II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1784

Entitled the ‘‘Saint Helena Island National Scenic Area Act’’.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 25, 1999

Mr. ABRAHAM (for himself and Mr. LEVIN) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

Entitled the ‘‘Saint Helena Island National Scenic Area

Act’’.

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 ‘‘Saint Helena Island

5 National Scenic Area Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SAINT HELENA ISLAND NA7 TIONAL SCENIC AREA, MICHIGAN.

8 (a) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are—

9 (1) to preserve and protect for present and fu10 ture generations the outstanding resources and val-
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1 ues of Saint Helena Island in Lake Michigan, Michi2 gan; and

3 (2) to provide for the conservation, protection,

4 and enhancement of primitive recreation opportuni5 ties, fish and wildlife habitat, vegetation, and histor6 ical and cultural resources of the island.

7 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—For the purposes described in

8 subsection (a), there shall be established the Saint Helena

9 Island National Scenic Area (in this Act referred to as

10 the ‘‘scenic area’’).

11 (c) EFFECTIVE UPON CONVEYANCE.—Subsection (b)

12 shall be effective upon conveyance of satisfactory title to

13 the United States of the whole of Saint Helena Island,

14 except that portion conveyed to the Great Lakes Light15 house Keepers Association pursuant to section 1001 of the

16 Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–

17 324; 110 Stat. 3948).

18 SEC. 3. BOUNDARIES.

19 (a) SAINT HELENA ISLAND.—The scenic area shall

20 comprise all of Saint Helena Island, in Lake Michigan,

21 Michigan, and all associated rocks, pinnacles, islands, and

22 islets within one-eighth mile of the shore of Saint Helena

23 Island.

24 (b) BOUNDARIES OF HIAWATHA NATIONAL FOREST

25 EXTENDED.—Upon establishment of the scenic area, the
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1 boundaries of the Hiawatha National Forest shall be ex2 tended to include all of the lands within the scenic area.

3 All such extended boundaries shall be deemed boundaries

4 in existence as of January 1, 1965, for the purposes of

5 section 8 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act

6 of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–9).

7 (c) PAYMENTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—Solely

8 for purposes of payments to local governments pursuant

9 to section 6902 of title 31, United States Code, lands ac10 quired by the United States under this Act shall be treated

11 as entitlement lands.

12 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT.

13 (a) ADMINISTRATION.—Subject to valid existing

14 rights, the Secretary of Agriculture (in this Act referred

15 to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall administer the scenic area in

16 accordance with the laws, rules, and regulations applicable

17 to the National Forest System in furtherance of the pur18 poses of this Act.

19 (b) SPECIAL MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS.—With20 in 3 years of the date of the enactment of this Act, the

21 Secretary shall seek to develop a management plan for the

22 scenic area as an amendment to the land and resources

23 management plan for the Hiawatha National Forest. Such

24 an amendment shall conform to the provisions of this Act.

25 Nothing in this Act shall require the Secretary to revise
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1 the land and resource management plan for the Hiawatha

2 National Forest pursuant to section 6 of the Forest and

3 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974

4 (16 U.S.C. 1604). In developing a plan for management

5 of the scenic area, the Secretary shall address the fol6 lowing special management considerations:

7 (1) PUBLIC ACCESS.—Alternative means for

8 providing public access from the mainland to the

9 scenic area shall be considered, including any avail10 able existing services and facilities, concessionaires,

11 special use permits, or other means of making public

12 access available for the purposes of this Act.

13 (2) ROADS.—After the date of the enactment of

14 this Act, no new permanent roads shall be con15 structed within the scenic area.

16 (3) VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.—No timber

17 harvest shall be allowed within the scenic area, ex18 cept as may be necessary in the control of fire, in19 sects, and diseases, and to provide for public safety

20 and trail access. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the

21 Secretary may engage in vegetation manipulation

22 practices for maintenance of wildlife habitat and vis23 ual quality. Trees cut for these purposes may be uti24 lized, salvaged, or removed from the scenic area as

25 authorized by the Secretary.
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1 (4) MOTORIZED TRAVEL.—Motorized travel

2 shall not be permitted within the scenic area, except

3 on the waters of Lake Michigan, and as necessary

4 for administrative use in furtherance of the purposes

5 of this Act.

6 (5) FIRE.—Wildfires shall be suppressed in a

7 manner consistent with the purposes of this Act,

8 using such means as the Secretary deems appro9 priate.

10 (6) INSECTS AND DISEASE.—Insect and disease

11 outbreaks may be controlled in the scenic area to

12 maintain scenic quality, prevent tree mortality, or to

13 reduce hazards to visitors.

14 (7) DOCKAGE.—The Secretary shall provide

15 through concession, permit, or other means docking

16 facilities consistent with the management plan devel17 oped pursuant to this section.

18 (8) SAFETY.—The Secretary shall take reason19 able actions to provide for public health and safety

20 and for the protection of the scenic area in the event

21 of fire or infestation of insects or disease.

22 (c) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the management

23 plan, the Secretary shall consult with appropriate State

24 and local government officials, provide for full public par-
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1 ticipation, and consider the views of all interested parties,

2 organizations, and individuals.

3 SEC. 5. FISH AND GAME.

4 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting

5 the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the State of Michigan

6 with respect to fish and in the scenic area.

7 SEC. 6. MINERALS.

8 Subject to valid existing rights, the lands within the

9 scenic area are hereby withdrawn from disposition under

10 all laws pertaining to mineral leasing, including all laws

11 pertaining to geothermal leasing. Also subject to valid ex12 isting rights, the Secretary shall not allow any mineral de13 velopment on federally owned land within the scenic area,

14 except that common varieties of minerals materials, such

15 as stone and gravel, may be utilized only as authorized

16 by the Secretary to the extent necessary for construction

17 and maintenance of roads and facilities within the scenic

18 area.

19 SEC. 7. ACQUISITION

20 (a) ACQUISITION OF LANDS WITHIN THE SCENIC

21 AREA.—The Secretary shall acquire, by purchase from

22 willing sellers, gift, or exchange, lands, waters, structures,

23 or interests therein, including scenic or other easements,

24 within the boundaries of the scenic area to further the

25 purposes of this Act.
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1 (b) ACQUISITION OF OTHER LANDS.—The Secretary

2 may acquire, by purchase from willing sellers, gift, or ex3 change, not more than 10 acres of land, including any im4 provements thereon, on the mainland to provide access to

5 any administrative facilities for the scenic area.

6 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

7 (a) ACQUISITION OF LANDS.—There are hereby au8 thorized to be appropriated such sums a may be necessary

9 for the acquisition of land, interests in land, or structures

10 within the scenic area and on the mainland as provided

11 in section 7.

12 (b) OTHER PURPOSES.—In addition to the amounts

13 authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a), there

14 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be

15 necessary for the development and implementation of the

16 management plan under section 4(b).

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