I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1576

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

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘James Peak Wilder5 ness, Wilderness Study, and Protection Area Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. WILDERNESS DESIGNATION.

7 (a) INCLUSION WITH OTHER COLORADO WILDER8 NESS AREAS.—Section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness
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1 Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–77; 107 Stat. 756) is

2 amended by adding at the end the following new para3 graph:

4 ‘‘(20) Certain lands in the Arapaho and Roo5 sevelt National Forests which comprise approxi6 mately 14,000 acres, as generally depicted on a map

7 entitled ‘Proposed James Peak Wilderness’, dated

8 April 2001, and which shall be known as the James

9 Peak Wilderness.’’.

10 (b) ADDITION TO THE INDIAN PEAKS WILDERNESS

11 AREA.—Section 3 of the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area

12 and Arapaho National Recreation Area and the Oregon

13 Islands Wilderness Area Act (Public Law 95–450; 92

14 Stat. 1095) is amended by adding at the end the following

15 new subsection:

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

17 in the Arapaho National Forest generally depicted on the

18 map entitled ‘Ranch Creek Addition to Indian Peaks Wil19 derness’ dated April 2001, are hereby added to the Indian

20 Peaks Wilderness Area.’’.

21 (c) MAPS AND BOUNDARY DESCRIPTIONS.—As soon

22 as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act,

23 the Secretary of Agriculture shall file with the Committee

24 on Resources of the House of Representatives and the

25 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen-
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1 ate a map and a boundary description of the area des2 ignated as wilderness by subsection (a) and of the area

3 added to the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area by subsection

4 (b). The maps and boundary descriptions shall have the

5 same force and effect as if included in the Colorado Wil6 derness Act of 1993 and the Indian Peaks Wilderness

7 Area and Arapaho National Recreation Area and the Or8 egon Islands Wilderness Area Act, respectively, except

9 that the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical

10 errors in the maps and boundary descriptions. The maps

11 and boundary descriptions shall be on file and available

12 for public inspection in the Office of the Chief of the For13 est Service, Department of Agriculture and in the office

14 of the Forest Supervisor of the Arapaho National Forest.

15 SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF JAMES PEAK PROTECTION AREA,

16 COLORADO.

17 (a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.—

18 (1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the fol19 lowing:

20 (A) The lands covered by this section in21 clude important resources and values, including

22 wildlife habitat, clean water, open space, and

23 opportunities for solitude.

24 (B) These lands also include areas that are

25 suitable for recreational uses, including use of
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1 snowmobiles in times of adequate snow cover as

2 well as use of other motorized and non3 motorized mechanical devices.

4 (C) These lands should be managed in a

5 way that affords permanent protection to their

6 resources and values while permitting continued

7 recreational uses in appropriate locales and sub8 ject to appropriate regulations.

9 (D) Some of these lands may also be suit10 able for inclusion in the National Wilderness

11 Preservation System and should be managed so

12 as to maintain Congressional options in that re13 gard.

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

15 to provide for management of certain lands in the

16 Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in a man17 ner consistent with the 1997 Revised Land and Re18 sources Management Plan for these forests in order

19 to protect the natural qualities of these areas while

20 allowing for appropriate uses and while also main21 taining Congressional options regarding possible fu22 ture inclusion of some of the lands in the National

23 Wilderness Preservation System.

24 (b) DESIGNATION.—The approximately 18,000 acres

25 of land in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests
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1 generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Proposed James

2 Peak Protection Area’’, dated April 2001, are hereby des3 ignated as the James Peak Protection Area (hereafter in

4 this section 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,

7 the Secretary of Agriculture shall file with the Committee

8 on Resources of the House of Representatives and the

9 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen10 ate a map and a boundary description of the Protection

11 Area. The map and boundary description shall have the

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

13 that the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical

14 errors in the map and boundary description. The map and

15 boundary description shall be on file and available for pub16 lic inspection in the Office of the Chief of the Forest Serv17 ice, Department of Agriculture, and in the office of the

18 Forest Supervisor of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National

19 Forests.

20 (d) MANAGEMENT.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro22 vided in this section, the Protection Area shall be

23 managed and administered by the Secretary of Agri24 culture in the same manner as the management area

25 prescription designations identified for these lands in
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1 the 1997 Revision of the Land and Resource Man2 agement Plan for the Arapaho and Roosevelt Na3 tional Forests and the Pawnee National Grasslands.

4 (2) PERMANENT FEDERAL OWNERSHIP.—All

5 right, title, and interest of the United States, held

6 on or acquired after the date of the enactment of

7 this Act, to lands within the boundaries of the Pro8 tection Area shall be retained by the United States.

9 (3) MOTORIZED AND MECHANIZED TRAVEL.—

10 Not later than 3 years after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act and after consultation with the

12 Grand County commissioners, the Secretary of Agri13 culture shall ensure that motorized and mechanized

14 travel within the Protection Area in the State of Col15 orado, shall be permitted only on those designated

16 roads, trails, and areas established by the Forest

17 Supervisor of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National

18 Forests. Thereafter, such designations can be re19 vised following review and evaluation by the Forest

20 Service during revisions of the relevant forest plan,

21 or through amendments to such plan.

22 (e) WILDERNESS STUDY.—

23 (1) STUDY AREA.—In order to maintain the op24 tions of Congress with regard to possible designation

25 of such lands as wilderness, the approximately 8,000
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1 acres of Federal lands in the portion of the Protec2 tion Area identified as ‘‘Wilderness Study Area

3 Lands’’ on the map referred to in subsection (c)

4 shall be managed by the Secretary of Agriculture so

5 as to maintain that area’s presently existing wilder6 ness character and potential for inclusion in the Na7 tional Wilderness Preservation System.

8 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of

10 Agriculture shall report to Congress concerning the

11 suitability or nonsuitability of the lands identified in

12 paragraph (1) for inclusion in the National Wilder13 ness Preservation System and such other rec14 ommendations as the Secretary may wish to make

15 regarding management of such lands. The report re16 quired by this paragraph shall include a determina17 tion as to whether, and if so to what extent, the use

18 of nonmotorized vehicles should be permitted on the

19 Rogers Pass Trail and any other portion of the

20 lands identified in paragraph (1).

21 SEC. 4. INHOLDINGS.

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

23 State Land Board informs the Secretary of Agriculture

24 that the Board is willing to transfer to the United States

25 some or all of the lands owned by the Board located within
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1 the Protection Area, the Secretary shall promptly seek to

2 reach agreement with the Board regarding terms and con3 ditions for acquisition of such lands by the United States

4 by purchase or exchange.

5 (b) JIM CREEK INHOLDING.—

6 (1) ACQUISITION OF LANDS.—The Secretary of

7 Agriculture shall enter into negotiations with the

8 owner of lands located within the portion of the Jim

9 Creek drainage within the Protection Area for the

10 purpose of acquiring the lands by purchase or ex11 change, but the United States shall not acquire such

12 lands without the consent of the owner of the lands.

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

14 shall affect any rights of the owner of lands located

15 within the Jim Creek drainage within the Protection

16 Area, including any right to reasonable access to

17 such lands by motorized or other means as deter18 mined by the Forest Service and the landowner con19 sistent with applicable law and relevant and appro20 priate rules and regulations governing such access.

21 (c) REPORT.—

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

23 shall submit to the Committee on Resources of the

24 House of Representatives and the Committee on En25 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report
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1 concerning any agreement or the status of negotia2 tions conducted pursuant to—

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

4 agreement for acquisition by the United States

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

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act,

7 whichever occurs first; and

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

9 agreement for acquisition by the United States

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

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act,

12 whichever occurs first.

13 (2) FUNDING INFORMATION.—The report re14 quired by this subsection shall indicate to what ex15 tent funds are available to the Secretary as of the

16 date of the report for the acquisition of the relevant

17 lands and whether additional funds need to be ap18 propriated or otherwise made available to the Sec19 retary for such purpose.

20 (d) MANAGEMENT OF ACQUISITIONS.—Any lands

21 within the James Peak Wilderness or the Protection Area

22 acquired by the United States after the date of the enact23 ment of this Act shall be added to the James Peak Wilder24 ness or the Protection Area, respectively, and managed ac25 cordingly.
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1 SEC. 5. JAMES PEAK FALL RIVER TRAILHEAD.

2 (a) SERVICES AND FACILITIES.—Following the con3 sultation required by subsection (c), the Forest Supervisor

4 of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in the

5 State of Colorado (in this section referred to as the ‘‘For6 est Supervisor’’) shall establish a trailhead and cor7 responding facilities and services to regulate use of Na8 tional Forest System lands in the vicinity of the Fall River

9 basin south of the communities of Alice Township and St.

10 Mary’s Glacier in the State of Colorado. The facilities and

11 services shall include the following:

12 (1) Trailhead parking.

13 (2) Public restroom accommodations.

14 (3) Trailhead and trail maintenance.

15 (b) PERSONNEL.—The Forest Supervisor shall assign

16 Forest Service personnel to provide appropriate manage17 ment and oversight of the area described in subsection (a).

18 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Forest Supervisor shall

19 consult with the Clear Creek County commissioners and

20 with residents of Alice Township and St. Mary’s Glacier

21 regarding—

22 (1) the appropriate location of facilities and

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

24 (2) appropriate measures that may be needed in

25 this area—
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1 (A) to provide access by emergency or law

2 enforcement vehicles;

3 (B) for public health; and

4 (C) to address concerns regarding impeded

5 access by local residents.

6 (d) REPORT.—After the consultation required by sub7 section (c), the Forest Supervisor shall submit to the Com8 mittee on Resources and the Committee on Appropriations

9 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on

10 Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Ap11 propriations of the Senate a report regarding the amount

12 of any additional funding required to implement this sec13 tion.

14 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

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

16 by amendments made by this Act of wilderness areas and

17 the Protection Area in the State of Colorado shall not cre18 ate or imply the creation of protective perimeters or buffer

19 zones around any wilderness area or the Protection Area.

20 The fact that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen

21 or heard from within a wilderness area or Protection Area

22 shall not, of itself, preclude such activities or uses up to

23 the boundary of the wilderness area or the Protection

24 Area.
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1 (b) ROLLINS PASS ROAD.—If requested by one or

2 more of the Colorado Counties of Grand, Gilpin, and Boul3 der, the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide technical

4 assistance and otherwise cooperate with respect to repair5 ing the Rollins Pass road in those counties sufficiently to

6 allow two-wheel-drive vehicles to travel between Colorado

7 State Highway 119 and U.S. Highway 40. If this road

8 is repaired to such extent, the Secretary shall close the

9 motorized roads and trails on Forest Service land indi10 cated on the map entitled ‘‘Rollins Pass Road Reopening:

11 Attendant Road and Trail Closures,’’ dated April 2001.

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