107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1576

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.

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1576

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘James Peak Wilder3 ness and Protection Area Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. WILDERNESS DESIGNATION.

5 (a) INCLUSION WITH OTHER COLORADO WILDER6 NESS AREAS.—Section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness

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

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

9 following new 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 enti13 tled ‘Proposed James Peak Wilderness’, dated Sep14 tember 2001, and which shall be known as the

15 James Peak Wilderness.’’.

16 (b) ADDITION TO THE INDIAN PEAKS WILDERNESS

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

18 and Arapaho National Recreation Area and the Oregon

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

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

21 at the end the following new subsections:

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

23 in the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest generally de24 picted on the map entitled ‘Ranch Creek Addition to In25 dian Peaks Wilderness’ dated September 2001, are hereby

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

2 in the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest generally de3 picted on the map entitled ‘Fourth of July Addition to

4 Indian Peaks Wilderness’ dated September 2001, are

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

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

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

8 the Secretary of Agriculture (hereafter in this Act referred

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

10 Resources of the House of Representatives and the Com11 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate

12 a map and a boundary description of the area designated

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

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

15 maps and boundary descriptions shall have the same force

16 and effect as if included in the Colorado Wilderness Act

17 of 1993 and the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area and Arap18 aho National Recreation Area and the Oregon Islands Wil19 derness Area Act, respectively, except that the Secretary

20 may correct clerical and typographical errors in the maps

21 and boundary descriptions. The maps and boundary de22 scriptions shall be on file and available for public inspec23 tion in the office of the Chief of the Forest Service, De24 partment of Agriculture and in the office of the Forest

25 Supervisor of the Arapaho/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 fol5 lowing:

6 (A) The lands covered by this section in7 clude important resources and values, including

8 wildlife habitat, clean water, open space, and

9 opportunities for solitude.

10 (B) These lands also include areas that are

11 suitable for recreational uses, including use of

12 snowmobiles in times of adequate snow cover as

13 well as use of other motorized and non14 motorized mechanical devices.

15 (C) These lands should be managed in a

16 way that affords permanent protection to their

17 resources and values while permitting continued

18 recreational uses in appropriate locales and sub19 ject to appropriate regulations.

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

21 to provide for management of certain lands in the

22 Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest in a manner con23 sistent with the 1997 Revised Land and Resources

24 Management Plan for this forest in order to protect

25 the natural qualities of these areas.
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1 (b) DESIGNATION.—The approximately 16,000 acres

2 of land in the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest gen3 erally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Proposed James Peak

4 Protection Area’’, dated September 2001, are hereby des5 ignated as the James Peak Protection Area (hereafter in

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

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

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

9 the Secretary shall file with the Committee on Resources

10 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on

11 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a map and

12 a boundary description of the Protection Area. The map

13 and boundary description shall have the same force and

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

15 may correct clerical and typographical errors in the map

16 and boundary description. The map and boundary descrip17 tion shall be on file and available for public inspection in

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

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

20 of the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest.

21 (d) MANAGEMENT.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro23 vided in this section, the Protection Area shall be

24 managed and administered by the Secretary in the

25 same manner as the management area prescription
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1 designations identified for these lands in the 1997

2 Revision of the Land and Resource Management

3 Plan for the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest and

4 the Pawnee National Grasslands. Such management

5 and administration shall be in accordance with the

6 following:

7 (A) GRAZING.—Nothing in this Act, in8 cluding the establishment of the Protection

9 Area, shall affect grazing on lands within or

10 outside of the Protection Area.

11 (B) MINING WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to

12 valid existing rights, all Federal land within the

13 Protection Area and all land and interests in

14 land acquired for the Protection Area by the

15 United States are withdrawn from—

16 (i) all forms of entry, appropriation,

17 or disposal under the public land laws;

18 (ii) location, entry, and patent under

19 the mining laws; and

20 (iii) the operation of the mineral leas21 ing, mineral materials, and geothermal

22 leasing laws, and all amendments thereto.

23 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be con24 strued to affect discretionary authority of the

25 Secretary under other Federal laws to grant,
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1 issue, or renew rights-of-way or other land use

2 authorizations consistent with the other provi3 sions of this Act.

4 (C) MOTORIZED AND MECHANIZED TRAV5 EL.—

6 (i) REVIEW AND INVENTORY.—Not

7 later than two years after the date of the

8 enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in

9 consultation with interested parties, shall

10 complete a review and inventory of all

11 roads and trails in the Protection Area on

12 which use was allowed on September 10,

13 2001, except those lands managed under

14 the management prescription referred to in

15 subparagraph (F). During the review and

16 inventory, the Secretary may—

17 (I) connect existing roads and

18 trails in the inventoried area to other

19 existing roads and trails in the inven20 toried area for the purpose of mecha21 nized and other nonmotorized use on

22 any lands within the Protection Area

23 as long as there is no net gain in the

24 total mileage of either roads or trails
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1 open for public use within the Protec2 tion Area; and

3 (II) close or remove roads or

4 trails within the Protection Area that

5 the Secretary determines to be unde6 sirable, except those roads or trails

7 managed pursuant to paragraph (2)

8 of this subsection or subsection (e)(3).

9 (ii) AFTER COMPLETION OF INVEN10 TORY.—After completion of the review and

11 inventory required by clause (i), the Sec12 retary shall ensure that motorized and

13 mechanized travel within the Protection

14 Area shall be permitted only on those

15 roads and trails identified as open to use

16 in the inventory or established pursuant to

17 subparagraph (D).

18 (D) NEW ROADS AND TRAILS.—No new

19 roads or trails shall be established within the

20 Protection Area except those which the Sec21 retary shall establish as follows:

22 (i) Roads and trails established to re23 place roads or trails of the same character

24 and scope which have become nonservice25 able through reasons other than neglect.
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1 (ii) Nonpermanent roads as needed

2 for hazardous fuels reduction or other con3 trol of fire, insect or disease control

4 projects, or other management purposes.

5 (iii) Roads determined to be appro6 priate for reasonable access under section

7 4(b)(2).

8 (iv) A loop trail established pursuant

9 to section 6.

10 (v) Construction of a trail for non11 motorized use following the corridor des12 ignated as the Continental Divide Trail.

13 (E) TIMBER HARVESTING.—No timber

14 harvesting shall be allowed within the Protec15 tion Area except to the extent needed for haz16 ardous fuels reduction or other control of fire,

17 insect or disease control projects, or protection

18 of public health or safety.

19 (F) SPECIAL INTEREST AREA.—The man20 agement prescription applicable to the lands de21 scribed in the 1997 Revision of the Land and

22 Resource Management Plan as the James Peak

23 Special Interest Area shall also be applicable to

24 all the lands in the Protection Area that are

25 bounded on the north by Rollins Pass Road, on
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1 the east by the Continental Divide, and on the

2 west by the 11,300 foot elevation contour as

3 shown on the map referred to in subsection (b).

4 In addition, motorized vehicle use shall not be

5 permitted on any part of the Rogers Pass trail.

6 (2) NATURAL GAS PIPELINE.—The Secretary

7 shall allow for maintenance of rights-of-ways and ac8 cess roads located within the Protection Area to the

9 extent necessary to operate the natural gas pipeline

10 permitted under the Arapaho/Roosevelt National

11 Forest master permit numbered 4138.01 in a man12 ner that avoids negative impacts on public safety

13 and allows for compliance with Federal pipeline safe14 ty requirements. Such maintenance may include

15 vegetation management, road maintenance, ground

16 stabilization, and motorized vehicle access.

17 (3) PERMANENT FEDERAL OWNERSHIP.—All

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

19 on or acquired after the date of the enactment of

20 this Act, to lands within the boundaries of the Pro21 tection Area shall be retained by the United States.

22 (e) ISSUES RELATED TO WATER.—

23 (1) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—

24 (A) Nothing in this Act shall constitute or

25 be construed to constitute either an express or
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1 implied reservation of any water or water rights

2 with respect to the lands within the Protection

3 Area.

4 (B) Nothing in this Act shall affect any

5 conditional or absolute water rights in the State

6 of Colorado existing on the date of the enact7 ment of this Act.

8 (C) Nothing in this subsection shall be

9 construed as establishing a precedent with re10 gard to any future protection area designation.

11 (D) Nothing in this Act shall be construed

12 as limiting, altering, modifying, or amending

13 any of the interstate compacts or equitable ap14 portionment decrees that apportion water

15 among and between the State of Colorado and

16 other States.

17 (2) COLORADO WATER LAW.—The Secretary

18 shall follow the procedural and substantive require19 ments of the law of the State of Colorado in order

20 to obtain and hold any new water rights with respect

21 to the Protection Area.

22 (3) WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.—Nothing in this

23 Act (including the provisions related to establish24 ment or management of the Protection Area) shall

25 affect, impede, interfere with, or diminish the oper-
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1 ation, existence, access, maintenance, improvement,

2 or construction of water facilities and infrastructure,

3 rights-of-way, or other water-related property, inter4 ests, and uses, (including the use of motorized vehi5 cles and equipment existing or located on lands with6 in the Protection Area) on any lands except those

7 lands managed under the management prescription

8 referred to in subsection (d)(1)(F).

9 SEC. 4. INHOLDINGS.

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

11 State Land Board informs the Secretary that the Board

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

13 the lands owned by the Board located within the Protec14 tion Area, the Secretary shall promptly seek to reach

15 agreement with the Board regarding terms and conditions

16 for acquisition of such lands by the United States by pur17 chase or exchange.

18 (b) JIM CREEK INHOLDING.—

19 (1) ACQUISITION OF LANDS.—The Secretary

20 shall enter into negotiations with the owner of lands

21 located within the portion of the Jim Creek drainage

22 within the Protection Area for the purpose of acquir23 ing the lands by purchase or exchange, but the

24 United States shall not acquire such lands without

25 the consent of the owner of the lands.
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1 (2) LANDOWNER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act

2 shall affect any rights of the owner of lands located

3 within the Jim Creek drainage within the Protection

4 Area, including any right to reasonable access to

5 such lands by motorized or other means as deter6 mined by the Forest Service and the landowner con7 sistent with applicable law and relevant and appro8 priate rules and regulations governing such access.

9 (c) REPORT.—

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

11 to the Committee on Resources of the House of Rep12 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat13 ural Resources of the Senate a report concerning

14 any agreement or the status of negotiations con15 ducted pursuant to—

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

17 agreement for acquisition by the United States

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

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act,

20 whichever occurs first; and

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

22 agreement for acquisition by the United States

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

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act,

25 whichever occurs first.
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1 (2) FUNDING INFORMATION.—The report re2 quired by this subsection shall indicate to what ex3 tent funds are available to the Secretary as of the

4 date of the report for the acquisition of the relevant

5 lands and whether additional funds need to be ap6 propriated or otherwise made available to the Sec7 retary for such purpose.

8 (d) MANAGEMENT OF ACQUISITIONS.—Any lands

9 within the James Peak Wilderness or the Protection Area

10 acquired by the United States after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act shall be added to the James Peak Wilder12 ness or the Protection Area, respectively, and managed ac13 cordingly.

14 SEC. 5. JAMES PEAK FALL RIVER TRAILHEAD.

15 (a) SERVICES AND FACILITIES.—Following the con16 sultation required by subsection (c), the Forest Supervisor

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

18 Colorado (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Forest Super19 visor’’) shall establish a trailhead and corresponding facili20 ties and services to regulate use of National Forest System

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

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

23 the State of Colorado. The facilities and services shall in24 clude the following:

25 (1) Trailhead parking.
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1 (2) Public restroom accommodations.

2 (3) Trailhead and trail maintenance.

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

4 Forest Service personnel to provide appropriate manage5 ment and oversight of the area described in subsection (a).

6 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Forest Supervisor shall

7 consult with the Clear Creek County commissioners and

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

9 regarding—

10 (1) the appropriate location of facilities and

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

12 (2) appropriate measures that may be needed in

13 this area—

14 (A) to provide access by emergency or law

15 enforcement vehicles;

16 (B) for public health; and

17 (C) to address concerns regarding impeded

18 access by local residents.

19 (d) REPORT.—After the consultation required by sub20 section (c), the Forest Supervisor shall submit to the Com21 mittee on Resources and the Committee on Appropriations

22 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on

23 Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Ap24 propriations of the Senate a report regarding the amount
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1 of any additional funding required to implement this sec2 tion.

3 SEC. 6. LOOP TRAIL STUDY; AUTHORIZATION.

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

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

6 in consultation with interested parties, shall complete a

7 study of the suitability and feasibility of establishing, con8 sistent with the purpose set forth in section 3(a)(2), a loop

9 trail for mechanized and other nonmotorized recreation

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

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

12 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—If the results of the study re13 quired by subsection (a) indicate that establishment of

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

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

16 shall establish the loop trail in a manner consistent with

17 that purpose.

18 SEC. 7. OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

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

20 by amendments made by this Act of wilderness areas and

21 the Protection Area in the State of Colorado shall not cre22 ate or imply the creation of protective perimeters or buffer

23 zones around any wilderness area or the Protection Area.

24 The fact that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen

25 or heard from within a wilderness area or Protection Area
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1 shall not, of itself, preclude such activities or uses up to

2 the boundary of the wilderness area or the Protection

3 Area.

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

5 more of the Colorado Counties of Grand, Gilpin, and Boul6 der, the Secretary shall provide technical assistance and

7 otherwise cooperate with respect to repairing the Rollins

8 Pass road in those counties sufficiently to allow two-wheel9 drive vehicles to travel between Colorado State Highway

10 119 and U.S. Highway 40. If this road is repaired to such

11 extent, the Secretary shall close the motorized roads and

12 trails on Forest Service land indicated on the map entitled

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

14 Closures’’, dated September 2001.

15 SEC. 8. WILDERNESS POTENTIAL.

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

17 or restrict the authority of the Secretary to evaluate the

18 suitability of lands in the Protection Area for inclusion

19 in the National Wilderness Preservation System or to

20 make recommendations to Congress for such inclusion.

21 (b) EVALUATION OF CERTAIN LANDS.—In connec22 tion with the first revision of the land and resources man23 agement plan for the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest

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

25 shall evaluate the suitability of the lands managed under
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1 the management prescription referred to in section

2 3(d)(1)(F) for inclusion in the National Wilderness Pres3 ervation System and make recommendations to Congress

4 regarding such inclusion.

Passed the House of Representatives December 11,

2001.

Attest:

Clerk.