IB 

Union Calendar No. 310 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2546 

[Report No. 116–387] 

To designate certain lands in the State of Colorado as components of the 

National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2019 

Ms. DEGETTE (for herself and Mr. NEGUSE) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

FEBRUARY 4, 2020 

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 May 7, 2019] 


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A BILL 

To designate certain lands in the State of Colorado as components of the National Wilderness Preservation 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; DEFINITION. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Col5 orado Wilderness Act of 2019’’. 

6 (b) SECRETARY DEFINED.—As used in this Act, the 

7 term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior or the 

8 Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate. 

9 SEC. 2. ADDITIONS TO NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVA10 TION SYSTEM IN THE STATE OF COLORADO. 

11 (a) ADDITIONS.—Section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilder12 ness Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–77; 107 Stat. 756; 16 

13 U.S.C. 1132 note) is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing paragraphs: 

15 ‘‘(23) Certain lands managed by the Colorado 

16 River Valley Field Office of the Bureau of Land Man17 agement, which comprise approximately 19,839 acres, 

18 as generally depicted on a map titled ‘Bull Gulch & 

19 Castle Peak Proposed Wilderness’, dated October 9, 

20 2019, which shall be known as the Bull Gulch Wilder21 ness. 

22 ‘‘(24) Certain lands managed by the Colorado 

23 River Valley Field Office of the Bureau of Land Man24 agement, which comprise approximately 15,987 acres, 

25 as generally depicted on a map titled ‘Bull Gulch & 


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1 Castle Peak Proposed Wilderness Areas’, dated Octo2 ber 9, 2019, which shall be known as the Castle Peak 

3 Wilderness. 

4 ‘‘(25) Certain lands managed by the Colorado 

5 River Valley Field Office of the Bureau of Land Man6 agement, which comprise approximately 316 acres, as 

7 generally depicted on a map titled ‘Maroon Bells Ad8 dition Proposed Wilderness’, dated July 20, 2018, 

9 which is hereby incorporated in and shall be deemed 

10 to be a part of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilder11 ness Area designated by Public Law 88–577. 

12 ‘‘(26) Certain lands managed by the Gunnison 

13 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, 

14 which comprise approximately 38,217 acres, as gen15 erally depicted on a map titled ‘Redcloud & Handies 

16 Peak Proposed Wilderness’, dated October 9, 2019, 

17 which shall be known as the Redcloud Peak Wilder18 ness. 

19 ‘‘(27) Certain lands managed by the Gunnison 

20 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management or lo21 cated in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunni22 son National Forests, which comprise approximately 

23 26,734 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled 

24 ‘Redcloud & Handies Peak Proposed Wilderness’, 


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1 dated October 9, 2019, which shall be known as the 

2 Handies Peak Wilderness. 

3 ‘‘(28) Certain lands managed by the Royal 

4 Gorge Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage5 ment, which comprise approximately 16,481 acres, as 

6 generally depicted on a map titled ‘Table Mountain 

7 & McIntyre Hills Proposed Wilderness’, dated Novem8 ber 7, 2019, which shall be known as the McIntyre 

9 Hills Wilderness. 

10 ‘‘(29) Certain lands managed by the Glenwood 

11 Springs Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage12 ment, which comprise approximately 10,282 acres, as 

13 generally depicted on a map titled ‘Grand Hogback 

14 Proposed Wilderness’, dated October 16, 2019, which 

15 shall be known as the Grand Hogback Wilderness. 

16 ‘‘(30) Certain lands managed by the Glenwood 

17 Springs Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage18 ment or located in the White River National Forest, 

19 which comprise approximately 16,101 acres, as gen20 erally depicted on a map titled ‘Flat Tops Proposed 

21 Wilderness Addition’, dated October 9, 2019, and 

22 which are hereby incorporated in and shall be deemed 

23 to be a part of the Flat Tops Wilderness designated 

24 by Public Law 94–146. 


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1 ‘‘(31) Certain lands managed by the Grand 

2 Junction Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage3 ment, which comprise approximately 25,624 acres, as 

4 generally depicted on a map titled ‘Demaree Canyon 

5 Proposed Wilderness’, dated October 9, 2019, which 

6 shall be known as the Demaree Canyon Wilderness. 

7 ‘‘(32) Certain lands managed by the Grand 

8 Junction Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage9 ment, which comprise approximately 28,279 acres, as 

10 generally depicted on a map titled ‘Little Books Cliff 

11 Proposed Wilderness’, dated October 9, 2019, which 

12 shall be known as the Little Bookcliffs Wilderness. 

13 ‘‘(33) Certain lands managed by the Glenwood 

14 Springs Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage15 ment, which comprise approximately 7,376 acres, as 

16 generally depicted on a map titled ‘Pisgah East & 

17 West Proposed Wilderness’ and dated October 16, 

18 2019, which shall be known as the Pisgah East Wil19 derness, upon being designated as wilderness as pro20 vided by section 3(h)(2) of the Colorado Wilderness 

21 Act of 2019. 

22 ‘‘(34) Certain lands managed by the Glenwood 

23 Springs Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage24 ment, which comprise approximately 6,828 acres, as 

25 generally depicted on a map titled ‘Pisgah East & 


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1 West Proposed Wilderness’ and dated October 16, 

2 2019, which shall be known as the Pisgah West Wil3 derness, upon being designated as wilderness as pro4 vided by section 3(h)(2) of the Colorado Wilderness 

5 Act of 2019.’’. 

6 (b) FURTHER ADDITIONS.—The following lands in the 

7 State of Colorado administered by the Bureau of Land 

8 Management or the United States Forest Service are hereby 

9 designated as wilderness and, therefore, as components of 

10 the National Wilderness Preservation System: 

11 (1) Certain lands managed by the Colorado 

12 River Valley Field Office of the Bureau of Land Man13 agement or located in the White River National For14 est, which comprise approximately 19,240 acres, as 

15 generally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Assignation 

16 Ridge Proposed Wilderness’’, dated November 12, 

17 2019, which shall be known as the Assignation Ridge 

18 Wilderness. 

19 (2) Certain lands managed by the Royal Gorge 

20 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management or lo21 cated in the Pike and San Isabel National Forests, 

22 which comprise approximately 23,116 acres, as gen23 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Badger Creek Pro24 posed Wilderness’’, dated November 7, 2019, which 

25 shall be known as the Badger Creek Wilderness. 


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1 (3) Certain lands managed by the Royal Gorge 

2 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management or lo3 cated in the Pike and San Isabel National Forests, 

4 which comprise approximately 35,251 acres, as gen5 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Beaver Creek Pro6 posed Wilderness’’, dated November 7, 2019, which 

7 shall be known as the Beaver Creek Wilderness. 

8 (4) Certain lands managed by the Royal Gorge 

9 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management or 

10 the Bureau of Reclamation or located in the Pike and 

11 San Isabel National Forest, which comprise approxi12 mately 32,884 acres, as generally depicted on a map 

13 titled ‘‘Grape Creek Proposed Wilderness’’, dated No14 vember 7, 2019, which shall be known as the Grape 

15 Creek Wilderness. 

16 (5) Certain lands managed by the Grand Junc17 tion Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, 

18 which comprise approximately 13,351 acres, as gen19 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘North & South 

20 Bangs Canyon Proposed Wilderness’’, dated October 

21 9, 2019, which shall be known as the North Bangs 

22 Canyon Wilderness. 

23 (6) Certain lands managed by the Grand Junc24 tion Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, 

25 which comprise approximately 5,144 acres, as genVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:01 Feb 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2546.RH H2546

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1 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘North & South 

2 Bangs Canyon Proposed Wilderness’’, dated October 

3 9, 2019, which shall be known as the South Bangs 

4 Canyon Wilderness. 

5 (7) Certain lands managed by the Grand Junc6 tion Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, 

7 which comprise approximately 26,624 acres, as gen8 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Unaweep & Palisade 

9 Proposed Wilderness’’, dated October 9, 2019, which 

10 shall be known as The Palisade Wilderness. 

11 (8) Certain lands managed by the Grand Junc12 tion Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management 

13 or located in the Grand Mesa, Uncompaghre, and 

14 Gunnison National Forest, which comprise approxi15 mately 19,776 acres, as generally depicted on a map 

16 titled ‘‘Unaweep & Palisade Proposed Wilderness’’, 

17 dated October 9, 2019, which shall be known as the 

18 Unaweep Wilderness. 

19 (9) Certain lands managed by the Grand Junc20 tion Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management 

21 and San Juan Field Office of the Bureau of Land 

22 Management and in the Manti-LaSal National For23 est, which comprise approximately 37,637 acres, as 

24 generally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Sewemup Mesa 


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1 Proposed Wilderness’’, dated November 7, 2019, which 

2 shall be known as the Sewemup Mesa Wilderness. 

3 (10) Certain lands managed by the Kremmling 

4 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, 

5 which comprise approximately 31 acres, as generally 

6 depicted on a map titled ‘‘Platte River Addition Pro7 posed Wilderness’’, dated July 20, 2018, and which 

8 are hereby incorporated in and shall be deemed to be 

9 part of the Platte River Wilderness designated by 

10 Public Law 98–550. 

11 (11) Certain lands managed by the 

12 Uncompahgre Field Office of the Bureau of Land 

13 Management, which comprise approximately 17,587 

14 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled 

15 ‘‘Roubideau Proposed Wilderness’’, dated Octboer 9, 

16 2019, which shall be known as the Roubideau Wilder17 ness. 

18 (12) Certain lands managed by the 

19 Uncompahgre Field Office of the Bureau of Land 

20 Management or located in the Grand Mesa, 

21 Uncompaghre, and Gunnison National Forest, which 

22 comprise approximately 12,102 acres, as generally de23 picted on a map titled ‘‘Norwood Canyon Proposed 

24 Wilderness’’, dated November 7, 2019, which shall be 

25 known as the Norwood Canyon Wilderness. 


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1 (13) Certain lands managed by the San Juan 

2 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, 

3 which comprise approximately 24,475 acres, as gen4 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Cross Canyon Pro5 posed Wilderness’’, dated October 9, 2019, which shall 

6 be known as the Cross Canyon Wilderness. 

7 (14) Certain lands managed by the San Juan 

8 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, 

9 which comprise approximately 21,220 acres, as gen10 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘McKenna Peak Pro11 posed Wilderness’’, dated October 16, 2019, which 

12 shall be known as the McKenna Peak Wilderness. 

13 (15) Certain lands managed by the San Juan 

14 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, 

15 which comprise approximately 14,270 acres, as gen16 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Weber-Menefee 

17 Mountain Proposed Wilderness’’, dated October 9, 

18 2019, which shall be known as the Weber-Menefee 

19 Mountain Wilderness. 

20 (16) Certain lands managed by the 

21 Uncompahgre and San Juan Field Offices of the Bu22 reau of Land Management or the Bureau of Reclama23 tion, which comprise approximately 33,351 acres, as 

24 generally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Dolores River 

25 Canyon Proposed Wilderness’’, dated November 7, 


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1 2019, which shall be known as the Dolores River Can2 yon Wilderness. 

3 (17) Certain lands managed by the Royal Gorge 

4 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management or lo5 cated in the Pike and San Isabel National Forests, 

6 which comprise approximately 17,922 acres, as gen7 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Browns Canyon Pro8 posed Wilderness’’, dated October 9, 2019, which shall 

9 be known as the Browns Canyon Wilderness. 

10 (18) Certain lands managed by the San Luis 

11 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, 

12 which comprise approximately 10,527 acres, as gen13 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘San Luis Hills Pro14 posed Wilderness’’, dated October 9, 2019 which shall 

15 be known as the San Luis Hills Wilderness. 

16 (19) Certain lands managed by the Royal Gorge 

17 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, 

18 which comprise approximately 23,559 acres, as gen19 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Table Mountain & 

20 McIntyre Hills Proposed Wilderness’’, dated Novem21 ber 7, 2019, which shall be known as the Table Moun22 tain Wilderness. 

23 (c) WEST ELK ADDITION.—Certain lands in the State 

24 of Colorado administered by the Gunnison Field Office of 

25 the Bureau of Land Management, the United States NaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:01 Feb 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2546.RH H2546

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1 tional Park Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation, which 

2 comprise approximately 6,695 acres, as generally depicted 

3 on a map titled ‘‘West Elk Addition Proposed Wilderness’’, 

4 dated October 9, 2019, are hereby designated as wilderness 

5 and, therefore, as components of the National Wilderness 

6 Preservation System and are hereby incorporated in and 

7 shall be deemed to be a part of the West Elk Wilderness 

8 designated by Public Law 88–577. The boundary adjacent 

9 to Blue Mesa Reservoir shall be 50 feet landward from the 

10 water’s edge, and shall change according to the water level. 

11 (d) BLUE MESA RESERVOIR.—If the Bureau of Rec12 lamation determines that lands within the West Elk Wilder13 ness Addition are necessary for future expansion of the Blue 

14 Mesa Reservoir, the Secretary shall by publication of a re15 vised boundary description in the Federal Register revise 

16 the boundary of the West Elk Wilderness Addition. 

17 (e) MAPS AND DESCRIPTIONS.—As soon as practicable 

18 after the date of enactment of the Act, the Secretary shall 

19 file a map and a boundary description of each area des20 ignated as wilderness by this section with the Committee 

21 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and 

22 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen23 ate. Each map and boundary description shall have the 

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

25 the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors 


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1 in the map or boundary description. The maps and bound2 ary descriptions shall be on file and available for public 

3 inspection in the Office of the Director of the Bureau of 

4 Land Management, Department of the Interior, and in the 

5 Office of the Chief of the Forest Service, Department of Ag6 riculture, as appropriate. 

7 (f) STATE AND PRIVATE LANDS.—Lands within the ex8 terior boundaries of any wilderness area designated under 

9 this section that are owned by a private entity or by the 

10 State of Colorado, including lands administered by the Col11 orado State Land Board, shall be included within such wil12 derness area if such lands are acquired by the United 

13 States. Such lands may be acquired by the United States 

14 only as provided in the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 

15 et seq.). 

16 SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 

18 lands designated as wilderness by this Act shall be managed 

19 by the Secretary in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 

20 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this Act, except that, with respect 

21 to any wilderness areas designated by this Act, any ref22 erence in the Wilderness Act to the effective date of the Wil23 derness Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the date 

24 of enactment of this Act. 


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1 (b) GRAZING.—Grazing of livestock in wilderness 

2 areas designated by this Act shall be administered in ac3 cordance with the provisions of section 4(d)(4) of the Wil4 derness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)), as further interpreted 

5 by section 108 of Public Law 96–560, and the guidelines 

6 set forth in appendix A of House Report 101–405 of the 

7 101st Congress. 

8 (c) STATE JURISDICTION.—As provided in section 

9 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)), noth10 ing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the jurisdic11 tion or responsibilities of the State of Colorado with respect 

12 to wildlife and fish in Colorado. 

13 (d) BUFFER ZONES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act creates a 

15 protective perimeter or buffer zone around any area 

16 designated as wilderness by section 2. 

17 (2) ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE WILDERNESS.—The fact 

18 that an activity or use on land outside the areas des19 ignated as wilderness by section 2 can be seen or 

20 heard within the wilderness shall not preclude the ac21 tivity or use outside the boundary of the wilderness. 

22 (e) MILITARY HELICOPTER OVERFLIGHTS AND OPER23 ATIONS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act restricts 

25 or precludes— 


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1 (A) low-level overflights of military heli2 copters over the areas designated as wilderness 

3 by section 2, including military overflights that 

4 can be seen or heard within any wilderness area; 

5 (B) military flight testing and evaluation; 

6 (C) the designation or creation of new units 

7 of special use airspace, or the establishment of 

8 military flight training routes over any wilder9 ness area; or 

10 (D) helicopter operations at designated 

11 landing zones within the following five regions: 

12 (i) Flat Tops Wilderness; 

13 (ii) Bull Gulch Wilderness; 

14 (iii) Castle Peak Wilderness; 

15 (iv) Pisgah East Wilderness; and 

16 (v) Pisgah West Wilderness. 

17 (2) AERIAL NAVIGATION TRAINING EXERCISES.— 

18 The Colorado Army National Guard, through the 

19 High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Train20 ing Site, may conduct aerial navigation training ma21 neuver exercises over, and associated operations with22 in, the wilderness areas designated by this Act— 

23 (A) in a manner and degree consistent with 

24 the memorandum of understanding dated August 

25 4, 1987, entered into among the Colorado Army 


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1 National Guard, the Bureau of Land Manage2 ment, and the Forest Service; or 

3 (B) in a manner consistent with any subse4 quent memorandum of understanding entered 

5 into among the Colorado Army National Guard, 

6 the Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest 

7 Service. 

8 (f) RUNNING EVENTS.—The Secretary may continue 

9 to authorize competitive running events currently permitted 

10 in the Redcloud Peak Wilderness Area and Handies Peak 

11 Wilderness Area in a manner compatible with the preserva12 tion of such areas as wilderness. 

13 (g) LAND TRADES.—If the Secretary trades privately 

14 owned land within the perimeter of the Redcloud Peak Wil15 derness Area or the Handies Peak Wilderness Area in ex16 change for Federal land, then such Federal land shall be 

17 located in Hinsdale County, Colorado. 

18 (h) RECREATIONAL CLIMBING.—Nothing in this Act 

19 prohibits recreational rock climbing activities in the wilder20 ness areas, such as the placement, use, and maintenance 

21 of fixed anchors, including any fixed anchor established be22 fore the date of the enactment of this Act— 

23 (1) in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 

24 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.); and 


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1 (2) subject to any terms and conditions deter2 mined to be necessary by the Secretary. 

3 (i) POTENTIAL WILDERNESS DESIGNATIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following lands are des5 ignated as potential wilderness areas: 

6 (A) Certain lands managed by the Glen7 wood Springs Field Office of the Bureau of Land 

8 Management, which comprise approximately 

9 7,376 acres, as generally depicted on a map ti10 tled ‘‘Pisgah East & West Proposed Wilderness’’ 

11 and dated October 16, 2019, which, upon des12 ignation as wilderness under paragraph (2), 

13 shall be known as the Pisgah East Wilderness. 

14 (B) Certain lands managed by the Glen15 wood Springs Field Office of the Bureau of Land 

16 Management, which comprise approximately 

17 6,828 acres, as generally depicted on a map ti18 tled ‘‘Pisgah East & West Proposed Wilderness’’ 

19 and dated October 16, 2019, which, upon des20 ignation as wilderness under paragraph (2), 

21 shall be known as the Pisgah West Wilderness. 

22 (2) DESIGNATION AS WILDERNESS.—Lands des23 ignated as a potential wilderness area by subpara24 graph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) shall be designated 

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1 lishes in the Federal Register a notice that all non2 conforming uses of those lands authorized by sub3 section (e) in the potential wilderness area that would 

4 be in violation of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 

5 et seq.) have ceased. Such publication in the Federal 

6 Register and designation as wilderness shall occur for 

7 the potential wilderness area as the nonconforming 

8 uses cease in that potential wilderness area and des9 ignation as wilderness is not dependent on cessation 

10 of nonconforming uses in the other potential wilder11 ness area. 

12 (3) MANAGEMENT.—Except for activities pro13 vided for under subsection (e), lands designated as a 

14 potential wilderness area by paragraph (1) shall be 

15 managed by the Secretary in accordance with the 

16 Wilderness Act as wilderness pending the designation 

17 of such lands as wilderness under this subsection. 

18 SEC. 4. WATER. 

19 (a) EFFECT ON WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this 

20 Act— 

21 (1) affects the use or allocation, in existence on 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, of any water, water 

23 right, or interest in water; 

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1 ment of this Act, including any water right held by 

2 the United States; 

3 (3) affects any interstate water compact in exist4 ence on the date of enactment of this Act; 

5 (4) authorizes or imposes any new reserved Fed6 eral water rights; and 

7 (5) shall be considered to be a relinquishment or 

8 reduction of any water rights reserved or appro9 priated by the United States in the State of Colorado 

10 on or before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 (b) MIDSTREAM AREAS.— 

12 (1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection is 

13 to protect for the benefit and enjoyment of present 

14 and future generations— 

15 (A) the unique and nationally important 

16 values of areas designated as wilderness by sec17 tion 2(b) (including the geological, cultural, ar18 chaeological, paleontological, natural, scientific, 

19 recreational, environmental, biological, wilder20 ness, wildlife, riparian, historical, educational, 

21 and scenic resources of the public land); and 

22 (B) the water resources of area streams, 

23 based on seasonally available flows, that are nec24 essary to support aquatic, riparian, and terres25 trial species and communities. 


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1 (2) WILDERNESS WATER RIGHTS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall en3 sure that any water rights within the wilderness 

4 designated by section 2(b) required to fulfill the 

5 purposes of such wilderness are secured in ac6 cordance with subparagraphs (B) through (G). 

7 (B) STATE LAW.— 

8 (i) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 Any water rights for which the Secretary 

10 pursues adjudication shall be appropriated, 

11 adjudicated, changed, and administered in 

12 accordance with the procedural require13 ments and priority system of State law. 

14 (ii) ESTABLISHMENT OF WATER

15 RIGHTS.— 

16 (I) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro17 vided in subclause (II), the purposes 

18 and other substantive characteristics of 

19 the water rights pursued under this 

20 paragraph shall be established in ac21 cordance with State law. 

22 (II) EXCEPTION.—Notwith23 standing subclause (I) and in accord24 ance with this Act, the Secretary may 

25 appropriate and seek adjudication of 


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1 water rights to maintain surface water 

2 levels and stream flows on and across 

3 the wilderness designated by section 

4 2(b) to fulfill the purposes of such wil5 derness. 

6 (C) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall 

7 promptly, but not earlier than January 1, 2021, 

8 appropriate the water rights required to fulfill 

9 the purposes of the wilderness designated by sec10 tion 2(b). 

11 (D) REQUIRED DETERMINATION.—The Sec12 retary shall not pursue adjudication for any 

13 instream flow water rights unless the Secretary 

14 makes a determination pursuant to subpara15 graph (E)(ii) or (F). 

16 (E) COOPERATIVE ENFORCEMENT.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

18 not pursue adjudication of any Federal 

19 instream flow water rights established under 

20 this paragraph if— 

21 (I) the Secretary determines, upon 

22 adjudication of the water rights by the 

23 Colorado Water Conservation Board, 

24 that the Board holds water rights suffi25 cient in priority, amount, and timing 


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1 to fulfill the purposes of this subsection; 

2 and 

3 (II) the Secretary has entered into 

4 a perpetual agreement with the Colo5 rado Water Conservation Board to en6 sure full exercise, protection, and en7 forcement of the State water rights 

8 within the wilderness to reliably fulfill 

9 the purposes of this subsection. 

10 (ii) ADJUDICATION.—If the Secretary 

11 determines that the provisions of clause (i) 

12 have not been met, the Secretary shall adju13 dicate and exercise any Federal water rights 

14 required to fulfill the purposes of the wilder15 ness in accordance with this paragraph. 

16 (F) INSUFFICIENT WATER RIGHTS.—If the 

17 Colorado Water Conservation Board modifies the 

18 instream flow water rights obtained under sub19 paragraph (E) to such a degree that the Sec20 retary determines that water rights held by the 

21 State are insufficient to fulfill the purposes of 

22 this Act, the Secretary shall adjudicate and exer23 cise Federal water rights required to fulfill the 

24 purposes of this Act in accordance with subpara25 graph (B). 


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1 (G) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—The Secretary 

2 shall promptly act to exercise and enforce the 

3 water rights described in subparagraph (E) if 

4 the Secretary determines that— 

5 (i) the State is not exercising its water 

6 rights consistent with subparagraph 

7 (E)(i)(I); or 

8 (ii) the agreement described in sub9 paragraph (E)(i)(II) is not fulfilled or com10 plied with sufficiently to fulfill the purposes 

11 of this Act. 

12 (3) WATER RESOURCE FACILITY.—Notwith13 standing any other provision of law, beginning on the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, neither the President 

15 nor any other officer, employee, or agent of the United 

16 States shall fund, assist, authorize, or issue a license 

17 or permit for development of any new irrigation and 

18 pumping facility, reservoir, water conservation work, 

19 aqueduct, canal, ditch, pipeline, well, hydropower 

20 project, transmission, other ancillary facility, or other 

21 water, diversion, storage, or carriage structure in the 

22 wilderness designated by section 2(b). 

23 (c) ACCESS AND OPERATION.— 

24 (1) DEFINITION.—As used in this subsection, the 

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


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1 pumping facilities, reservoirs, water conservation 

2 works, aqueducts, canals, ditches, pipelines, wells, hy3 dropower projects, transmission and other ancillary 

4 facilities, and other water diversion, storage, and car5 riage structures. 

6 (2) ACCESS TO WATER RESOURCE FACILITIES.— 

7 Subject to the provisions of this subsection, the Sec8 retary shall allow reasonable access to water resource 

9 facilities in existence on the date of enactment of this 

10 Act within the areas described in sections 2(b) and 

11 2(c), including motorized access where necessary and 

12 customarily employed on routes existing as of the date 

13 of enactment of this Act. 

14 (3) ACCESS ROUTES.—Existing access routes 

15 within such areas customarily employed as of the date 

16 of enactment of this Act may be used, maintained, re17 paired, and replaced to the extent necessary to main18 tain their present function, design, and serviceable 

19 operation, so long as such activities have no increased 

20 adverse impacts on the resources and values of the 

21 areas described in sections 2(b) and 2(c) than existed 

22 as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

23 (4) USE OF WATER RESOURCE FACILITIES.— 

24 Subject to the provisions of this subsection and sub25 section (a)(4), the Secretary shall allow water reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:01 Feb 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2546.RH H2546

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26 

•HR 2546 RH

1 source facilities existing on the date of enactment of 

2 this Act within areas described in sections 2(b) and 

3 2(c) to be used, operated, maintained, repaired, and 

4 replaced to the extent necessary for the continued ex5 ercise, in accordance with Colorado State law, of vest6 ed water rights adjudicated for use in connection with 

7 such facilities by a court of competent jurisdiction 

8 prior to the date of enactment of this Act. The impact 

9 of an existing facility on the water resources and val10 ues of the area shall not be increased as a result of 

11 changes in the adjudicated type of use of such facility 

12 as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

13 (5) REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE.—Water resource 

14 facilities, and access routes serving such facilities, ex15 isting within the areas described in sections 2(b) and 

16 2(c) on the date of enactment of this Act shall be 

17 maintained and repaired when and to the extent nec18 essary to prevent increased adverse impacts on the re19 sources and values of the areas described in sections 

20 2(b) and 2(c). 

21 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

22 It is the sense of Congress that military aviation train23 ing on Federal public lands in Colorado, including the 

24 training conducted at the High-Altitude Army National 

25 Guard Aviation Training Site, is critical to the national 


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•HR 2546 RH

1 security of the United States and the readiness of the Armed 

2 Forces. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 310 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2546 

[Report No. 116–387] 

A BILL 

To designate certain lands in the State of Colorado 

ervation System, and for other purposes. as components of the National Wilderness PresFEBRUARY 4, 2020 

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


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS