 (5) OFF HIGHWAY VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘off 

19 highway vehicle’’ means any motorized vehicle de20 signed for or capable of cross-country travel on or im21 mediately over land, water, snow, or other natural 

22 terrain and not intended for use on public roads. 


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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF CLEAR CREEK NATIONAL 

2 RECREATION AREA. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—To promote environmentally re4 sponsible off highway vehicle recreation, the area generally 

5 depicted as ‘‘Proposed Clear Creek National Recreation 

6 Area’’ on the map titled ‘‘Proposed Clear Creek National 

7 Recreation Area’’ and dated December 15, 2015, is estab8 lished as the ‘‘Clear Creek National Recreation Area’’, to 

9 be managed by the Secretary. 

10 (b) OTHER PURPOSES.—The Recreation Area shall 

11 also support other public recreational uses, such as hunting, 

12 hiking, and rock and gem collecting. 

13 (c) MAP ON FILE.—Copies of the map referred to in 

14 subsection (a) shall be on file and available for public in15 spection in— 

16 (1) the Office of the Director of the Bureau of 

17 Land Management; and 

18 (2) the appropriate office of the Bureau of Land 

19 Management in California. 

20 SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT. 

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

22 Recreation Area to further the purposes described in section 

23 3(a), in accordance with— 

24 (1) this Act; 

25 (2) the Federal Land Policy and Management 

26 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and 


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1 (3) any other applicable law. 

2 (b) USES.—The Secretary shall— 

3 (1) prioritize environmentally responsible off 

4 highway vehicle recreation and also facilitate hunt5 ing, hiking, gem collecting, and the use of motorized 

6 vehicles, mountain bikes, and horses in accordance 

7 with the management plan described in subsection (c); 

8 (2) issue special recreation permits for motorized 

9 and non-motorized events; and 

10 (3) reopen the Clear Creek Management Area to 

11 the uses described in this subsection as soon as prac12 ticable following the enactment of this Act and in ac13 cordance with the management guidelines outlined in 

14 this Act and other applicable law. 

15 (c) INTERIM MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Secretary 

16 shall use the 2006 Clear Creek Management Area Resource 

17 Management Plan Amendment and Route Designation 

18 Record of Decision as modified by this Act or the Secretary 

19 to incorporate natural resource protection information not 

20 available in 2006, as the basis of an interim management 

21 plan to govern off highway vehicle recreation within the 

22 Recreation Area pending the completion of the long-term 

23 management plan required in subsection (d). 

24 (d) PERMANENT MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 

25 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 May 24, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1838.RH H1838

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1 retary shall create a comprehensive management plan for 

2 the Clear Creek Recreation Area that— 

3 (1) shall describe the appropriate uses and man4 agement of the Recreation Area in accordance with 

5 this Act; 

6 (2) shall be prepared in consultation with— 

7 (A) appropriate Federal, State, and local 

8 agencies (including San Benito, Monterey, and 

9 Fresno Counties); 

10 (B) adjacent land owners; 

11 (C) other stakeholders (including conserva12 tion and recreational organizations); and 

13 (D) holders of any easements, rights-of-way, 

14 and other valid rights in the Recreation Area; 

15 (3) shall include a hazards education program to 

16 inform people entering the Recreation Area of the as17 bestos related risks associated with various activities 

18 within the Recreation Area, including off-highway ve19 hicle recreation; 

20 (4) shall include a user fee program for motor21 ized vehicle use within the Recreational Area and 

22 guidelines for the use of the funds collected for the 

23 management and improvement of the Recreation 

24 Area; 


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1 (5) shall designate as many previously used 

2 trails, roads, and other areas for off highway vehicle 

3 recreation as feasible in accordance with this in order 

4 to provide a substantially similar recreational experi5 ence, except that nothing in this paragraph shall be 

6 construed as precluding the Secretary from closing 

7 any area, trail, or route from use for the purposes of 

8 public safety or resource protection; 

9 (6) may incorporate any appropriate decisions, 

10 as determined by the Secretary, in accordance with 

11 this Act, that are contained in any management or 

12 activity plan for the area completed before the date of 

13 the enactment of this Act; 

14 (7) may incorporate appropriate wildlife habitat 

15 management plans or other plans prepared for the 

16 land within or adjacent to the Recreation Area before 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act, in accordance 

18 with this Act; 

19 (8) may use information developed under any 

20 studies of land within or adjacent to the Recreation 

21 Area carried out before the date of enactment of this 

22 Act; and 

23 (9) may include cooperative agreements with 

24 State or local government agencies to manage all or 

25 a portion of the recreational activities within the 


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1 Recreation Area in accordance with an approved 

2 management plan and the requirements of this Act. 

3 (e) ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may acquire 

5 land adjacent to the National Recreation Area by 

6 purchase from willing sellers, donation, or exchange. 

7 (2) MANAGEMENT.—Any land acquired under 

8 paragraph (1) shall be managed in accordance 

9 with— 

10 (A) the Federal Land Policy and Manage11 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); 

12 (B) this Act; and 

13 (C) any other applicable law (including 

14 regulations). 

15 (3) IMPROVED ACCESS.—The Secretary may ac16 quire by purchase from willing sellers, donation, ex17 change, or easement, land, or interest in land to im18 prove public safety in providing access to the Recre19 ation Area. 

20 (f) PRIVATE PROPERTY.— 

21 (1) ACCESS TO PRIVATE PROPERTY.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pro23 vide landowners adequate access to inholdings 

24 within the Recreation Area. 


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1 (B) INHOLDINGS.—For access purposes, pri2 vate land adjacent to the Recreation Area to 

3 which there is no other practicable access except 

4 through the Recreation Area shall be managed as 

5 an inholding. 

6 (2) USE OF PRIVATE PROPERTY.—Nothing in 

7 this Act affects the ownership, management, or other 

8 rights relating to any non-Federal land (including 

9 any interest in any non-Federal land). 

10 (3) BUFFER ZONES.—Nothing in this Act creates 

11 a protective perimeter or buffer zone around the 

12 Recreation Area. 

13 (4) VALID RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act affects 

14 any easements, rights-of-way, and other valid rights 

15 in existence on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 (g) WATER RIGHT EXCLUSION.—Nothing in this 

17 Act— 

18 (1) shall constitute or be construed to constitute 

19 either an express or implied reservation by the United 

20 States of any water or water rights with respect to the 

21 Recreation Area; or 

22 (2) shall affect any water rights existing on the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act. 

24 (h) HUNTING AND FISHING.—Nothing in this Act— 

25 (1) limits hunting or fishing; or 


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1 (2) affects the authority, jurisdiction, or respon2 sibility of the State to manage, control, or regulate 

3 fish and resident wildlife under State law (including 

4 regulations), including the regulation of hunting or 

5 fishing on public land managed by the Bureau of 

6 Land Management. 

7 (i) MOTORIZED VEHICLES.—Except in cases in which 

8 motorized vehicles are needed for administrative purposes 

9 or to respond to an emergency, the use of motorized vehicles 

10 on public land in the Recreation Area shall be permitted 

11 only on roads, trails, and areas designated by the manage12 ment plan for the use by motorized vehicles. 

13 (j) GRAZING.—In the Recreation Area, the grazing of 

14 livestock in areas in which grazing is allowed as of the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act shall be allowed to continue, 

16 consistent with— 

17 (1) this Act; 

18 (2) the Federal Land Policy and Management 

19 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and 

20 (3) any regulations promulgated by the Sec21 retary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of 

22 Land Management. 

23 (k) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, all 

24 Federal land within the Recreation Area is withdrawn 

25 from— 


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1 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and dis2 posal under the public land laws; 

3 (2) location, entry, and patenting under the 

4 mining laws; and 

5 (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 

6 materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 

7 (l) FEES.—Amounts received by the Secretary under 

8 the fee structure required by subsection (c)(3)(G) shall be— 

9 (1) deposited in a special account in the Treas10 ury of the United States; and 

11 (2) made available until expended, without fur12 ther appropriation, to the Secretary for use in the 

13 Recreation Area. 

14 (m) RISK STANDARD.—The National Oil and Haz15 ardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (section 300 

16 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations), published pursu17 ant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re18 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

19 9605), shall not apply to the Secretary’s management of 

20 asbestos exposure risks faced by the public when recreating 

21 within the Clear Creek Recreation Area described in section 

22 3(b). 

23 SEC. 5. JOAQUIN ROCKS WILDERNESS. 

24 In accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 

25 et seq.), the approximately 21,000 acres of Federal lands 


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1 located in Fresno County and San Benito County, Cali2 fornia, and generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Proposed 

3 Joaquin Rocks Wilderness’’ and dated January 14, 2015, 

4 is designated as wilderness and as a component of the Na5 tional Wilderness Preservation System and shall be known 

6 as the ‘‘Joaquin Rocks Wilderness’’. 

7 SEC. 6. RELEASE OF SAN BENITO MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS 

8 STUDY AREA. 

9 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that, for the purposes of 

10 section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

11 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782), the San Benito Mountain 

12 wilderness study area has been adequately studied for wil13 derness designation. 

14 (b) RELEASE.—The San Benito Mountain wilderness 

15 study area is no longer subject to section 603(c) of the Fed16 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

17 1782(c)). 


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Union Calendar No. 455 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1838 

[Report No. 114–585] 

A BILL 

To establish the Clear Creek National Recreation 

ers System, and for other purposes. components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivness in such counties, to designate additional fornia, to designate the Joaquin Rocks WilderArea in San Benito and Fresno Counties, CaliMAY 23, 2016 

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


emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS