II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 341 

To designate certain lands in San Miguel, Ouray, and San Juan Counties, 

Colorado, as wilderness, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2013 

Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself and Mr. BENNET) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate certain lands in San Miguel, Ouray, and San 

Juan Counties, Colorado, as wilderness, 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 ‘‘San Juan Mountains 

5 Wilderness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ 

9 means— 


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1 (A) land designated as wilderness under 

2 paragraphs (20) through (22) of section 2(a) of 

3 the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (16 

4 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 103–77; 107 

5 Stat. 756); and 

6 (B) land in the Special Management Area. 

7 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

9 (3) SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA.—The term 

10 ‘‘Special Management Area’’ means the Sheep 

11 Mountain Special Management Area designated by 

12 section 4(a). 

13 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

14 of Colorado. 

15 SEC. 3. ADDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRES16 ERVATION SYSTEM. 

17 Section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 

18 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 103–77; 107 Stat. 756) 

19 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(20) LIZARD HEAD WILDERNESS ADDITION.— 

21 Certain Federal land in the Grand Mesa, 

22 Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests com23 prising approximately 3,350 acres, as generally de24 picted on the map entitled ‘Proposed Wilson, Sun25 shine, Black Face and San Bernardo Additions to 


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1 the Lizard Head Wilderness’ and dated December 1, 

2 2010, which is incorporated in, and shall be adminis3 tered as part of, the Lizard Head Wilderness. 

4 ‘‘(21) MOUNT SNEFFELS WILDERNESS ADDI5 TIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) LIBERTY BELL AND LAST DOLLAR

7 ADDITIONS.—Certain Federal land in the 

8 Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison Na9 tional Forests comprising approximately 8,250 

10 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled 

11 ‘Proposed Liberty Bell and Last Dollar Addi12 tions to the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness’ and dated 

13 December 1, 2010, which is incorporated in, 

14 and shall be administered as part of, the Mount 

15 Sneffels Wilderness. 

16 ‘‘(B) WHITEHOUSE ADDITIONS.—Certain 

17 Federal land in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, 

18 and Gunnison National Forests comprising ap19 proximately 13,000 acres, as generally depicted 

20 on the map entitled ‘Proposed Whitehouse Ad21 ditions to the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness’ and 

22 dated December 1, 2010, which is incorporated 

23 in, and shall be administered as part of, the 

24 Mount Sneffels Wilderness. 


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1 ‘‘(22) MCKENNA PEAK WILDERNESS.—Certain 

2 Federal land in the State of Colorado comprising ap3 proximately 8,600 acres of Bureau of Land Manage4 ment land, as generally depicted on the map entitled 

5 ‘McKenna Peak Wilderness’ and dated November 

6 10, 2010, to be known as the ‘McKenna Peak Wil7 derness’.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. SHEEP MOUNTAIN SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREA. 

9 (a) DESIGNATION.—Certain Federal land in the 

10 Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison and San Juan 

11 National Forests comprising approximately 21,620 acres 

12 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Proposed Sheep 

13 Mountain Special Management Area’’ and dated Decem14 ber 2, 2010, is designated as the ‘‘Sheep Mountain Special 

15 Management Area’’. 

16 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Special Manage17 ment Area is to conserve and protect for the benefit and 

18 enjoyment of present and future generations the geologi19 cal, cultural, archaeological, paleontological, natural, sci20 entific, recreational, wilderness, wildlife, riparian, histor21 ical, educational, and scenic resources of the Special Man22 agement Area. 

23 (c) MANAGEMENT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage 

25 the Special Management Area in a manner that— 


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1 (A) conserves, protects, and enhances the 

2 resources and values of the Special Manage3 ment Area described in subsection (b); 

4 (B) maintains or improves the wilderness 

5 character of the Special Management Area and 

6 the suitability of the Special Management Area 

7 for potential inclusion in the National Wilder8 ness Preservation System; and 

9 (C) is in accordance with— 

10 (i) the National Forest Management 

11 Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.); 

12 (ii) this Act; and 

13 (iii) any other applicable laws. 

14 (2) PROHIBITIONS.—The following shall be pro15 hibited in the Special Management Area: 

16 (A) Permanent roads. 

17 (B) Except as necessary to meet the min18 imum requirements for the administration of 

19 the Federal land and to protect public health 

20 and safety— 

21 (i) the use of motor vehicles, motor22 ized equipment, or mechanical transport 

23 (other than provided in paragraph (3)); 

24 and 


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1 (ii) the establishment of temporary 

2 roads. 

3 (3) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

5 allow any activities (including helicopter access 

6 for recreation and maintenance) that have been 

7 authorized by permit or license as of the date 

8 of enactment of this Act to continue within the 

9 Special Management Area, subject to such 

10 terms and conditions as the Secretary may re11 quire. 

12 (B) PERMITTING.—The designation of the 

13 Special Management Area by subsection (a) 

14 shall not affect the issuance of permits relating 

15 to the activities covered under subparagraph 

16 (A) after the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 (d) APPLICABLE LAW.—Water and water rights in 

18 the Special Management Area shall be administered in ac19 cordance with section 8 of the Colorado Wilderness Act 

20 of 1993 (Public Law 103–77; 107 Stat. 762), except 

21 that— 

22 (1) any reference in that section to ‘‘the lands 

23 designated as wilderness by this Act’’, ‘‘the Piedra, 

24 Roubideau, and Tabeguache areas identified in sec25 tion 9 of this Act, or the Bowen Gulch Protection 


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1 Area or the Fossil Ridge Recreation Management 

2 Area identified in sections 5 and 6 of this Act’’, or 

3 ‘‘the areas described in sections 2, 5, 6, and 9 of 

4 this Act’’ shall be considered to be a reference to the 

5 ‘‘the Special Management Area’’; and 

6 (2) any reference in that section to ‘‘this Act’’ 

7 shall be considered to be a reference to ‘‘the San 

8 Juan Mountains Wilderness Act’’. 

9 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

10 (a) AUTHORIZED EVENTS.—The Secretary may con11 tinue to authorize the competitive running event permitted 

12 since 1992 in the vicinity of the Special Management Area 

13 and the Liberty Bell addition to the Mount Sneffels Wil14 derness designated by section 2(a)(21) of the Colorado 

15 Wilderness Act of 1993 (as added by section 3) in a man16 ner compatible with the preservation of the areas as wil17 derness. 

18 (b) FISH AND WILDLIFE.—Nothing in this Act af19 fects the jurisdiction or responsibility of the State with 

20 respect to fish and wildlife in the State. 

21 (c) NO BUFFER ZONES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act creates 

23 a protective perimeter or buffer zone around covered 

24 land. 


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1 (2) ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE WILDERNESS.—The 

2 fact that a nonwilderness activity or use on land out3 side of the covered land can be seen or heard from 

4 within covered land shall not preclude the conduct of 

5 the activity or use outside the boundary of the cov6 ered land. 

7 (d) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 

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

10 the Secretary of the Interior, as appropriate, shall 

11 file a map and a legal description of each wilderness 

12 area designated by paragraphs (20) through (22) of 

13 section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 

14 (as added by section 3) and the Special Management 

15 Area with— 

16 (A) the Committee on Natural Resources 

17 of the House of Representatives; and 

18 (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

19 Resources of the Senate. 

20 (2) FORCE OF LAW.—Each map and legal de21 scription filed under paragraph (1) shall have the 

22 same force and effect as if included in this Act, ex23 cept that the Secretary or the Secretary of the Inte24 rior, as appropriate, may correct clerical and typo25 graphical errors in each map and legal description. 


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1 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Each map and 

2 legal description filed under paragraph (1) shall be 

3 on file and available for public inspection in the ap4 propriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management 

5 and the Forest Service. 

6 (e) ACQUISITION OF LAND.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or the Sec8 retary of the Interior, as appropriate, may acquire 

9 any land or interest in land within the boundaries of 

10 the Special Management Area or the wilderness des11 ignated under paragraphs (20) through (22) of sec12 tion 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (as 

13 added by section 3) only through exchange, dona14 tion, or purchase from a willing seller. 

15 (2) MANAGEMENT.—Any land or interest in 

16 land acquired under paragraph (1) shall be incor17 porated into, and administered as a part of, the wil18 derness or Special Management Area in which the 

19 land or interest in land is located. 

20 (f) GRAZING.—The grazing of livestock on covered 

21 land, if established before the date of enactment of this 

22 Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reason23 able regulations as are considered necessary by the Sec24 retary with jurisdiction over the covered land, in accord25 ance with— 


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1 (1) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act (16 

2 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)); and 

3 (2) the guidelines set forth in Appendix A of 

4 the report of the Committee on Interior and Insular 

5 Affairs of the House of Representatives accom6 panying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress (H. Rept. 

7 101–405) and H.R. 5487 of the 96th Congress (H. 

8 Rept. 96–617). 

9 (g) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid rights in exist10 ence on the date of enactment of this Act, the covered 

11 land and the approximately 6,600 acres generally depicted 

12 on the map entitled ‘‘Proposed Naturita Canyon Mineral 

13 Withdrawal Area’’ and dated January 26, 2010, is with14 drawn from— 

15 (1) entry, appropriation, and disposal under the 

16 public land laws; 

17 (2) location, entry, and patent under mining 

18 laws; and 

19 (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 

20 materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 

21 SEC. 6. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 

22 Subtitle E of title II of Public Law 111–11 (16 

23 U.S.C. 460zzz et seq.) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating section 2408 (16 U.S.C. 

25 460zzz–7) as section 2409; and 


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1 (2) by inserting after section 2407 (16 U.S.C. 

2 460zzz–6) the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 2408. RELEASE. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Congress finds that, for the pur5 poses of section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and 

6 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)), the por7 tions of the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Study Area 

8 not designated as wilderness by this subtitle have been 

9 adequately studied for wilderness designation. 

10 ‘‘(b) RELEASE.—Any public land referred to in sub11 section (a) that is not designated as wilderness by this 

12 subtitle— 

13 ‘‘(1) is no longer subject to section 603(c) of 

14 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

15 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)); and 

16 ‘‘(2) shall be managed in accordance with this 

17 subtitle and any other applicable laws.’’. 

Æ 


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