109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 56

AN ACT

To establish the Rio Grande Natural Area 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 ‘‘Rio Grande Natural

5 Area Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act:

3 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

4 means the Rio Grande Natural Area Commission es5 tablished by section 4(a).

6 (2) NATURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘Natural

7 Area’’ means the Rio Grande Natural Area estab8 lished by section 3(a).

9 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

10 the Secretary of the Interior.

11 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF RIO GRANDE NATURAL AREA.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established the Rio

13 Grande Natural Area in the State of Colorado to conserve,

14 restore, and protect the natural, historic, cultural, sci15 entific, scenic, wildlife, and recreational resources of the

16 Natural Area.

17 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The Natural Area shall include

18 the Rio Grande River from the southern boundary of the

19 Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge to the New Mexico

State border, extending 1 20 ⁄4 mile on either side of the bank

21 of the River.

22 (c) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—

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

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary

25 shall prepare a map and legal description of the

26 Natural Area.
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1 (2) EFFECT.—The map and legal description of

2 the Natural Area shall have the same force and ef3 fect as if included in this Act, except that the Sec4 retary may correct any minor errors in the map and

5 legal description.

6 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The map and legal

7 description of the Natural Area shall be available for

8 public inspection in the appropriate offices of the

9 Bureau of Land Management.

10 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMISSION.

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Rio

12 Grande Natural Area Commission.

13 (b) PURPOSE.—The Commission shall—

14 (1) advise the Secretary with respect to the

15 Natural Area; and

16 (2) prepare a management plan relating to non17 Federal land in the Natural Area under section

18 6(b)(2)(A).

19 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com20 posed of 9 members appointed by the Secretary, of

21 whom—

22 (1) 1 member shall represent the Colorado

23 State Director of the Bureau of Land Management;

24 (2) 1 member shall be the manager of the

25 Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge, ex officio;
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1 (3) 3 members shall be appointed based on the

2 recommendation of the Governor of Colorado, of

3 whom—

4 (A) 1 member shall represent the Colorado

5 Division of Wildlife;

6 (B) 1 member shall represent the Colorado

7 Division of Water Resources; and

8 (C) 1 member shall represent the Rio

9 Grande Water Conservation District; and

10 (4) 4 members shall—

11 (A) represent the general public;

12 (B) be citizens of the local region in which

13 the Natural Area is established; and

14 (C) have knowledge and experience in the

15 fields of interest relating to the preservation,

16 restoration, and use of the Natural Area.

17 (d) TERMS OF OFFICE.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except for the manager of

19 the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge, the term of

20 office of a member of the Commission shall be 5

21 years.

22 (2) REAPPOINTMENT.—A member may be re23 appointed to the Commission on completion of the

24 term of office of the member.
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1 (e) COMPENSATION.—A member of the Commission

2 shall serve without compensation for service on the Com3 mission.

4 (f) CHAIRPERSON.—The Commission shall elect a

5 chairperson of the Commission.

6 (g) MEETINGS.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall meet

8 at least quarterly at the call of the chairperson.

9 (2) PUBLIC MEETINGS.—A meeting of the Com10 mission shall be open to the public.

11 (3) NOTICE.—Notice of any meeting of the

12 Commission shall be published in advance of the

13 meeting.

14 (h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary and

15 the heads of other Federal agencies shall, to the maximum

16 extent practicable, provide any information and technical

17 services requested by the Commission to assist in carrying

18 out the duties of the Commission.

19 SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

20 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such

21 hearings, meet and act at such times and places, take such

22 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission

23 considers advisable to carry out this Act.

24 (b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of carrying out

2 the management plan on non-Federal land in the

3 Natural Area, the Commission may enter into a co4 operative agreement with the State of Colorado, a

5 political subdivision of the State, or any person.

6 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A cooperative agreement

7 entered into under paragraph (1) shall establish pro8 cedures for providing notice to the Commission of

9 any action proposed by the State of Colorado, a po10 litical subdivision of the State, or any person that

11 may affect the implementation of the management

12 plan on non-Federal land in the Natural Area.

13 (3) EFFECT.—A cooperative agreement entered

14 into under paragraph (1) shall not enlarge or dimin15 ish any right or duty of a Federal agency under

16 Federal law.

17 (c) PROHIBITION OF ACQUISITION OF REAL PROP18 ERTY.—The Commission may not acquire any real prop19 erty or interest in real property.

20 (d) IMPLEMENTATION OF MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall assist

22 the Secretary in implementing the management plan

23 by carrying out the activities described in paragraph

24 (2) to preserve and interpret the natural, historic,
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1 cultural, scientific, scenic, wildlife, and recreational

2 resources of the Natural Area.

3 (2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In assisting

4 with the implementation of the management plan

5 under paragraph (1), the Commission may—

6 (A) assist the State of Colorado in pre7 serving State land and wildlife within the Nat8 ural Area;

9 (B) assist the State of Colorado and polit10 ical subdivisions of the State in increasing pub11 lic awareness of, and appreciation for, the nat12 ural, historic, scientific, scenic, wildlife, and rec13 reational resources in the Natural Area;

14 (C) encourage political subdivisions of the

15 State of Colorado to adopt and implement land

16 use policies that are consistent with—

17 (i) the management of the Natural

18 Area; and

19 (ii) the management plan; and

20 (D) encourage and assist private land21 owners in the Natural Area in the implementa22 tion of the management plan.

23 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after the

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Com-
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1 mission, in coordination with appropriate agencies in the

2 State of Colorado, political subdivisions of the State, and

3 private landowners in the Natural Area, shall prepare

4 management plans for the Natural Area as provided in

5 subsection (b).

6 (b) DUTIES OF SECRETARY AND COMMISSION.—

7 (1) SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall prepare

8 a management plan relating to the management of

9 Federal land in the Natural Area.

10 (2) COMMISSION.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall

12 prepare a management plan relating to the

13 management of the non-Federal land in the

14 Natural Area.

15 (B) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.—

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission

17 shall submit to the Secretary the manage18 ment plan prepared under subparagraph

19 (A) for approval or disapproval.

20 (ii) ACTION FOLLOWING DIS21 APPROVAL.—If the Secretary disapproves

22 the management plan submitted under

23 clause (i), the Secretary shall—

24 (I) notify the Commission of the

25 reasons for the disapproval; and
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1 (II) allow the Commission to sub2 mit to the Secretary revisions to the

3 management plan submitted under

4 clause (i).

5 (3) COOPERATION.—The Secretary and the

6 Commission shall cooperate to ensure that the man7 agement plans relating to the management of Fed8 eral land and non-Federal land are consistent.

9 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—The management plans shall—

10 (1) take into consideration Federal, State, and

11 local plans in existence on the date of enactment of

12 this Act to present a unified preservation, restora13 tion, and conservation plan for the Natural Area;

14 (2) with respect to Federal land in the Natural

15 Area—

16 (A) be developed in accordance with sec17 tion 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Man18 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712);

19 (B) be consistent, to the maximum extent

20 practicable, with the management plans adopted

21 by the Director of the Bureau of Land Manage22 ment for land adjacent to the Natural Area;

23 and
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1 (C) be considered to be an amendment to

2 the San Luis Resource Management Plan of the

3 Bureau of Land Management; and

4 (3) include—

5 (A) an inventory of the resources contained

6 in the Natural Area (including a list of property

7 in the Natural Area that should be preserved,

8 restored, managed, developed, maintained, or

9 acquired to further the purposes of the Natural

10 Area); and

11 (B) a recommendation of policies for re12 source management, including the use of inter13 governmental cooperative agreements, that—

14 (i) protect the resources of the Nat15 ural Area; and

16 (ii) provide for solitude, quiet use, and

17 pristine natural values of the Natural

18 Area.

19 (d) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish no20 tice of the management plans in the Federal Register.

21 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION OF NATURAL AREA.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer

23 the Federal land in the Natural Area—

24 (1) in accordance with—
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1 (A) the laws (including regulations) appli2 cable to public land; and

3 (B) the management plan; and

4 (2) in a manner that provides for—

5 (A) the conservation, restoration, and pro6 tection of the natural, historic, scientific, scenic,

7 wildlife, and recreational resources of the Nat8 ural Area;

9 (B) the continued use of the Natural Area

10 for purposes of education, scientific study, and

11 limited public recreation in a manner that does

12 not substantially impair the purposes for which

13 the Natural Area is established;

14 (C) the protection of the wildlife habitat of

15 the Natural Area;

16 (D) a prohibition on the construction of

17 water storage facilities in the Natural Area; and

18 (E) the reduction in the use of or removal

19 of roads in the Natural Area and, to the max20 imum extent practicable, the reduction in or

21 prohibition against the use of motorized vehicles

22 in the Natural Area (including the removal of

23 roads and a prohibition against motorized use

24 on Federal land in the area on the western side
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1 of the Rio Grande River from Lobatos Bridge

2 south to the New Mexico State line).

3 (b) CHANGES IN STREAMFLOW.—The Secretary is

4 encouraged to negotiate with the State of Colorado, the

5 Rio Grande Water Conservation District, and affected

6 water users in the State to determine if changes in the

7 streamflow that are beneficial to the Natural Area may

8 be accommodated.

9 (c) PRIVATE LAND.—The management plan prepared

10 under section 6(b)(2)(A) shall apply to private land in the

11 Natural Area only to the extent that the private landowner

12 agrees in writing to be bound by the management plan.

13 (d) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights,

14 all Federal land in the Natural Area is withdrawn from—

15 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal

16 under the public land laws;

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

18 laws; and

19 (3) disposition under the mineral leasing laws

20 (including geothermal leasing laws).

21 (e) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may acquire

23 from willing sellers by purchase, exchange, or dona24 tion land or an interest in land in the Natural Area.
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1 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—Any land or interest in

2 land acquired under paragraph (1) shall be adminis3 tered in accordance with the management plan and

4 this Act.

5 (f) APPLICABLE LAW.—Section 5(d)(1) of the Wild

6 and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(d)(1)) shall not

7 apply to the Natural Area.

8 SEC. 8. EFFECT.

9 Nothing in this Act—

10 (1) amends, modifies, or is in conflict with the

11 Rio Grande Compact, consented to by Congress in

12 the Act of May 31, 1939 (53 Stat. 785, ch. 155);

13 (2) authorizes the regulation of private land in

14 the Natural Area;

15 (3) authorizes the imposition of any mandatory

16 streamflow requirements;

17 (4) creates an express or implied Federal re18 served water right;

19 (5) imposes any Federal water quality standard

20 within or upstream of the Natural Area that is more

21 restrictive than would be applicable had the Natural

22 Area not been established; or

23 (6) prevents the State of Colorado from acquir24 ing an instream flow through the Natural Area

25 under the terms, conditions, and limitations of State
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1 law to assist in protecting the natural environment

2 to the extent and for the purposes authorized by

3 State law.

4 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

6 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

7 SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

8 The Commission shall terminate on the date that is

9 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

Passed the Senate July 26, 2005.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 56

AN ACT

To establish the Rio Grande Natural Area in the

State of Colorado, and for other purposes.