I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2806 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to adjust the boundary of the 

Stephen Mather Wilderness and the North Cascades National Park in 

order to allow the rebuilding of a road outside of the floodplain while 

ensuring that there is no net loss of acreage to the Park or the Wilderness, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 10, 2009 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to adjust the 

boundary of the Stephen Mather Wilderness and the 

North Cascades National Park in order to allow the 

rebuilding of a road outside of the floodplain while ensuring that there is no net loss of acreage to the Park 

or the 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. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) In 1988, 93 percent of the North Cascades 

2 National Park Complex was designated the Stephen 

3 Mather Wilderness. 

4 (2) A road corridor was deliberately excluded 

5 from the wilderness designation to provide for the 

6 continued use and maintenance of the upper 

7 Stehekin Valley Road. 

8 (3) The upper Stehekin Valley Road provides 

9 access to Stephen Mather Wilderness trailheads and 

10 North Cascades National Park from the Lake Che11 lan National Recreation Area. 

12 (4) Record flooding in 1995 and again in 2003 

13 caused severe damage to the upper Stehekin Valley 

14 Road and led to the closure of a 9.9-mile section of 

15 the road between Car Wash Falls and Cottonwood 

16 Camp. 

17 (5) The National Park Service currently does 

18 not have the flexibility to rebuild the upper Stehekin 

19 Valley Road away from the Stehekin River due to 

20 the current location of the non-wilderness road cor21 ridor provided by Congress in 1988. 

22 (6) It is a high priority that the people of the 

23 United States, including families, the disabled, and 

24 the elderly, have reasonable access to the National 

25 Parks system and their public lands. 


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1 (7) The 1995 Lake Chelan National Recreation 

2 Area General Management Plan calls for retaining 

3 vehicle access to Cottonwood Camp. 

4 (8) Tourism associated with the North Cas5 cades National Park Complex is an important part 

6 of the economy for rural communities in the area. 

7 (9) Additional management flexibility would 

8 allow the National Park Service to consider reten9 tion of the upper Stehekin Valley Road in a manner 

10 that provides for no net loss of wilderness. 

11 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS. 

12 The Washington Park Wilderness Act of 1988 (Pub13 lic Law 100–668) is amended by inserting after section 

14 206 the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 207. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS FOR ROAD. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may adjust the 

17 boundaries of the North Cascades National Park and the 

18 Stephen Mather Wilderness in order to provide a 100-foot 

19 wide corridor along which the Stehekin Valley Road may 

20 be rebuilt— 

21 ‘‘(1) outside of the floodplain between milepost 

22 12.9 and milepost 22.8; 

23 ‘‘(2) within the boundaries of the North Cas24 cades National Park; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) outside of the boundaries of the Stephen 

2 Mather Wilderness. 

3 ‘‘(b) NO NET LOSS OF LANDS.—The boundary ad4 justments made under this section shall be such that equal 

5 acreage amounts are exchanged between the Stephen 

6 Mather Wilderness and the North Cascades National 

7 Park, resulting in no net loss of acreage to either the Ste8 phen Mather Wilderness or the North Cascades National 

9 Park.’’. 

Æ 


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