I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1348 

To establish the Great Bend of the Gila National Monument in the State 

of Arizona, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2013 

Mr. GRIJALVA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish the Great Bend of the Gila National Monument 

in the State of Arizona, 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 ‘‘Great Bend of the Gila National Monument Establish6 ment 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. Establishment of Great Bend of the Gila National Monument, Arizona. 

Sec. 3. Management of national monument. 

Sec. 4. Management plan. 

Sec. 5. Tribal use of national monument. 


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Sec. 6. Off-road use of motorized and mechanized vehicles. 

Sec. 7. No military airspace restrictions. 

Sec. 8. Research, education, and visitor services. 

Sec. 9. Fish and wildlife. 

Sec. 10. Land acquisition. 

Sec. 11. Withdrawal. 

Sec. 12. Water rights. 

Sec. 13. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF GREAT BEND OF THE GILA NA2 TIONAL MONUMENT, ARIZONA. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

4 State of Arizona the Great Bend of the Gila National 

5 Monument (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘national monu6 ment’’). 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the national monu8 ment is— 

9 (1) to preserve, protect, and restore the archae10 ological, cultural, historic, geologic, hydrologic, nat11 ural, educational, and scenic resources of the Great 

12 Bend of the Gila (Gila River in Western Maricopa 

13 County, Arizona) and adjacent land; and 

14 (2) to provide for public interpretation and 

15 recreation consistent with the resources described in 

16 paragraph (1). 

17 (c) BOUNDARIES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The national monument con19 sists of approximately 84,296 acres of public lands 

20 and interests in land administered by the Secretary 

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1 ment, as generally depicted on the map entitled 

2 ‘‘Great Bend of the Gila National Monument’’ and 

3 dated March 6, 2013. 

4 (2) MINOR ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary may 

5 make minor adjustments to the boundaries of the 

6 national monument to reflect the inclusion of signifi7 cant archaeological resources discovered after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act on public lands adja9 cent to the national monument. 

10 (3) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map described 

11 in paragraph (1) and the legal description of any ad12 justments made under paragraph (2) shall be on file 

13 and available for public inspection in the appropriate 

14 offices of the Bureau of Land Management. 

15 (d) ADJACENT USES.—Nothing in this Act— 

16 (1) creates a protective perimeter or buffer zone 

17 around the national monument; or 

18 (2) affects private property outside of the 

19 boundaries of the national monument. 

20 SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL MONUMENT. 

21 (a) NATIONAL LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION SYS22 TEM.—The Secretary of the Interior shall manage the na23 tional monument as part of the National Landscape Con24 servation System— 


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1 (1) to allow only such uses of the national 

2 monument as to further the purposes for which the 

3 monument was established; and 

4 (2) in accordance with this Act and other laws 

5 generally applicable to the national monument, in6 cluding the Native American Graves Protection and 

7 Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) and the 

8 policy described in Public Law 95–341 (commonly 

9 known as the American Indian Religious Freedom 

10 Act; 42 U.S.C. 1996). 

11 (b) MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES.—In managing the 

12 national monument, the Secretary of the Interior shall— 

13 (1) maintain the undeveloped character of the 

14 national monument to the maximum extent prac15 ticable; and 

16 (2) protect and restore cultural resources, spe17 cies, and ecosystems of the national monument. 

18 (c) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte20 rior— 

21 (A) shall conduct an inventory of invasive 

22 plant species in the national monument; and 

23 (B) may carry out vegetation management 

24 treatments in the national monument. 


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1 (2) USE OF NATIVE PLANT SPECIES.—The Sec2 retary shall utilize native plant species in planning 

3 for restoration projects to be conducted in the na4 tional monument. 

5 (d) GRAZING.—The Secretary shall permit grazing in 

6 the national monument, where grazing was established be7 fore the date of enactment of this Act— 

8 (1) subject to all applicable laws; and 

9 (2) consistent with the purposes for which the 

10 national monument is established. 

11 (e) BACKCOUNTRY ACTIVITIES.—Management of the 

12 national monument shall support backcountry hunting 

13 and other non-motorized recreation in the national monu14 ment. 

15 SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

16 (a) MANAGEMENT PLAN REQUIRED.—Not later than 

17 three years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

18 Secretary of the Interior shall develop a management plan 

19 for the national monument that addresses the actions nec20 essary to protect the resources described in section 

21 2(b)(1). The management plan shall include a transpor22 tation plan, including travel restrictions and road closures. 

23 (b) CONSULTATION.—In addition to the period of 

24 public comment required by subsection (b), the Secretary 

25 of the Interior shall prepare the management plan in govVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:44 Mar 28, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1348.IH H1348

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1 ernment-to-government consultation with Indian tribes 

2 with a cultural or historic tie to the Great Bend of the 

3 Gila. 

4 SEC. 5. TRIBAL USE OF NATIONAL MONUMENT. 

5 (a) TRADITIONAL USES.—The Secretary of the Inte6 rior shall allow for the continued use of the national monu7 ment by members of Indian tribes— 

8 (1) for traditional ceremonies; and 

9 (2) as a source of traditional plants and other 

10 materials. 

11 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Tribal use of the na12 tional monument under subsection (a) shall be— 

13 (1) subject to any terms and conditions the 

14 Secretary of the Interior determines to be necessary 

15 to further the purposes for which the national monu16 ment is established; and 

17 (2) in accordance with applicable law. 

18 (c) TRIBAL RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act affects— 

19 (1) the rights of any Indian tribe on Indian 

20 land; 

21 (2) any individually held trust land or Indian 

22 allotment; or 

23 (3) any treaty rights providing for nonexclusive 

24 access to or in the national monument by members 


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1 of Indian tribes for traditional and cultural pur2 poses. 

3 SEC. 6. OFF-ROAD USE OF MOTORIZED AND MECHANIZED 

4 VEHICLES. 

5 Except as needed for administrative purposes or to 

6 respond to an emergency, the use of motorized and mecha7 nized vehicles in the national monument is limited to roads 

8 and trails designated for their use. 

9 SEC. 7. NO MILITARY AIRSPACE RESTRICTIONS. 

10 Establishment of the national monument shall not be 

11 construed to impact or impose any altitude, flight, or other 

12 airspace restrictions on current or future military oper13 ations or missions. Should the Armed Forces require addi14 tional or modified airspace after the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act, Congress does not intend for the establishment 

16 of the national monument to impede the Secretary of De17 fense from petitioning the Federal Aviation Administra18 tion to change or expand restricted military airspace. 

19 SEC. 8. RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND VISITOR SERVICES. 

20 (a) EDUCATION AND INTERPRETATION.—The Sec21 retary of the Interior shall provide such minimal facilities 

22 within the national monument for education and interpre23 tation, such as signage or other interpretive kiosks, as the 

24 Secretary considers necessary for visitor enjoyment of the 


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1 national monument, while ensuring the protection of 

2 monument resources. 

3 (b) VISITOR CENTER.—Any visitor center for the na4 tional monument shall be sited in a community in the vi5 cinity of the national monument, rather than within the 

6 boundaries of the national monument. 

7 (c) RESEARCH AUTHORIZED.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte9 rior shall allow scientific research to be conducted in 

10 the national monument, including research to iden11 tify, protect, and preserve the historic and cultural 

12 resources of the monument. 

13 (2) CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH.—The Sec14 retary may conduct, or authorize other persons to 

15 conduct, research regarding the effects of climate 

16 change on monument resources to develop manage17 ment techniques to boost resiliency and facilitate ad18 aptation to human-caused climate change. 

19 SEC. 9. FISH AND WILDLIFE. 

20 Nothing in this Act affects the jurisdiction of the 

21 State of Arizona with respect to the management of fish 

22 and wildlife on public lands in the State. 

23 SEC. 10. LAND ACQUISITION. 

24 (a) ACQUISITION AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of the 

25 Interior may acquire land and any interest in land, State 


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1 and private, within or adjacent to the boundaries of the 

2 national monument— 

3 (1) by purchase from willing sellers with do4 nated or appropriated funds; 

5 (2) by donation; or 

6 (3) by exchange. 

7 (b) TREATMENT OF ACQUIRED LAND.—Land and in8 terests in land acquired under the authority of subsection 

9 (a) shall automatically become part of the national monu10 ment. 

11 SEC. 11. WITHDRAWAL. 

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

13 all Federal land within the national monument (including 

14 any land or interest in land acquired after the date of en15 actment of this Act) is withdrawn from— 

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

17 public land laws; 

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

19 laws; and 

20 (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 

21 materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 

22 (b) RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS.—Subject to 

23 valid and existing rights, renewable energy and trans24 mission development is prohibited in the national monu25 ment. 


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1 SEC. 12. WATER RIGHTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act affects any 

3 valid water rights, including water rights held by the 

4 United States. 

5 (b) RESERVED WATER RIGHTS.—The designation of 

6 the national monument does not create a Federal reserved 

7 water right. 

8 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

10 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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