I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2420 

To designate certain lands in the State of Colorado as components of the 

National Wilderness Preservation System, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 6, 2011 

Ms. DEGETTE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To designate certain lands in the State of Colorado as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, 

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; DEFINITION. 

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

5 ‘‘Colorado Wilderness Act of 2011’’. 

6 (b) SECRETARY DEFINED.—As used in this Act, the 

7 term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior or 

8 the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate. 


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1 SEC. 2. ADDITIONS TO NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVA2 TION SYSTEM IN THE STATE OF COLORADO. 

3 (a) ADDITIONS.—Section 2(a) of the Colorado Wil4 derness Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–77; 107 Stat. 756; 

5 16 U.S.C. 1132 note) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘1993,’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘1993, and certain lands managed by the 

8 Gunnison Field Office which comprise approximately 

9 3,325 acres, as depicted on a map titled ‘Proposed 

10 Powderhorn Wilderness Addition’ and dated October 

11 20, 2010,’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following para13 graphs: 

14 ‘‘(22) Certain lands managed by the Colorado 

15 River Valley Field Office of the Bureau of Land 

16 Management which comprise approximately 15,200 

17 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled ‘Bull 

18 Gulch and Castle Peak Proposed Wilderness Areas’, 

19 dated October 20, 2010, which shall be known as 

20 the Bull Gulch Wilderness. 

21 ‘‘(23) Certain lands managed by the Colorado 

22 River Valley Field Office of the Bureau of Land 

23 Management which comprise approximately 12,225 

24 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled ‘Bull 

25 Gulch and Castle Peak Proposed Wilderness Areas’, 


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1 dated October 20, 2010, which shall be known as 

2 the Castle Peak Wilderness. 

3 ‘‘(24) Certain lands managed by the Colorado 

4 River Valley Field Office of the Bureau of Land 

5 Management which comprise approximately 325 

6 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled ‘Maroon 

7 Bells Proposed Wilderness’, dated October 20, 2010, 

8 which is hereby incorporated in and shall be deemed 

9 to be a part of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilder10 ness Area designated by Public Law 88–577. 

11 ‘‘(25) Certain lands managed by the Gunnison 

12 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management 

13 which comprise approximately 38,180 acres, as gen14 erally depicted on a map titled ‘Redcloud and 

15 Handies Peak Proposed Wildernesses’, dated Octo16 ber 21, 2010, which shall be known as the Redcloud 

17 Peak Wilderness. 

18 ‘‘(26) Certain lands managed by the Gunnison 

19 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management 

20 which comprise approximately 16,350 acres, as gen21 erally depicted on a map titled ‘Redcloud and 

22 Handies Peak Proposed Wildernesses’, dated Octo23 ber 21, 2010, which shall be known as the Handies 

24 Peak Wilderness. 


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1 ‘‘(27) Certain lands managed by the Royal 

2 Gorge Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage3 ment or located in the Pike National Forest which 

4 comprise approximately 19,825 acres, as generally 

5 depicted on a map titled ‘Browns Canyon Proposed 

6 Wilderness Area’, dated October 20, 2010, which 

7 shall be known as the Browns Canyon Wilderness. 

8 ‘‘(28) Certain lands managed by the Royal 

9 Gorge Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage10 ment which comprise approximately 16,690 acres, as 

11 generally depicted on a map titled ‘McIntyre Hills 

12 Proposed Wilderness Area’, dated October 20, 2010, 

13 which shall be known as the McIntyre Hills Wilder14 ness. 

15 ‘‘(29) Certain lands managed by the Glenwood 

16 Springs Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage17 ment which comprise approximately 11,701 acres, as 

18 generally depicted on a map titled ‘Grand Hogback 

19 Proposed Wilderness Area’, dated May 31, 2011, 

20 which shall be known as the Grand Hogback Wilder21 ness. 

22 ‘‘(30) Certain lands managed by the Glenwood 

23 Springs Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage24 ment or located in the White River National Forest 

25 which comprise approximately 16,427 acres, as genVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:51 Jul 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2420.IH H2420

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1 erally depicted on a map titled ‘Flat Tops Addition 

2 Proposed Wilderness Area’, dated May 31, 2011, 

3 and which are hereby incorporated in and shall be 

4 deemed to be a part of the Flat Tops Wilderness 

5 designated by Public Law 94–146. 

6 ‘‘(31) Certain lands managed by the Grand 

7 Junction Field Office which comprise approximately 

8 25,881 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled 

9 ‘Demaree Canyon Proposed Wilderness Area’, dated 

10 May 31, 2011, which shall be known as the Demaree 

11 Canyon Wilderness. 

12 ‘‘(32) Certain lands managed by the Grand 

13 Junction Field Office which comprise approximately 

14 30,557 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled 

15 ‘South Shale Ridge and Little Book Cliffs Proposed 

16 Wilderness’, dated May 31, 2011, which shall be 

17 known as the Little Bookcliffs Wilderness. 

18 ‘‘(33) Certain lands managed by the Grand 

19 Junction Field Office which comprise approximately 

20 27,569 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled 

21 ‘South Shale Ridge and Little Book Cliffs Proposed 

22 Wilderness’, dated May 31, 2011, which shall be 

23 known as the South Shale Ridge Wilderness.’’. 

24 (b) FURTHER ADDITIONS.—The following lands in 

25 the State of Colorado administered by the Bureau of Land 


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1 Management or the United States Forest Service are here2 by designated as wilderness and, therefore, as components 

3 of the National Wilderness Preservation System: 

4 (1) Certain lands managed by the Colorado 

5 River Valley Field Office of the Bureau of Land 

6 Management or located in the White River National 

7 Forest: which comprise approximately 21,900 acres, 

8 as generally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Assignation 

9 Ridge Proposed Wilderness Area’’, dated May 31, 

10 2011, which shall be known as the Thompson Creek 

11 Wilderness. 

12 (2) Certain lands managed by the Royal Gorge 

13 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management 

14 which comprise approximately 20,950 acres, as gen15 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Badger Creek Pro16 posed Wilderness Area’’, dated October 20, 2010, 

17 which shall be known as the Badger Creek Wilder18 ness. 

19 (3) Certain lands managed by the Royal Gorge 

20 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management 

21 which comprise approximately 33,425 acres, as gen22 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Beaver Creek Pro23 posed Wilderness Area’’, dated October 20, 2010, 

24 which shall be known as the Beaver Creek Wilder25 ness. 


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1 (4) Certain lands managed by the Royal Gorge 

2 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management or 

3 located in the San Isabel National Forest which 

4 comprise approximately 33,525 acres, as generally 

5 depicted on a map titled ‘‘Grape Creek Proposed 

6 Wilderness Area’’, October 20, 2010, which shall be 

7 known as the Grape Creek Wilderness. 

8 (5) Certain lands managed by the Grand Junc9 tion Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage10 ment which comprise approximately 21,110 acres, as 

11 generally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Bangs Canyon 

12 Proposed Wilderness Area’’, dated May 31, 2011, 

13 which shall be known as the Bangs Canyon Wilder14 ness. 

15 (6) Certain lands managed by the Grand Junc16 tion Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage17 ment which comprise approximately 14,089 acres, as 

18 generally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Granite Creek, 

19 Unaweep and Palisade Proposed Wilderness’’, dated 

20 June 14, 2011, which shall be known as the Granite 

21 Creek Wilderness. 

22 (7) Certain lands managed by the Grand Junc23 tion Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage24 ment which comprise approximately 26,914 acres, as 

25 generally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Granite Creek, 


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1 Unaweep and Palisade Proposed Wilderness’’, dated 

2 June 14, 2011, which shall be known as the Pali3 sade Wilderness. 

4 (8) Certain lands managed by the Grand Junc5 tion Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage6 ment or located in the Uncompahgre National For7 est, which comprise approximately 39,392 acres, as 

8 generally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Granite Creek, 

9 Unaweep and Palisade Proposed Wilderness’’, dated 

10 June 14, 2011, which shall be known as the 

11 Unaweep Wilderness. 

12 (9) Certain lands managed by the Grand Junc13 tion Field Office of the Bureau of Land Manage14 ment and San Juan Field Office and in the Manti15 LaSal National Forest which comprise approxi16 mately 65,448 acres, as generally depicted on a map 

17 titled ‘‘Sewemup Mesa Proposed Wilderness Area’’, 

18 dated May 31, 2011, which shall be known as the 

19 Sewemup Mesa Wilderness. 

20 (10) Certain lands managed by the Kremmling 

21 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management 

22 which comprise approximately 33 acres, as generally 

23 depicted on a map titled ‘‘Platte River Addition Pro24 posed Wilderness Area’’, dated May 31, 2011, and 

25 which are hereby incorporated in and shall be 


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1 deemed to be part of the Platte River Wilderness 

2 designated by Public Law 98–550. 

3 (11) Certain lands managed by the 

4 Uncompahgre Field Office of the Bureau of Land 

5 Management or located in the Uncompahgre Na6 tional Forest which comprise approximately 22,604 

7 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled 

8 ‘‘Roubideau Proposed Wilderness Area’’, dated May 

9 31, 2011, which shall be known as the Roubideau 

10 Wilderness. 

11 (12) Certain lands managed by the 

12 Uncompahgre Field Office of the Bureau of Land 

13 Management or located in the Uncompahgre Na14 tional Forest which comprise approximately 13,288 

15 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Nor16 wood Canyon Proposed Wilderness Area’’, dated 

17 May 31, 2011, which shall be known as the Norwood 

18 Canyon Wilderness. 

19 (13) Certain lands managed by the San Juan 

20 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management 

21 which comprise approximately 25,947 acres, as gen22 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Cross Canyon Pro23 posed Wilderness Area’’, dated May 31, 2011, which 

24 shall be known as the Cross Canyon Wilderness. 


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1 (14) Certain lands managed by the San Juan 

2 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management 

3 which comprise approximately 33,467 acres, as gen4 erally depicted on a map titled ‘‘McKenna Peak Pro5 posed Wilderness Area’’, May 31, 2011, which shall 

6 be known as the McKenna Peak Wilderness. 

7 (15) Certain lands managed by the San Juan 

8 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management 

9 Certain lands which comprise approximately 14,598 

10 acres, as generally depicted on a map titled ‘‘Weber11 Menefee Mountain Proposed Wilderness Area’’, 

12 dated May 31, 2011, which shall be known as the 

13 Weber-Menefee Mountain Wilderness. 

14 (16) Certain lands managed by the 

15 Uncompahgre and San Juan Field Offices of the 

16 Bureau of Land Management which comprise ap17 proximately 41,133 acres, as generally depicted on a 

18 map titled ‘‘Dolores River Canyon Proposed Wilder19 ness Area’’, dated May 31, 2011, which shall be 

20 known as the Dolores River Canyon Wilderness. 

21 (17) Certain lands managed by the San Juan 

22 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management or 

23 located in the San Juan National Forest which com24 prise approximately 32,050 acres, as generally de25 picted on a map titled ‘‘Snaggletooth Proposed WilVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:51 Jul 07, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2420.IH H2420

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1 derness Area’’, dated May 31, 2011, which shall be 

2 known as the Snaggletooth Wilderness. 

3 (c) WEST ELK ADDITION.—Certain lands in the 

4 State of Colorado administered by the Gunnison Field Of5 fice of the Bureau of Land Management, the United 

6 States Forest Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation 

7 which comprise approximately 5,000 acres, as generally 

8 depicted on a map titled ‘‘West Elk Addition Proposed 

9 Wilderness Area’’, dated December 13, 2010, are hereby 

10 designated as wilderness and, therefore, as components of 

11 the National Wilderness Preservation System and are 

12 hereby incorporated in and shall be deemed to be a part 

13 of the West Elk Wilderness designated by Public Law 88– 

14 577. The boundary adjacent to Blue Mesa Reservoir shall 

15 be 50 feet from the high water mark. 

16 (d) BLUE MESA RESERVOIR.—If the Bureau of Rec17 lamation determines that lands within the West Elk Wil18 derness Addition are necessary for future expansion of the 

19 Blue Mesa Reservoir, the Secretary shall by publication 

20 of a revised boundary description in the Federal Register 

21 revise the boundary of the West Elk Wilderness Addition. 

22 (e) MAPS AND DESCRIPTIONS.—As soon as prac23 ticable after the date of enactment of the Act, the Sec24 retary shall file a map and a boundary description of each 

25 area designated as wilderness by this section with the 


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1 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep2 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 

3 Resources of the Senate. Each map and boundary descrip4 tion shall have the same force and effect as if included 

5 in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct clerical 

6 and typographical errors in the map or boundary descrip7 tion. The maps and boundary descriptions shall be on file 

8 and available for public inspection in the Office of the Di9 rector of the Bureau of Land Management, Department 

10 of the Interior, and in the Office of the Chief of the Forest 

11 Service, Department of Agriculture, as appropriate. 

12 (f) STATE AND PRIVATE LANDS.—Lands within the 

13 exterior boundaries of any wilderness area designated 

14 under this section that are owned by the State of Colorado 

15 or by a private entity shall be included within such wilder16 ness area if such lands are acquired by the United States. 

17 Such lands may be acquired by the United States only 

18 as provided in the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et 

19 seq.). 

20 SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

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

22 lands designated as wilderness by this Act shall be man23 aged by the Secretary in accordance with the Wilderness 

24 Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this Act, except that, 

25 with respect to any wilderness areas designated by this 


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1 Act, any reference in the Wilderness Act to the effective 

2 date of the Wilderness Act shall be deemed to be a ref3 erence to the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (b) GRAZING.—Grazing of livestock in wilderness 

5 areas designated by this Act shall be administered in ac6 cordance with the provisions of section 4(d)(4) of the Wil7 derness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)), as further inter8 preted by section 108 of Public Law 96–560, and the 

9 guidelines set forth in Appendix A of House Report 101– 

10 405 of the 101st Congress. 

11 (c) STATE JURISDICTION.—As provided in section 

12 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)), 

13 nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the ju14 risdiction or responsibilities of the State of Colorado with 

15 respect to wildlife and fish in Colorado. 

16 (d) BUFFER ZONES.— 

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

18 a protective perimeter or buffer zone around any 

19 area designated as wilderness by section 2. 

20 (2) ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE WILDERNESS.—The 

21 fact that an activity or use on land outside the areas 

22 designated as wilderness by section 2 can be seen or 

23 heard within the wilderness shall not preclude the 

24 activity or use outside the boundary of the wilder25 ness. 


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1 (e) MILITARY HELICOPTER OVERFLIGHTS.— 

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

3 or precludes— 

4 (A) low-level overflights of military heli5 copters over the areas designated as wilderness 

6 by section 2, including military overflights that 

7 can be seen or heard within any wilderness 

8 area; 

9 (B) military flight testing and evaluation; 

10 or 

11 (C) the designation or creation of new 

12 units of special use airspace, or the establish13 ment of military flight training routes over any 

14 wilderness area. 

15 (2) AERIAL NAVIGATION TRAINING EXER16 CISES.—The Colorado Army National Guard, 

17 through the High-Altitude Army National Guard 

18 Aviation Training Site, may conduct aerial naviga19 tion training maneuver exercises over the wilderness 

20 areas designated by this Act— 

21 (A) in a manner consistent with the memo22 randum of understanding dated August 4, 

23 1987, among the Colorado Army National 

24 Guard, the Bureau of Land Management, and 

25 the Forest Service; or 


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1 (B) in a manner consistent with a subse2 quent memorandum of understanding entered 

3 into between the Colorado Army National 

4 Guard, the Bureau of Land Management, and 

5 the Forest Service. 

6 (f) RUNNING EVENTS.—The Secretary may continue 

7 to authorize competitive running events currently per8 mitted in the Redcloud Peak Wilderness Area and 

9 Handies Peak Wilderness Area in a manner compatible 

10 with the preservation of such areas as wilderness. 

11 (g) LAND TRADES.—If the Secretary trades privately 

12 owned land within the perimeter of the Redcloud Peak 

13 Wilderness Area or the Handies Peak Wilderness Area in 

14 exchange for Federal land, then such Federal land shall 

15 be located in Hinsdale County, Colorado. 

16 SEC. 4. WATER. 

17 (a) EFFECT ON WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this 

18 Act— 

19 (1) affects the use or allocation, in existence on 

20 the date of enactment of this Act, of any water, 

21 water right, or interest in water; 

22 (2) affects any vested absolute or decreed condi23 tional water right in existence on the date of enact24 ment of this Act, including any water right held by 

25 the United States; 


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1 (3) affects any interstate water compact in ex2 istence on the date of enactment of this Act; 

3 (4) authorizes or imposes any new reserved 

4 Federal water rights; and 

5 (5) shall be considered to be a relinquishment 

6 or reduction of any water rights reserved or appro7 priated by the United States in the State on or be8 fore the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 (b) MIDSTREAM AREAS.— 

10 (1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 

11 is to protect for the benefit and enjoyment of 

12 present and future generations— 

13 (A) the unique and nationally important 

14 values of areas designated as wilderness by sec15 tion 2(b) (including the geological, cultural, ar16 chaeological, paleontological, natural, scientific, 

17 recreational, environmental, biological, wilder18 ness, wildlife, riparian, historical, educational, 

19 and scenic resources of the public land); and 

20 (B) the water resources of area streams, 

21 based on seasonally available flows, that are 

22 necessary to support aquatic, riparian, and ter23 restrial species and communities. 

24 (2) WILDERNESS WATER RIGHTS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall en2 sure that any water rights within the wilderness 

3 designated by section 2(b) required to fulfill the 

4 purposes of such wilderness are secured in ac5 cordance with subparagraphs (B) through (G). 

6 (B) STATE LAW.— 

7 (i) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 Any water rights for which the Secretary 

9 pursues adjudication shall be appropriated, 

10 adjudicated, changed, and administered in 

11 accordance with the procedural require12 ments and priority system of State law. 

13 (ii) ESTABLISHMENT OF WATER

14 RIGHTS.— 

15 (I) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro16 vided in subclause (II), the purposes 

17 and other substantive characteristics 

18 of the water rights pursued under this 

19 paragraph shall be established in ac20 cordance with State law. 

21 (II) EXCEPTION.—Notwith22 standing subclause (I) and in accord23 ance with this Act, the Secretary may 

24 appropriate and seek adjudication of 

25 water rights to maintain surface water 


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1 levels and stream flows on and across 

2 the wilderness designated by section 

3 2(b) to fulfill the purposes of such 

4 wilderness. 

5 (C) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall 

6 promptly, but not earlier than January 1, 2015, 

7 appropriate the water rights required to fulfill 

8 the purposes of the wilderness designated by 

9 section 2(b). 

10 (D) REQUIRED DETERMINATION.—The 

11 Secretary shall not pursue adjudication for any 

12 instream flow water rights unless the Secretary 

13 makes a determination pursuant to subpara14 graph (E)(ii) or (F). 

15 (E) COOPERATIVE ENFORCEMENT.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

17 not pursue adjudication of any Federal 

18 instream flow water rights established 

19 under this paragraph if— 

20 (I) the Secretary determines, 

21 upon adjudication of the water rights 

22 by the Colorado Water Conservation 

23 Board, that the Board holds water 

24 rights sufficient in priority, amount, 


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1 and timing to fulfill the purposes of 

2 this subsection; and 

3 (II) the Secretary has entered 

4 into a perpetual agreement with the 

5 Colorado Water Conservation Board 

6 to ensure full exercise, protection, and 

7 enforcement of the State water rights 

8 within the Wilderness to reliably fulfill 

9 the purposes of this subsection. 

10 (ii) ADJUDICATION.—If the Secretary 

11 determines that the provisions of clause (i) 

12 have not been met, the Secretary shall ad13 judicate and exercise any Federal water 

14 rights required to fulfill the purposes of 

15 the Wilderness in accordance with this 

16 paragraph. 

17 (F) INSUFFICIENT WATER RIGHTS.—If the 

18 Colorado Water Conservation Board modifies 

19 the instream flow water rights obtained under 

20 subparagraph (E) to such a degree that the 

21 Secretary determines that water rights held by 

22 the State are insufficient to fulfill the purposes 

23 of this Act, the Secretary shall adjudicate and 

24 exercise Federal water rights required to fulfill 


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1 the purposes of this Act in accordance with sub2 paragraph (B). 

3 (G) FAILURE TO COMPLY.—The Secretary 

4 shall promptly act to exercise and enforce the 

5 water rights described in subparagraph (E) if 

6 the Secretary determines that— 

7 (i) the State is not exercising its 

8 water rights consistent with subparagraph 

9 (E)(i)(I); or 

10 (ii) the agreement described in sub11 paragraph (E)(i)(II) is not fulfilled or com12 plied with sufficiently to fulfill the pur13 poses of this Act. 

14 (3) WATER RESOURCE FACILITY.—Notwith15 standing any other provision of law, beginning on 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, neither the Presi17 dent nor any other officer, employee, or agent of the 

18 United States shall fund, assist, authorize, or issue 

19 a license or permit for development of any new irri20 gation and pumping facility, reservoir, water con21 servation work, aqueduct, canal, ditch, pipeline, well, 

22 hydropower project, transmission, other ancillary fa23 cility, or other water, diversion, storage, or carriage 

24 structure in the wilderness designated by section 

25 2(b). 


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1 (c) ACCESS AND OPERATION.— 

2 (1) DEFINITION.—As used in this subsection, 

3 the term ‘‘water resource facility’’ means irrigation 

4 and pumping facilities, reservoirs, water conserva5 tion works, aqueducts, canals, ditches, pipelines, 

6 wells, hydropower projects, and transmission and 

7 other ancillary facilities, and other water diversion, 

8 storage, and carriage structures. 

9 (2) ACCESS TO WATER RESOURCE FACILI10 TIES.—Subject to the provisions of this subsection, 

11 the Secretary shall allow reasonable access to water 

12 resource facilities in existence on the date of enact13 ment of this Act within the areas described in sec14 tions 2(b) and 2(c), including motorized access 

15 where necessary and customarily employed on routes 

16 existing as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 (3) ACCESS ROUTES.—Existing access routes 

18 within such areas customarily employed as of the 

19 date of enactment of this Act may be used, main20 tained, repaired, and replaced to the extent nec21 essary to maintain their present function, design, 

22 and serviceable operation, so long as such activities 

23 have no increased adverse impacts on the resources 

24 and values of the areas described in sections 2(b) 


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1 and 2(c) than existed as of the date of enactment of 

2 this Act. 

3 (4) USE OF WATER RESOURCE FACILITIES.— 

4 Subject to the provisions of this subsection and sub5 section (a)(4), the Secretary shall allow water re6 source facilities existing on the date of enactment of 

7 this Act within areas described in sections 2(b) and 

8 2(c) to be used, operated, maintained, repaired, and 

9 replaced to the extent necessary for the continued 

10 exercise, in accordance with Colorado State law, of 

11 vested water rights adjudicated for use in connection 

12 with such facilities by a court of competent jurisdic13 tion prior to the date of enactment of this Act. The 

14 impact of an existing facility on the water resources 

15 and values of the area shall not be increased as a 

16 result of changes in the adjudicated type of use of 

17 such facility as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

18 (5) REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE.—Water re19 source facilities, and access routes serving such fa20 cilities, existing within the areas described in sec21 tions 2(b) and 2(c) on the date of enactment of this 

22 Act shall be maintained and repaired when and to 

23 the extent necessary to prevent increased adverse 


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1 impacts on the resources and values of the areas de2 scribed in sections 2(b) and 2(c). 

Æ 


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