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Union Calendar No. 191

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1576

[Report No. 107–316]

To designate the James Peak Wilderness and Protection Area in the Arapaho

and Roosevelt National Forests in the State of Colorado, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 24, 2001

Mr. UDALL of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred to

the Committee on Resources

DECEMBER 5, 2001

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 24, 2001]

A BILL

To designate the James Peak Wilderness and Protection

Area in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests

in the State of Colorado, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘James Peak Wilderness

3 and Protection Area Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. WILDERNESS DESIGNATION.

5 (a) INCLUSION WITH OTHER COLORADO WILDERNESS

6 AREAS.—Section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of

7 1993 (Public Law 103–77; 107 Stat. 756; 16 U.S.C. 1132

8 note) is amended by adding at the end the following new

9 paragraph:

10 ‘‘(21) Certain lands in the Arapaho/Roosevelt

11 National Forest which comprise approximately

12 14,000 acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled

13 ‘Proposed James Peak Wilderness’, dated September

14 2001, and which shall be known as the James Peak

15 Wilderness.’’.

16 (b) ADDITION TO THE INDIAN PEAKS WILDERNESS

17 AREA.—Section 3 of the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area and

18 Arapaho National Recreation Area and the Oregon Islands

19 Wilderness Area Act (Public Law 95–450; 92 Stat. 1095;

20 16 U.S.C. 1132 note) is amended by adding at the end the

21 following new subsections:

22 ‘‘(c) The approximately 2,232 acres of Federal lands

23 in the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest generally depicted

24 on the map entitled ‘Ranch Creek Addition to Indian Peaks

25 Wilderness’ dated September 2001, are hereby added to the

26 Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.
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1 ‘‘(d) The approximately 963 acres of Federal lands in

2 the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest generally depicted

3 on the map entitled ‘Fourth of July Addition to Indian

4 Peaks Wilderness’ dated September 2001, are hereby added

5 to the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.’’.

6 (c) MAPS AND BOUNDARY DESCRIPTIONS.—As soon as

7 practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

8 Secretary of Agriculture (hereafter in this Act referred to

9 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall file with the Committee on Re10 sources of the House of Representatives and the Committee

11 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a map and

12 a boundary description of the area designated as wilderness

13 by subsection (a) and of the area added to the Indian Peaks

14 Wilderness Area by subsection (b). The maps and boundary

15 descriptions shall have the same force and effect as if in16 cluded in the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 and the In17 dian Peaks Wilderness Area and Arapaho National Recre18 ation Area and the Oregon Islands Wilderness Area Act,

19 respectively, except that the Secretary may correct clerical

20 and typographical errors in the maps and boundary de21 scriptions. The maps and boundary descriptions shall be

22 on file and available for public inspection in the office of

23 the Chief of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture

24 and in the office of the Forest Supervisor of the Arapaho/

25 Roosevelt National Forest.
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1 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF JAMES PEAK PROTECTION AREA,

2 COLORADO.

3 (a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.—

4 (1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

5 (A) The lands covered by this section in6 clude important resources and values, including

7 wildlife habitat, clean water, open space, and op8 portunities for solitude.

9 (B) These lands also include areas that are

10 suitable for recreational uses, including use of

11 snowmobiles in times of adequate snow cover as

12 well as use of other motorized and nonmotorized

13 mechanical devices.

14 (C) These lands should be managed in a

15 way that affords permanent protection to their

16 resources and values while permitting continued

17 recreational uses in appropriate locales and sub18 ject to appropriate regulations.

19 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to

20 provide for management of certain lands in the Arap21 aho/Roosevelt National Forest in a manner consistent

22 with the 1997 Revised Land and Resources Manage23 ment Plan for this forest in order to protect the nat24 ural qualities of these areas.

25 (b) DESIGNATION.—The approximately 16,000 acres of

26 land in the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest generally de-
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1 picted on the map entitled ‘‘Proposed James Peak Protec2 tion Area’’, dated September 2001, are hereby designated

3 as the James Peak Protection Area (hereafter in this Act

4 referred to as the ‘‘Protection Area’’) .

5 (c) MAP AND BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION.—As soon as

6 practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the

7 Secretary shall file with the Committee on Resources of the

8 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and

9 Natural Resources of the Senate a map and a boundary

10 description of the Protection Area. The map and boundary

11 description shall have the same force and effect as if in12 cluded in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct

13 clerical and typographical errors in the map and boundary

14 description. The map and boundary description shall be on

15 file and available for public inspection in the office of the

16 Chief of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, and

17 in the office of the Forest Supervisor of the Arapaho/Roo18 sevelt National Forest.

19 (d) MANAGEMENT.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided

21 in this section, the Protection Area shall be managed

22 and administered by the Secretary in the same man23 ner as the management area prescription designations

24 identified for these lands in the 1997 Revision of the

25 Land and Resource Management Plan for the Arap-
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1 aho/Roosevelt National Forest and the Pawnee Na2 tional Grasslands. Such management and adminis3 tration shall be in accordance with the following:

4 (A) GRAZING.—Nothing in this Act, includ5 ing the establishment of the Protection Area,

6 shall affect grazing on lands within or outside of

7 the Protection Area.

8 (B) MINING WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid

9 existing rights, all Federal land within the Pro10 tection Area and all land and interests in land

11 acquired for the Protection Area by the United

12 States are withdrawn from—

13 (i) all forms of entry, appropriation,

14 or disposal under the public land laws;

15 (ii) location, entry, and patent under

16 the mining laws; and

17 (iii) the operation of the mineral leas18 ing, mineral materials, and geothermal

19 leasing laws, and all amendments thereto.

20 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed

21 to affect discretionary authority of the Secretary

22 under other Federal laws to grant, issue, or

23 renew rights-of-way or other land use authoriza24 tions consistent with the other provisions of this

25 Act.
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1 (C) MOTORIZED AND MECHANIZED TRAV2 EL.—

3 (i) REVIEW AND INVENTORY.—Not

4 later than two years after the date of the en5 actment of this Act, the Secretary, in con6 sultation with interested parties, shall com7 plete a review and inventory of all roads

8 and trails in the Protection Area on which

9 use was allowed on September 10, 2001, ex10 cept those lands managed under the man11 agement prescription referred to in sub12 paragraph (F). During the review and in13 ventory, the Secretary may—

14 (I) connect existing roads and

15 trails in the inventoried area to other

16 existing roads and trails in the inven17 toried area for the purpose of mecha18 nized and other nonmotorized use on

19 any lands within the Protection Area

20 as long as there is no net gain in the

21 total mileage of either roads or trails

22 open for public use within the Protec23 tion Area; and

24 (II) close or remove roads or trails

25 within the Protection Area that the
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1 Secretary determines to be undesirable,

2 except those roads or trails managed

3 pursuant to paragraph (2) of this sub4 section or subsection (e)(3).

5 (ii) AFTER COMPLETION OF INVEN6 TORY.—After completion of the review and

7 inventory required by clause (i), the Sec8 retary shall ensure that motorized and

9 mechanized travel within the Protection

10 Area shall be permitted only on those roads

11 and trails identified as open to use in the

12 inventory or established pursuant to sub13 paragraph (D).

14 (D) NEW ROADS AND TRAILS.—No new

15 roads or trails shall be established within the

16 Protection Area except those which the Secretary

17 shall establish as follows:

18 (i) Roads and trails established to re19 place roads or trails of the same character

20 and scope which have become nonserviceable

21 through reasons other than neglect.

22 (ii) Nonpermanent roads as needed for

23 hazardous fuels reduction or other control of

24 fire, insect or disease control projects, or

25 other management purposes.
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1 (iii) Roads determined to be appro2 priate for reasonable access under section

3 4(b)(2).

4 (iv) A loop trail established pursuant

5 to section 6.

6 (v) Construction of a trail for non7 motorized use following the corridor des8 ignated as the Continental Divide Trail.

9 (E) TIMBER HARVESTING.—No timber har10 vesting shall be allowed within the Protection

11 Area except to the extent needed for hazardous

12 fuels reduction or other control of fire, insect or

13 disease control projects, or protection of public

14 health or safety.

15 (F) SPECIAL INTEREST AREA.—The man16 agement prescription applicable to the lands de17 scribed in the 1997 Revision of the Land and

18 Resource Management Plan as the James Peak

19 Special Interest Area shall also be applicable to

20 all the lands in the Protection Area that are

21 bounded on the north by Rollins Pass Road, on

22 the east by the Continental Divide, and on the

23 west by the 11,300 foot elevation contour as

24 shown on the map referred to in subsection (b).
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1 In addition, motorized vehicle use shall not be

2 permitted on any part of the Rogers Pass trail.

3 (2) NATURAL GAS PIPELINE.—The Secretary

4 shall allow for maintenance of rights-of-ways and ac5 cess roads located within the Protection Area to the

6 extent necessary to operate the natural gas pipeline

7 permitted under the Arapaho/Roosevelt National For8 est master permit numbered 4138.01 in a manner

9 that avoids negative impacts on public safety and al10 lows for compliance with Federal pipeline safety re11 quirements. Such maintenance may include vegeta12 tion management, road maintenance, ground sta13 bilization, and motorized vehicle access.

14 (3) PERMANENT FEDERAL OWNERSHIP.—All

15 right, title, and interest of the United States, held on

16 or acquired after the date of the enactment of this Act,

17 to lands within the boundaries of the Protection Area

18 shall be retained by the United States.

19 (e) ISSUES RELATED TO WATER.—

20 (1) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

21 (A) Nothing in this Act shall constitute or

22 be construed to constitute either an express or

23 implied reservation of any water or water rights

24 with respect to the lands within the Protection

25 Area.
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1 (B) Nothing in this Act shall affect any

2 conditional or absolute water rights in the State

3 of Colorado existing on the date of the enactment

4 of this Act.

5 (C) Nothing in this subsection shall be con6 strued as establishing a precedent with regard to

7 any future protection area designation.

8 (D) Nothing in this Act shall be construed

9 as limiting, altering, modifying, or amending

10 any of the interstate compacts or equitable ap11 portionment decrees that apportion water among

12 and between the State of Colorado and other

13 States.

14 (2) COLORADO WATER LAW.—The Secretary shall

15 follow the procedural and substantive requirements of

16 the law of the State of Colorado in order to obtain

17 and hold any new water rights with respect to the

18 Protection Area.

19 (3) WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.—Nothing in this

20 Act (including the provisions related to establishment

21 or management of the Protection Area) shall affect,

22 impede, interfere with, or diminish the operation, ex23 istence, access, maintenance, improvement, or con24 struction of water facilities and infrastructure, rights25 of-way, or other water-related property, interests, and
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1 uses, (including the use of motorized vehicles and

2 equipment existing or located on lands within the

3 Protection Area) on any lands except those lands

4 managed under the management prescription referred

5 to in subsection (d)(1)(F).

6 SEC. 4. INHOLDINGS.

7 (a) STATE LAND BOARD LANDS.—If the Colorado

8 State Land Board informs the Secretary that the Board is

9 willing to transfer to the United States some or all of the

10 lands owned by the Board located within the Protection

11 Area, the Secretary shall promptly seek to reach agreement

12 with the Board regarding terms and conditions for acquisi13 tion of such lands by the United States by purchase or ex14 change.

15 (b) JIM CREEK INHOLDING.—

16 (1) ACQUISITION OF LANDS.—The Secretary

17 shall enter into negotiations with the owner of lands

18 located within the portion of the Jim Creek drainage

19 within the Protection Area for the purpose of acquir20 ing the lands by purchase or exchange, but the United

21 States shall not acquire such lands without the con22 sent of the owner of the lands.

23 (2) LANDOWNER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act

24 shall affect any rights of the owner of lands located

25 within the Jim Creek drainage within the Protection
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1 Area, including any right to reasonable access to such

2 lands by motorized or other means as determined by

3 the Forest Service and the landowner consistent with

4 applicable law and relevant and appropriate rules

5 and regulations governing such access.

6 (c) REPORT.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit to

8 the Committee on Resources of the House of Rep9 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat10 ural Resources of the Senate a report concerning any

11 agreement or the status of negotiations conducted pur12 suant to—

13 (A) subsection (a), upon conclusion of an

14 agreement for acquisition by the United States of

15 lands referred to in subsection (a), or 1 year

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act,

17 whichever occurs first; and

18 (B) subsection (b), upon conclusion of an

19 agreement for acquisition by the United States of

20 lands referred to in subsection (b), or 1 year

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act,

22 whichever occurs first.

23 (2) FUNDING INFORMATION.—The report re24 quired by this subsection shall indicate to what extent

25 funds are available to the Secretary as of the date of
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1 the report for the acquisition of the relevant lands

2 and whether additional funds need to be appropriated

3 or otherwise made available to the Secretary for such

4 purpose.

5 (d) MANAGEMENT OF ACQUISITIONS.—Any lands

6 within the James Peak Wilderness or the Protection Area

7 acquired by the United States after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act shall be added to the James Peak Wilder9 ness or the Protection Area, respectively, and managed ac10 cordingly.

11 SEC. 5. JAMES PEAK FALL RIVER TRAILHEAD.

12 (a) SERVICES AND FACILITIES.—Following the con13 sultation required by subsection (c), the Forest Supervisor

14 of the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest in the State of

15 Colorado (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Forest Super16 visor’’) shall establish a trailhead and corresponding facili17 ties and services to regulate use of National Forest System

18 lands in the vicinity of the Fall River basin south of the

19 communities of Alice Township and St. Mary’s Glacier in

20 the State of Colorado. The facilities and services shall in21 clude the following:

22 (1) Trailhead parking.

23 (2) Public restroom accommodations.

24 (3) Trailhead and trail maintenance.
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1 (b) PERSONNEL.—The Forest Supervisor shall assign

2 Forest Service personnel to provide appropriate manage3 ment and oversight of the area described in subsection (a).

4 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Forest Supervisor shall con5 sult with the Clear Creek County commissioners and with

6 residents of Alice Township and St. Mary’s Glacier

7 regarding—

8 (1) the appropriate location of facilities and

9 services in the area described in subsection (a); and

10 (2) appropriate measures that may be needed in

11 this area—

12 (A) to provide access by emergency or law

13 enforcement vehicles;

14 (B) for public health; and

15 (C) to address concerns regarding impeded

16 access by local residents.

17 (d) REPORT.—After the consultation required by sub18 section (c), the Forest Supervisor shall submit to the Com19 mittee on Resources and the Committee on Appropriations

20 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on En21 ergy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Appro22 priations of the Senate a report regarding the amount of

23 any additional funding required to implement this section.
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1 SEC. 6. LOOP TRAIL STUDY; AUTHORIZATION.

2 (a) STUDY.—Not later than three years after funds are

3 first made available for this purpose, the Secretary, in con4 sultation with interested parties, shall complete a study of

5 the suitability and feasibility of establishing, consistent

6 with the purpose set forth in section 3(a)(2), a loop trail

7 for mechanized and other nonmotorized recreation con8 necting the trail designated as ‘‘Rogers Pass’’ and the trail

9 designated as ‘‘Rollins Pass Road’’.

10 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—If the results of the study re11 quired by subsection (a) indicate that establishment of such

12 a loop trail would be suitable and feasible, consistent with

13 the purpose set forth in section 3(a)(2), the Secretary shall

14 establish the loop trail in a manner consistent with that

15 purpose.

16 SEC. 7. OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

17 (a) BUFFER ZONES.—The designation by this Act or

18 by amendments made by this Act of wilderness areas and

19 the Protection Area in the State of Colorado shall not create

20 or imply the creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones

21 around any wilderness area or the Protection Area. The fact

22 that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard

23 from within a wilderness area or Protection Area shall not,

24 of itself, preclude such activities or uses up to the boundary

25 of the wilderness area or the Protection Area.
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1 (b) ROLLINS PASS ROAD.—If requested by one or more

2 of the Colorado Counties of Grand, Gilpin, and Boulder,

3 the Secretary shall provide technical assistance and other4 wise cooperate with respect to repairing the Rollins Pass

5 road in those counties sufficiently to allow two-wheel-drive

6 vehicles to travel between Colorado State Highway 119 and

7 U.S. Highway 40. If this road is repaired to such extent,

8 the Secretary shall close the motorized roads and trails on

9 Forest Service land indicated on the map entitled ‘‘Rollins

10 Pass Road Reopening: Attendant Road and Trail Clo11 sures’’, dated September 2001.

12 SEC. 8. WILDERNESS POTENTIAL.

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

14 or restrict the authority of the Secretary to evaluate the

15 suitability of lands in the Protection Area for inclusion in

16 the National Wilderness Preservation System or to make

17 recommendations to Congress for such inclusion.

18 (b) EVALUATION OF CERTAIN LANDS.—In connection

19 with the first revision of the land and resources manage20 ment plan for the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest after

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

22 evaluate the suitability of the lands managed under the

23 management prescription referred to in section 3(d)(1)(F)

24 for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation Sys-
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1 tem and make recommendations to Congress regarding such

2 inclusion.

Union Calendar No. 191

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1576

[Report No. 107–316]

A BILL

To designate the James Peak Wilderness and Protection Area in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in the State of Colorado, and for

other purposes.

DECEMBER 5, 2001

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,

and ordered to be printed