IIB

Calendar No. 477

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1576

[Report No. 107–200]

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

DECEMBER 12, 2001

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

JUNE 28, 2002

Reported by Mr. BINGAMAN, without amendment

AN ACT

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 and Protection Area Act’’.
2

HR 1576 RS

1 SEC. 2. WILDERNESS DESIGNATION.

2 (a) INCLUSION WITH OTHER COLORADO WILDER3 NESS AREAS.—Section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness

4 Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–77; 107 Stat. 756; 16

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

6 following new paragraph:

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

8 National Forest which comprise approximately

9 14,000 acres, as generally depicted on a map enti10 tled ‘Proposed James Peak Wilderness’, dated Sep11 tember 2001, and which shall be known as the

12 James Peak Wilderness.’’.

13 (b) ADDITION TO THE INDIAN PEAKS WILDERNESS

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

15 and Arapaho National Recreation Area and the Oregon

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

17 Stat. 1095; 16 U.S.C. 1132 note) is amended by adding

18 at the end the following new subsections:

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

20 in the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest generally de21 picted on the map entitled ‘Ranch Creek Addition to In22 dian Peaks Wilderness’ dated September 2001, are hereby

23 added to the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.

24 ‘‘(d) The approximately 963 acres of Federal lands

25 in the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest generally de26 picted on the map entitled ‘Fourth of July Addition to
3

HR 1576 RS

1 Indian Peaks Wilderness’ dated September 2001, are

2 hereby added to the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.’’.

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

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

5 the Secretary of Agriculture (hereafter in this Act referred

6 to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall file with the Committee on

7 Resources of the House of Representatives and the Com8 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate

9 a map and a boundary description of the area designated

10 as wilderness by subsection (a) and of the area added to

11 the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area by subsection (b). The

12 maps and boundary descriptions shall have the same force

13 and effect as if included in the Colorado Wilderness Act

14 of 1993 and the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area and Arap15 aho National Recreation Area and the Oregon Islands Wil16 derness Area Act, respectively, except that the Secretary

17 may correct clerical and typographical errors in the maps

18 and boundary descriptions. The maps and boundary de19 scriptions shall be on file and available for public inspec20 tion in the office of the Chief of the Forest Service, De21 partment of Agriculture and in the office of the Forest

22 Supervisor of the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest.

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

24 COLORADO.

25 (a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.—
4

HR 1576 RS

1 (1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the fol2 lowing:

3 (A) The lands covered by this section in4 clude important resources and values, including

5 wildlife habitat, clean water, open space, and

6 opportunities for solitude.

7 (B) These lands also include areas that are

8 suitable for recreational uses, including use of

9 snowmobiles in times of adequate snow cover as

10 well as use of other motorized and non11 motorized mechanical devices.

12 (C) These lands should be managed in a

13 way that affords permanent protection to their

14 resources and values while permitting continued

15 recreational uses in appropriate locales and sub16 ject to appropriate regulations.

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

18 to provide for management of certain lands in the

19 Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest in a manner con20 sistent with the 1997 Revised Land and Resources

21 Management Plan for this forest in order to protect

22 the natural qualities of these areas.

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

24 of land in the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest gen25 erally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Proposed James Peak
5

HR 1576 RS

1 Protection Area’’, dated September 2001, are hereby des2 ignated as the James Peak Protection Area (hereafter in

3 this Act referred to as the ‘‘Protection Area’’) .

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

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

6 the Secretary shall file with the Committee on Resources

7 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on

8 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a map and

9 a boundary description of the Protection Area. The map

10 and boundary description shall have the same force and

11 effect as if included in this Act, except that the Secretary

12 may correct clerical and typographical errors in the map

13 and boundary description. The map and boundary descrip14 tion shall be on file and available for public inspection in

15 the office of the Chief of the Forest Service, Department

16 of Agriculture, and in the office of the Forest Supervisor

17 of the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest.

18 (d) MANAGEMENT.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro20 vided in this section, the Protection Area shall be

21 managed and administered by the Secretary in the

22 same manner as the management area prescription

23 designations identified for these lands in the 1997

24 Revision of the Land and Resource Management

25 Plan for the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest and
6

HR 1576 RS

1 the Pawnee National Grasslands. Such management

2 and administration shall be in accordance with the

3 following:

4 (A) GRAZING.—Nothing in this Act, in5 cluding the establishment of the Protection

6 Area, shall affect grazing on lands within or

7 outside of the Protection Area.

8 (B) MINING WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to

9 valid existing rights, all Federal land within the

10 Protection Area and all land and interests in

11 land acquired for the Protection Area by the

12 United 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 con21 strued to affect discretionary authority of the

22 Secretary under other Federal laws to grant,

23 issue, or renew rights-of-way or other land use

24 authorizations consistent with the other provi25 sions of this Act.
7

HR 1576 RS

1 (C) MOTORIZED AND MECHANIZED TRAV2 EL.—

3 (i) REVIEW AND INVENTORY.—Not

4 later than two years after the date of the

5 enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in

6 consultation with interested parties, shall

7 complete a review and inventory of all

8 roads and trails in the Protection Area on

9 which use was allowed on September 10,

10 2001, except those lands managed under

11 the management prescription referred to in

12 subparagraph (F). During the review and

13 inventory, 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

25 trails within the Protection Area that
8

HR 1576 RS

1 the Secretary determines to be unde2 sirable, except those roads or trails

3 managed pursuant to paragraph (2)

4 of this subsection 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

11 roads and trails identified as open to use

12 in the inventory or established pursuant to

13 subparagraph (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 Sec17 retary 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 nonservice21 able through reasons other than neglect.

22 (ii) Nonpermanent roads as needed

23 for hazardous fuels reduction or other con24 trol of fire, insect or disease control

25 projects, or other management purposes.
9

HR 1576 RS

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

10 harvesting shall be allowed within the Protec11 tion Area except to the extent needed for haz12 ardous fuels reduction or other control of fire,

13 insect or disease control projects, or protection

14 of public 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).
10

HR 1576 RS

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

8 Forest master permit numbered 4138.01 in a man9 ner that avoids negative impacts on public safety

10 and allows for compliance with Federal pipeline safe11 ty requirements. Such maintenance may include

12 vegetation management, road maintenance, ground

13 stabilization, and motorized vehicle access.

14 (3) PERMANENT FEDERAL OWNERSHIP.—All

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

16 on or acquired after the date of the enactment of

17 this Act, to lands within the boundaries of the Pro18 tection Area 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.
11

HR 1576 RS

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 enact4 ment of this Act.

5 (C) Nothing in this subsection shall be

6 construed as establishing a precedent with re7 gard to 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

12 among and between the State of Colorado and

13 other States.

14 (2) COLORADO WATER LAW.—The Secretary

15 shall follow the procedural and substantive require16 ments of the law of the State of Colorado in order

17 to obtain and hold any new water rights with respect

18 to the Protection Area.

19 (3) WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.—Nothing in this

20 Act (including the provisions related to establish21 ment or management of the Protection Area) shall

22 affect, impede, interfere with, or diminish the oper23 ation, existence, access, maintenance, improvement,

24 or construction of water facilities and infrastructure,

25 rights-of-way, or other water-related property, inter-
12

HR 1576 RS

1 ests, and uses, (including the use of motorized vehi2 cles and equipment existing or located on lands with3 in the Protection Area) on any lands except those

4 lands managed under the management prescription

5 referred 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

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

10 the lands owned by the Board located within the Protec11 tion Area, the Secretary shall promptly seek to reach

12 agreement with the Board regarding terms and conditions

13 for acquisition of such lands by the United States by pur14 chase or exchange.

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

21 United States shall not acquire such lands without

22 the consent 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
13

HR 1576 RS

1 Area, including any right to reasonable access to

2 such lands by motorized or other means as deter3 mined by the Forest Service and the landowner con4 sistent with applicable law and relevant and appro5 priate rules and regulations governing such access.

6 (c) REPORT.—

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

8 to 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

11 any agreement or the status of negotiations con12 ducted pursuant to—

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

14 agreement for acquisition by the United States

15 of 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

20 of 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 ex25 tent funds are available to the Secretary as of the
14

HR 1576 RS

1 date of the report for the acquisition of the relevant

2 lands and whether additional funds need to be ap3 propriated or otherwise made available to the Sec4 retary for such 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.
15

HR 1576 RS

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

5 consult with the Clear Creek County commissioners and

6 with 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

21 Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Ap22 propriations of the Senate a report regarding the amount

23 of any additional funding required to implement this sec24 tion.
16

HR 1576 RS

1 SEC. 6. LOOP TRAIL STUDY; AUTHORIZATION.

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

3 are first made available for this purpose, the Secretary,

4 in consultation with interested parties, shall complete a

5 study of the suitability and feasibility of establishing, con6 sistent with the purpose set forth in section 3(a)(2), a loop

7 trail for mechanized and other nonmotorized recreation

8 connecting the trail designated as ‘‘Rogers Pass’’ and the

9 trail designated as ‘‘Rollins Pass Road’’.

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

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

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

14 shall establish the loop trail in a manner consistent with

15 that 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 cre20 ate or imply the creation of protective perimeters or buffer

21 zones around any wilderness area or the Protection Area.

22 The fact that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen

23 or heard from within a wilderness area or Protection Area

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

25 the boundary of the wilderness area or the Protection

26 Area.
17

HR 1576 RS

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

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

4 otherwise cooperate with respect to repairing the Rollins

5 Pass road in those counties sufficiently to allow two-wheel6 drive vehicles to travel between Colorado State Highway

7 119 and U.S. Highway 40. If this road is repaired to such

8 extent, the Secretary shall close the motorized roads and

9 trails on Forest Service land indicated on the map entitled

10 ‘‘Rollins Pass Road Reopening: Attendant Road and Trail

11 Closures’’, 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

16 in the National Wilderness Preservation System or to

17 make recommendations to Congress for such inclusion.

18 (b) EVALUATION OF CERTAIN LANDS.—In connec19 tion with the first revision of the land and resources man20 agement plan for the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest

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

22 shall evaluate the suitability of the lands managed under

23 the management prescription referred to in section

24 3(d)(1)(F) for inclusion in the National Wilderness Pres-
18

HR 1576 RS

1 ervation System and make recommendations to Congress

2 regarding such inclusion.

Passed the House of Representatives December 11,

2001.

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL,

Clerk.

Calendar No. 477

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1576

[Report No. 107–200]

AN ACT

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.

JUNE 28, 2002

Reported without amendment