I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5009 

To designate certain lands in the Wasatch Mountains of Salt Lake County, 

Utah, as wilderness, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 13, 2010 

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

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate certain lands in the Wasatch Mountains of 

Salt Lake County, Utah, as wilderness, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wasatch Wilderness 

5 and Watershed Protection Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS, UINTA-WASATCH7 CACHE NATIONAL FORESTS, UTAH. 

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

9 the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the following 

10 Federal lands within the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National 


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1 Forests in Salt Lake County, Utah, are designated as wil2 derness and as either a new component of the National 

3 Wilderness Preservation System or as an addition to an 

4 existing component of the National Wilderness Preserva5 tion System: 

6 (1) Certain lands in the vicinity of the Lone 

7 Peak Wilderness comprising approximately 4,627 

8 acres, as generally depicted on the map titled 

9 ‘‘Wasatch Mountains Wilderness and Watershed 

10 Protection’’ and dated January 29, 2010 (in this 

11 subsection referred to as the ‘‘map’’), which shall be 

12 added to and administered as part of the Lone Peak 

13 Wilderness designated by section 2(I) of Public Law 

14 95–237 (92 Stat. 42). 

15 (2) Certain lands in the vicinity of the Mount 

16 Olympus Wilderness comprising approximately 813 

17 acres, as generally depicted on the map, which shall 

18 be added to and administered as part of the Mount 

19 Olympus Wilderness designated by section 102(a)(3) 

20 of Public Law 98–428 (98 Stat. 1658). 

21 (3) Certain lands comprising approximately 

22 2,342 acres, as generally depicted on the map, which 

23 shall be known as the ‘‘Bear Trap Wilderness’’. 

24 (4) Certain lands comprising approximately 

25 7,759 acres, as generally depicted on the map, which 


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1 shall be known as the ‘‘Wayne Owens Grandeur 

2 Peak/Mount Aire Wilderness’’. 

3 (b) MAP AND DESCRIPTION.— 

4 (1) FILING AND AVAILABILITY.—As soon as 

5 practicable after the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

7 Chief of the Forest Service, shall file with the Com8 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep9 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat10 ural Resources of the Senate a map and legal de11 scription of each wilderness area designated or ex12 panded by paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection 

13 (a). The maps and legal descriptions shall be on file 

14 and available for public inspection in the office of 

15 the Chief of the Forest Service. 

16 (2) FORCE OF LAW.—The maps and legal de17 scriptions filed under paragraph (1) and (2) shall 

18 have the same force and effect as if included in this 

19 Act, except that the Secretary of Agriculture may 

20 correct clerical and typographical errors in the maps 

21 and legal descriptions. 

22 SEC. 3. HELISKIING SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA, UINTA23 WASATCH-CACHE NATIONAL FORESTS, UTAH. 

24 (a) DESIGNATION.—Certain Federal lands contig25 uous to the existing Mount Olympus, Twin Peaks, and 


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1 Lone Peak Wilderness Areas, and the Wayne Owens 

2 Grandeur Peak/Mount Aire Wilderness Area enacted by 

3 this legislation in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National For4 est comprising approximately 10,479 acres, as generally 

5 depicted on a map titled ‘‘Wasatch Mountains Wilderness 

6 and Watershed Protection’’ and dated January 29, 2010, 

7 are hereby designated as the ‘‘Heliskiing Special Manage8 ment Area’’. 

9 (b) MAPS AND DESCRIPTIONS.— 

10 (1) FILING AND AVAILABILITY.—As soon as 

11 practicable after the date of the enactment of this 

12 Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

13 Chief of the Forest Service, shall file with the Com14 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep15 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat16 ural Resources of the Senate a map and legal de17 scription of the Heliskiing Special Management 

18 Area. The map and legal description shall be on file 

19 and available for public inspection in the office of 

20 the Chief of the Forest Service. 

21 (2) FORCE OF LAW.—The maps and legal de22 scriptions filed under paragraph (1) shall have the 

23 same force and effect as if included in this Act, ex24 cept that the Secretary of Agriculture may correct 


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1 typographical errors in the maps and legal descrip2 tions. 

3 (c) MANAGEMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

5 shall manage activities within the Heliskiing Special 

6 Management Area to maintain the area’s presently 

7 existing wilderness character and potential for inclu8 sion in the National Wilderness Preservation Sys9 tem. 

10 (2) PROHIBITIONS.— 

11 (A) PERMANENT ROADS.—Permanent 

12 roads may not be established in the Heliskiing 

13 Special Management Area. 

14 (B) TEMPORARY ROADS AND VEHICLES.— 

15 Except as necessary to meet the minimum re16 quirements for the administration of the 

17 Heliskiing Special Management Area and to 

18 protect public health and safety— 

19 (i) the use of motorized or mechanized 

20 vehicles, except as described in paragraph 

21 (3), is prohibited in the Heliskiing Special 

22 Management Area; and 

23 (ii) the establishment of temporary 

24 roads is prohibited in the Heliskiing Spe25 cial Management Area. 


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1 (3) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of 

2 Agriculture may allow Heliskiing, that have been au3 thorized on the Federal lands included within the 

4 Heliskiing Special Management Area as of the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act to continue within the 

6 area designated as the Heliskiing Special Manage7 ment Area. The designation of the Heliskiing Special 

8 Management Area shall not impact future permit 

9 processes relating to such activities. 

10 (4) APPLICABLE LAW.—Any uses of the Fed11 eral lands included within the Heliskiing Special 

12 Management Area, including activities described in 

13 paragraph (3), shall be carried out in accordance 

14 with applicable law. 

15 (d) EVENTUAL DESIGNATION AS WASATCH MOUN16 TAIN WILDERNESS.— 

17 (1) DESIGNATION FOR WILDERNESS.—The 

18 Federal lands included within the Heliskiing Special 

19 Management Area shall be designated as wilderness 

20 and as a new component of the National Wilderness 

21 Preservation System on the date on which the Sec22 retary of Agriculture publishes in the Federal Reg23 ister notice that all commercial helicopter-assisted 

24 skiing or snowboarding activities on the lands has 

25 been terminated. 


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1 (2) RENAMING.—Upon its designation as wil2 derness under paragraph (1), the Heliskiing Special 

3 Management Area shall be known and redesignated 

4 as the ‘‘Wasatch Mountain Wilderness’’. 

5 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

6 (a) COVERED LAND DEFINED.—In this section, the 

7 term ‘‘covered land’’ means— 

8 (1) the wilderness areas designated or expanded 

9 by sections 2 and 3; and 

10 (2) the Heliskiing Special Management Area 

11 designated by section 3. 

12 (b) ADMINISTRATION GENERALLY.—Subject to valid 

13 rights in existence on the date of the enactment of this 

14 Act, land designated as wilderness by section 2 or 3 shall 

15 be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in accord16 ance with— 

17 (1) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 

18 seq.); and 

19 (2) this Act. 

20 (c) TREATMENT OF EFFECTIVE DATE OF WILDER21 NESS ACT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to land des23 ignated as wilderness by section 2, any reference in 

24 the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) to the 

25 effective date of the Wilderness Act shall be deemed 


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1 to be a reference to the date of the enactment of this 

2 Act. 

3 (2) WASATCH MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS.—With 

4 respect to the Wasatch Mountain Wilderness des5 ignated by section 3, any reference in the Wilderness 

6 Act to the effective date of the Wilderness Act shall 

7 be deemed to be a reference to the date of the Fed8 eral Register notice referred to in section 3(d)(1). 

9 (d) FISH AND WILDLIFE.—Nothing in this Act shall 

10 affect the jurisdiction or responsibility of the State of 

11 Utah with respect to wildlife and fish. 

12 (e) NO BUFFER ZONES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall 

14 create a protective perimeter or buffer zone around 

15 covered land. 

16 (2) ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE WILDERNESS.—The 

17 fact that a nonwilderness activity or use can be seen 

18 or heard from within covered land shall not preclude 

19 the conduct of the activity or use outside the bound20 ary of the covered land. 

21 (f) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid rights in exist22 ence on the date of the enactment of this Act, covered 

23 land is withdrawn from all forms of— 

24 (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under pub25 lic land laws; 


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1 (2) location, entry, and patent under mining 

2 laws; and 

3 (3) disposition under all laws pertaining to min4 eral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials. 

5 (g) ACQUIRED LAND.—Any land or interest in land 

6 located inside the boundaries of covered land that is ac7 quired by the United States after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act shall become part of the relevant wilder9 ness or special management area and shall be managed 

10 in accordance with this Act and other applicable law. 

11 SEC. 5. LAND EXCHANGE, UINTA-WASATCH-CACHE NA12 TIONAL FOREST. 

13 (a) DESCRIPTION OF LAND EXCHANGE.—The Sec14 retary of Agriculture shall expedite a land exchange be15 tween Snowbird Corp and the Secretary involving land 

16 owned by Snowbird Corp in the Flagstaff White Pine and 

17 Red Pine areas of Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons of 

18 the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest and National 

19 Forest System land located in the American Fork Twins. 

20 It is the intent of Congress that the land exchange be com21 pleted not later than one year after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act. It is the intent of Congress that the 

23 Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service 

24 and the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, and in ac25 cordance with applicable law, expeditiously facilitates the 


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1 land exchange process contemplated in the subsection (a) 

2 and Snowbird’s associated expansion process to ensure the 

3 continued outdoor recreational opportunities for the pub4 lic. 

5 (b) MANAGEMENT OF ACQUIRED LAND.—The land 

6 acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture in the land ex7 change described in subsection (a) shall be included in the 

8 Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest and managed by 

9 the Secretary so as to maintain the land’s existing wilder10 ness character and potential for inclusion in the National 

11 Wilderness Preservation System. The Red Pine/White 

12 Pine Area land acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture 

13 in the land exchange described in subsection (a) shall be 

14 included in the Uinta-Wasatch National Forest and man15 aged by the Secretary so as to maintain the land’s existing 

16 wilderness character and for inclusion in the National Wil17 derness Preservation System. 

18 (c) PRIVATE PROPERTY.—The Lands acquired by 

19 Snowbird Corp in the land exchange described in sub20 section (a) shall become Snowbird’s private property. 

21 These lands are adjacent to other areas currently used by 

22 Snowbird for ski resort operations, either owned or man23 aged under a special use permit issued by the Uinta24 Wasatch-Cache National Forest. It is anticipated that 

25 Snowbird will expand its ski resort operations into these 


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1 acquired lands, to include chairlifts, tramway facilities, or 

2 both. 

3 (d) PROHIBITIONS.—The following are prohibited on 

4 the land acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture in the 

5 land exchange described in subsection (a): 

6 (1) Permanent roads. 

7 (2) Except as necessary to meet the minimum 

8 requirements for the administration of the land and 

9 to protect public health and safety— 

10 (A) the use of motorized or mechanized ve11 hicles, except as described in subsection (e); and 

12 (B) the establishment of temporary roads. 

13 (3) Ski resort expansion including chairlift con14 struction and operation. 

15 (e) AVALANCHE CONTROL DEVICES.—The Secretary 

16 of Agriculture may allow GAZEX, or similar avalanche 

17 control devices within the acquired Flagstaff Area land, 

18 to facilitate avalanche control to be installed and main19 tained on the land acquired by the Secretary of Agri20 culture in the land exchange described in subsection (a) 

21 for the sole purpose of protecting public health and prop22 erty. 

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

24 the land acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture in the 


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1 land exchange described in subsection (a) is withdrawn 

2 from— 

3 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal 

4 under the public land laws; 

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

6 laws; and 

7 (3) disposition under all laws relating to min8 eral and energy leasing. 

9 SEC. 6. WATERSHED MANAGEMENT. 

10 Subject to such reasonable regulations as are consid11 ered by the Secretary of Agriculture, nothing in this Act 

12 shall be construed to limit motorized access, road mainte13 nance, and ‘‘necessary vegetation management’’ by the 

14 ‘‘Forest Service and local government entities with water15 shed management responsibilities’’ on the land designated 

16 as wilderness by section 2 or 3 and the Heliskiing Special 

17 Management Area designated by section 3 for those min18 imum maintenance activities that may be necessary— 

19 (1) to guarantee the continued viability of wa20 tershed facilities currently in existence on the date 

21 of enactment of this Act; 

22 (2) in the future to prevent the degradation of 

23 the water supply on such lands or special manage24 ment area; 


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1 (3) to guarantee the continued viability of wa2 tershed facilities and existing water infrastructure, 

3 especially the continued maintenance of White Pine 

4 Reservoir; or 

5 (4) in the future to conduct vegetation manage6 ment activities to prevent degradation of the water 

7 supply mainly due to widespread fire, disease, and 

8 insect infestations. 

Æ 


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