II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3986 

To designate as wilderness certain land within the Rocky Mountain National 

Park, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2006 

Mr. ALLARD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate as wilderness certain land within the Rocky 

Mountain National Park, 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 AND PURPOSE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Act’’. 

6 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to des7 ignate as wilderness certain land within the Rocky Moun8 tain National Park, Colorado, in order to protect— 

9 (1) the enduring scenic and historic wilderness 

10 character and unique wildlife values of the land; and 


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1 (2) the scientific, educational, inspirational, and 

2 recreational resources, values, and opportunities of 

3 the land. 

4 SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL 

5 PARK WILDERNESS. 

6 (a) DESIGNATION.—Certain land within the Rocky 

7 Mountain National Park, Colorado, which comprises ap8 proximately 249,339 acres, as generally depicted on the 

9 map titled ‘‘Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado Wil10 derness Boundaries’’ and dated February 2006, is hereby 

11 designated as wilderness. The designated land shall be 

12 known as the ‘‘Rocky Mountain National Park Wilder13 ness’’ (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Wilderness’’). 

14 (b) MAP AND DESCRIPTION.— 

15 (1) PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION.—As soon 

16 as practicable after the date of enactment of this 

17 Act, the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this 

18 Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall— 

19 (A) prepare a map and a boundary de20 scription of the Wilderness; and 

21 (B) file the map and boundary description 

22 prepared under subparagraph (A) with the 

23 Committee on Resources of the House of Rep24 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and 

25 Natural Resources of the Senate. 


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1 (2) AVAILABILITY.—The map and boundary de2 scription prepared under paragraph (1)(A) shall be 

3 on file and available for public inspection in the Of4 fice of the Director of the National Park Service, 

5 Department of the Interior. 

6 (3) FORCE AND EFFECT.—The map and bound7 ary description prepared under paragraph (1)(A) 

8 shall have the same force and effect as if included 

9 in this Act. 

10 (4) CORRECTION OF ERRORS.—The Secretary 

11 may correct clerical and typographical errors in the 

12 map and boundary description. 

13 (c) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN LAND.—The boundaries 

14 of the Wilderness specifically exclude the following: 

15 (1) The Grand River Ditch (as used in this Act, 

16 the ‘‘Grand River Ditch’’ includes the main canal of 

17 the Grand River Ditch and a branch thereof known 

18 as the Specimen Ditch, their appurtenances and 

19 right-of-way, access roads, improvements, structures, 

20 buildings, camps, and work sites associated with the 

21 Grand River Ditch and the Specimen Ditch that 

22 were in existence as of June 1, 1998); land 200 feet 

23 on each side of the marginal limits of the Grand 

24 River Ditch, where the 200 foot exclusion on each 

25 side of the Grand River Ditch shall not follow the 


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1 topography of the land, but rather, shall be meas2 ured by a horizontal, level projection from the mar3 ginal limits of the Grand River Ditch; and the land 

4 down-slope from the Grand River Ditch upon which 

5 rock, debris, and other materials have been depos6 ited during the construction, improvement, mainte7 nance, and repair of the Grand River Ditch. 

8 (2) Land owned by the St. Vrain & Left Hand 

9 Water Conservancy District, including Copeland 

10 Reservoir and the Inlet Ditch to such reservoir from 

11 the North St. Vrain Creek, amounting to approxi12 mately 35.38 acres. 

13 (3) Land owned by the Wincentsen-Harms 

14 Trust, amounting to approximately 2.75 acres. 

15 (4) Land within the area depicted as ‘‘East 

16 Shore Trail Area’’ on the map described in sub17 section (b). 

18 (d) EAST SHORE TRAIL AREA.— 

19 (1) ALIGNMENT LINE AND TRAIL.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec22 retary shall establish an alignment line for a 

23 trail, to be known as the ‘‘East Shore Trail’’, 

24 located within the East Shore Trail Area, to 


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1 maximize the opportunity for sustained use of 

2 the trail without harm to affected resources. 

3 (B) BOUNDARIES.—After establishing the 

4 alignment line under subparagraph (A), the 

5 Secretary shall identify the boundaries of the 

6 trail, but the trail shall not extend more than 

7 25 feet east of the alignment line or be located 

8 within the Wilderness. 

9 (C) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

10 construed to— 

11 (i) require the construction of a trail 

12 along the alignment line established pursu13 ant to this paragraph; or 

14 (ii) limit the extent to which any oth15 erwise applicable laws or policies shall 

16 apply with respect to any decision regard17 ing construction of the trail. 

18 (2) MAP ADJUSTMENT.—After establishing the 

19 alignment line of the East Shore Trail, the Secretary 

20 shall adjust the map of the Wilderness so that the 

21 western boundary of the wilderness is 50 feet east 

22 of the alignment line. 

23 (3) OTHER ADJUSTMENTS.—To the extent nec24 essary to protect National Park resources, the Sec25 retary from time to time may adjust the boundaries 


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1 of the East Shore Trail without reducing the size of 

2 the trail, but no adjustment shall have the effect of 

3 placing any portion of such trail within the boundary 

4 of the Wilderness. 

5 (e) RELATION TO LAND OUTSIDE WILDERNESS.— 

6 (1) USE OF LAND.—Except as provided in this 

7 subsection, nothing in this Act shall affect the man8 agement or use of any land not included within the 

9 boundaries of the Wilderness. 

10 (2) USE OF MOTORIZED VEHICLES.—No use of 

11 motorized vehicles or other motorized machinery not 

12 permitted on March 1, 2006, shall be allowed in the 

13 East Shore Trail Area, except as may be necessary 

14 for constructing or maintaining the East Shore 

15 Trail, if such construction is authorized by the Sec16 retary. 

17 SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL 

18 PARK WILDERNESS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 

20 land designated as wilderness by section 2(a) or subse21 quently included in the Wilderness shall be managed by 

22 the Secretary in a manner that preserves the wilderness 

23 character of the land, in accordance with this Act. 

24 (b) WATER RIGHTS.— 

25 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (A) According to decisions of the courts of 

2 the State of Colorado, the United States has ex3 isting rights to water within the Rocky Moun4 tain National Park. 

5 (B) Those rights are sufficient for the pur6 poses of the Wilderness as designated by section 

7 2. 

8 (C) In light of the findings in subpara9 graphs (A) and (B), there is no need for this 

10 Act to effect a reservation by the United States 

11 of any additional water rights to fulfill the pur12 poses for which the Wilderness is designated. 

13 (2) NO RESERVATION.—Nothing in this Act or 

14 any action taken pursuant to this Act shall con15 stitute either an express or implied reservation of 

16 water or water rights for any purpose. 

17 (3) NO EXEMPTION FROM STATE WATER

18 LAWS.—Nothing in this Act constitutes an express 

19 or implied claim or denial on the part of the Federal 

20 Government as to exemption from State water laws. 

21 (c) COLORADO-BIG THOMPSON PROJECT.— 

22 (1) CURRENT ACTIVITIES.—Activities on, 

23 under, or affecting the Wilderness relating to the 

24 monitoring, operation, maintenance, repair, replace25 ment, and use of the Colorado-Big Thompson 


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1 Project and its facilities which were allowed as of 

2 June 1, 1998, shall be allowed to continue and shall 

3 not be affected by the designation of the land as wil4 derness. 

5 (2) NEW ACTIVITIES.—In addition to the activi6 ties described in paragraph (1), any other activities 

7 on, under, or affecting the Wilderness that because 

8 of emergencies or catastrophic events become nec9 essary for the operation, maintenance, repair, re10 placement, and continued use of the Colorado-Big 

11 Thompson Project and its facilities shall be allowed, 

12 subject only to reasonable restrictions which are es13 tablished by the Secretary to protect the wilderness 

14 values of the land. In implementing this paragraph, 

15 the Secretary shall not establish any restrictions on 

16 the activities that would prevent the occurrence of 

17 such necessary activities or that would reduce the 

18 water supply provided by the Colorado-Big Thomp19 son Project or the Windy Gap Project. 

20 (3) RELATION TO AUTHORITY IN ACT ESTAB21 LISHING PARK.—Nothing in the first section of the 

22 Act of January 26, 1915 (16 U.S.C. 191), shall be 

23 construed to allow development within the Wilder24 ness of any reclamation project not in existence as 

25 of the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 (d) NO BUFFER ZONES.—Congress does not intend 

2 that the designation by this Act of the Wilderness creates 

3 or implies the creation of protective perimeters or buffer 

4 zones around the Wilderness. The fact that nonwilderness 

5 activities or uses can be seen or heard from within the 

6 Wilderness shall not, of itself, preclude such activities or 

7 uses up to the boundary of the Wilderness. 

8 (e) TRAILS.—The Secretary may upgrade trails or 

9 construct new trails in the Wilderness, including primitive, 

10 unpaved, and wheelchair-accessible trails. 

11 (f) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN USES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as specifically pro13 vided for in this Act, and subject to existing private 

14 rights— 

15 (A) no commercial enterprises or perma16 nent roads shall be allowed within the Wilder17 ness; and 

18 (B) except as provided in paragraph (2) 

19 and as necessary to meet minimum require20 ments for the administration of the Wilderness 

21 for the purpose of this Act (including measures 

22 required in emergencies involving the health 

23 and safety of persons within the Wilderness), 

24 the following shall be prohibited within the Wil25 derness: 


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1 (i) Temporary roads. 

2 (ii) The use of motor vehicles, motor3 ized equipment, or motorboats. 

4 (iii) The landing of aircraft. 

5 (iv) Any other form of mechanical 

6 transport. 

7 (v) Structures or installations. 

8 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

9 (A) FIRE, INSECT, AND DISEASE MANAGE10 MENT ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may take 

11 such measures in the Wilderness as are nec12 essary to control fire, insects, and diseases, in13 cluding the use of mechanized equipment, air14 craft, and motorboats. 

15 (B) AIRCRAFT; OTHER VEHICLES.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

17 allow the use of aircraft or other vehicles 

18 for emergency events, such as search and 

19 rescue, within the Wilderness. 

20 (ii) EXISTING USES.—The use of air21 craft or motorboats in areas of the Wilder22 ness in which the uses have already be23 come established may be permitted to con24 tinue, subject to any restrictions that the 

25 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 


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1 (g) MINERAL RESOURCES.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall 

3 prevent within the Wilderness the conduct of any ac4 tivity, including prospecting, for the purpose of gath5 ering information about mineral or other resources, 

6 if the activity is carried on in a manner compatible 

7 with the preservation of the Wilderness environment. 

8 (2) SURVEYS.—In accordance with any pro9 gram that the Secretary develops and conducts in 

10 consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture— 

11 (A) areas within the Wilderness shall be 

12 surveyed on a planned, recurring basis con13 sistent with the concept of wilderness preserva14 tion by the United States Geological Survey and 

15 the United States Bureau of Mines to deter16 mine the mineral values, if any, that may be 

17 present in the Wilderness; and 

18 (B) the results of such surveys shall be— 

19 (i) made available to the public; and 

20 (ii) submitted to the President and 

21 Congress. 

22 (h) COMMERCIAL SERVICES.—Commercial services 

23 may be performed within the Wilderness to the extent nec24 essary for activities that are proper for realizing the rec25 reational or other wilderness purposes of the Wilderness. 


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1 (i) STATE AND PRIVATE LAND WITHIN THE WIL2 DERNESS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which State 

4 or private land is completely surrounded by the Wil5 derness— 

6 (A) the State or private landowner shall be 

7 given any rights that may be necessary to en8 sure adequate access to the State or private 

9 land by the State or private landowner and any 

10 successors in interest; or 

11 (B) subject to paragraph (2), the State 

12 land or private land shall be exchanged for Fed13 eral land in the State of approximately equal 

14 value under authorities available to the Sec15 retary. 

16 (2) LIMITATION.—The United States shall not 

17 transfer to the State or private landowner under 

18 paragraph (1)(B) any mineral interests unless the 

19 State or private landowner relinquishes or causes to 

20 be relinquished to the United States the mineral in21 terest in the surrounded land. 

22 (j) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—Subject to the avail23 ability of appropriations, the Secretary may acquire pri24 vate land within the perimeter of the Wilderness if the 

25 owner consents to the acquisition. 


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1 (k) GIFTS, BEQUESTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

2 (1) GIFTS OR BEQUESTS OF LAND.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may ac4 cept gifts or bequests of land within the Wilder5 ness for inclusion in the Wilderness. 

6 (B) INCLUSION IN WILDERNESS.—Any 

7 land accepted by the Secretary under subpara8 graph (A) shall become part of the Wilderness. 

9 (C) REGULATIONS.—Regulations with re10 gard to any land accepted under subparagraph 

11 (B) may be in accordance with such agree12 ments, consistent with the policy of this Act, as 

13 are made at the time of such gift, or such con14 ditions, consistent with such policy, as may be 

15 included in, and accepted with, the bequest. 

16 (2) OTHER GIFTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The 

17 Secretary may accept private contributions and gifts 

18 to be used to further the purposes of this Act. 

19 (l) LIABILITY FOR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.—The 

20 owner or operator of any water infrastructure located in 

21 the Wilderness on the date of enactment of this Act shall 

22 not be subject to Public Law 101–337 (16 U.S.C. 19jj 

23 et seq.), except in a case in which the destruction of, loss 

24 of, or injuries to a park system resource are caused by 


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1 the negligence of the owner or operator of the water infra2 structure. 

3 SEC. 4. WATER PROJECT DEVELOPMENT. 

4 If authorized by the Secretary or the President, water 

5 projects may be developed and maintained in the Wilder6 ness, including projects that involve the construction and 

7 use of roads in the Wilderness. 

8 SEC. 5. GRAND RIVER DITCH OPERATIONS. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

10 (1) the Grand River Ditch was structured be11 fore the establishment of the Park; 

12 (2) portions of the Grand River Ditch are lo13 cated within and outside the boundaries of the Park; 

14 and 

15 (3) the Grand River Ditch has been operated in 

16 accordance with Federal and State laws. 

17 (b) LIABILITY.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

18 of law, on and after the date of enactment of this Act, 

19 no entity or person who owns, controls, or operates the 

20 Grand River Ditch shall be held liable for any personal 

21 injury or property damage resulting from any cause or 

22 event (including, but not limited to, water escaping from 

23 the Grand River Ditch by overflow or as a result of the 

24 failure or partial failure of the Grand River Ditch) unless 

25 the same has been proximately caused by the negligence 


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1 of that entity or person. To the extent that any previous 

2 or existing law imposes liability other than as set forth 

3 above in this section, such law shall be, retroactively as 

4 of the date of enactment of this Act, and on and after 

5 that date, of no force and effect as to the Grand River 

6 Ditch, or upon or as to any entity or person that owns, 

7 controls, or operates the Grand River Ditch. Any provision 

8 in any stipulation concerning the Grand River Ditch, that 

9 imposes or seeks to impose liability other than as set forth 

10 above in this section on such entity or person, including 

11 specifically paragraphs (5) and (6) of the stipulation exe12 cuted by the Water Supply and Storage Company on 

13 March 21, 1907, and approved June 28, 1907, by the 

14 United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 

15 shall be, as of the date of enactment of this Act, and on 

16 and after that date, waived by the United States and not 

17 claimed or enforced by it. 

18 (c) ACTIVITIES ON WILDERNESS LAND RELATED TO

19 GRAND RIVER DITCH.—Activities on, under, or affecting 

20 the land designated as wilderness by section 2, or potential 

21 wilderness land, or those excluded land recited in section 

22 2(c)(1), relating to the monitoring, operation, mainte23 nance, repair, replacement, improvement, and use of the 

24 Grand River Ditch, including activities that become necVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:32 Sep 30, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3986.IS S3986

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1 essary because of emergencies or catastrophic events, shall 

2 be authorized and allowed and not be affected by this Act. 

3 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO LEASE LEIFFER PROPERTY. 

4 Section 3(k) of Public Law 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 1a– 

5 2(k)) shall apply to the tract of land near the eastern 

6 boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park in Larimer 

7 County, Colorado, administered by the National Park 

8 Service and known as the ‘‘Leiffer tract’’ to the same ex9 tent as if such property was part of the National Park 

10 System. 

Æ 


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