103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 236

AN ACT

To establish the Snake River Birds of Prey Naand for other purposes. tional Conservation Area in the State of Idaho,
103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 236

AN ACT

To establish the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in the State of Idaho, 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 The Congress finds the following:

5 (1) The public lands managed by the Bureau of

6 Land Management in the State of Idaho within the

7 Snake River Birds of Prey Area contain one of the

8 densest known nesting populations of eagles, falcons,

9 owls, hawks, and other birds of prey (raptors) in

10 North America.
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1 (2) These public lands constitute a valuable na2 tional biological and educational resource since birds

3 of prey are important components of the ecosystem

4 and indicators of environmental quality, and contrib5 ute significantly to the quality of wildlife and human

6 communities.

7 (3) These public lands also contain important

8 historic and cultural resources (including significant

9 archaeological resources) as well as other resources

10 and values, all of which should be protected and ap11 propriately managed.

12 (4) A military training area within the Snake

13 River Birds of Prey Area, known as the Orchard

14 Training Area, has been used since 1953 by reserve

15 components of the Armed Forces. Military use of

16 this area is currently governed by a Memorandum of

17 Understanding between the Bureau of Land Man18 agement and the State of Idaho Military Division,

19 dated May 1985. Operating under this Memoran20 dum of Understanding, the Idaho National Guard

21 has provided valuable assistance to the Bureau of

22 Land Management with respect to fire control and

23 other aspects of management of the Orchard Train24 ing Area and the other lands in the Snake River

25 Birds of Prey Area. Military use of the lands within
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1 the Orchard Training Area should continue in ac2 cordance with such Memorandum of Understanding

3 (or extension or renewal thereof), to the extent con4 sistent with section 4(e) of this Act, because this

5 would be in the best interest of training of the re6 serve components (an important aspect of national

7 security) and of the local economy.

8 (5) Protection of the conservation area as a

9 home for raptors can best and should be accom10 plished by the Secretary of the Interior, acting

11 through the Bureau of Land Management, under a

12 management plan that—

13 (A) emphasizes management, protection,

14 and rehabilitation of habitat for these raptors

15 and of other resources and values of the area;

16 (B) provides for continued military use,

17 consistent with the requirements of section 4(e)

18 of this Act, of the Orchard Training Area by re19 serve components of the Armed Forces;

20 (C) addresses the need for public edu21 cational and interpretive opportunities;

22 (D) allows for diverse appropriate uses of

23 lands in the area to the extent consistent with

24 the maintenance and enhancement of raptor

25 populations and habitats and protection and
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1 sound management of other resources and val2 ues of the area; and

3 (E) demonstrates management practices

4 and techniques that may be useful to other

5 areas of the public lands and elsewhere.

6 (6) There exists near the conservation area a

7 facility, the World Center for Birds of Prey operated

8 by The Peregrine Fund, Inc., where research, public

9 education, recovery, and reestablishment operations

10 exist for endangered raptor species. There also exists

11 at Boise State University a raptor study program

12 which attracts national and international graduate

13 and undergraduate students.

14 (7) The Bureau of Land Management and

15 Boise State University, together with other State,

16 Federal, and private entities, have formed the

17 Raptor Research and Technical Assistance Center to

18 be housed at Boise State University, which provides

19 a unique adjunct to the conservation area for raptor

20 management, recovery, research, and public visita21 tion, interpretation, and education.

22 (8) Consistent with requirements of sections

23 202 and 302 of the Federal Land Policy and Man24 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712 and 1732),

25 the Secretary has developed a comprehensive man-
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1 agement plan and, based on such plan, has imple2 mented a management program for the public lands

3 included in the conservation area established by this

4 Act.

5 (9) Additional authority and guidance must be

6 provided to assure that essential raptor habitat re7 mains in public ownership, to facilitate sound and

8 effective planning and management, to provide for

9 effective public interpretation and education, to en10 sure continued study of the relationship of humans

11 and these raptors, to preserve the unique and irre12 placeable habitat of the conservation area, and to

13 conserve and properly manage the other natural re14 sources of the area in concert with maintenance of

15 this habitat.

16 (10) An ongoing research program funded by

17 the Bureau of Land Management and the National

18 Guard is intended to provide information to be used

19 in connection with future decisionmaking concerning

20 management of all uses, including continued military

21 use, of public lands within the Snake River Birds of

22 Prey Area.

23 (11) Public lands in the Snake River Birds of

24 Prey Area have been used for domestic livestock

25 grazing for more than a century, with resultant ben-
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1 efits to community stability and contributions to the

2 local and State economies. It has not been dem3 onstrated that continuation of this use would be in4 compatible with appropriate protection and sound

5 management of raptor habitat and the other re6 source values of these lands; therefore, subject to the

7 determination provided for in section 4(f), it is ex8 pected that such grazing will continue in accordance

9 with applicable regulations of the Secretary and the

10 management plan for the conservation area.

11 (12) Hydroelectric facilities for the generation

12 and transmission of electricity exist within the

13 Snake River Birds of Prey Area pursuant to a

14 license(s) issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory

15 Commission, or its predecessor, the Federal Power

16 Commission.

17 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

18 As used in this Act:

19 (1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

20 of the Interior.

21 (2) The term ‘‘conservation area’’ means the

22 Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation

23 Area established by section 3.
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1 (3) The term ‘‘raptor’’ or ‘‘raptors’’ means indi2 viduals or populations of eagles, falcons, owls,

3 hawks, and other birds of prey.

4 (4) The term ‘‘raptor habitat’’ includes the

5 habitat of the raptor prey base as well as the nesting

6 and hunting habitat of raptors within the conserva7 tion area.

8 (5) The term ‘‘Memorandum of Understand9 ing’’ means the Memorandum of Understanding

10 #ID–237, dated May 1985, between the State of

11 Idaho Military Division and the Bureau of Land

12 Management.

13 (6) The term ‘‘Orchard Training Area’’ means

14 that area generally so depicted on the map referred

15 to in section 3(b), and as described in the Memoran16 dum of Understanding as well as the air space over

17 the same.

18 (7) The term ‘‘Impact Area’’ means that area

19 which was used for the firing of live artillery projec20 tiles and is used for live fire ranges of all types and,

21 therefore, poses a danger to public safety and which

22 is generally so depicted on the map referred to in

23 section 3(b).

24 (8) The term ‘‘Artillery Impact Area’’ means

25 that area within the Impact Area into which live
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1 projectiles are fired, which is generally described as

2 that area labeled as such on the map referred to in

3 section 3(b).

4 (9) The term ‘‘the plan’’ means the comprehen5 sive management plan developed for the conservation

6 area, dated August 30, 1985, together with such re7 visions thereto as may be required in order to imple8 ment this Act.

9 (10) The term ‘‘hydroelectric facilities’’ means

10 all facilities related to the generation, transmission,

11 and distribution of hydroelectric power and which

12 are subject to, and authorized by, a license(s), and

13 any and all amendments thereto, issued by the Fed14 eral Energy Regulatory Commission.

15 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL CONSERVATION

16 AREA.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSES.—(1) There is

18 hereby established the Snake River Birds of Prey National

19 Conservation Area (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘conserva20 tion area’’).

21 (2) The purposes for which the conservation area is

22 established, and shall be managed, are to provide for the

23 conservation, protection, and enhancement of raptor popu24 lations and habitats and the natural and environmental

25 resources and values associated therewith, and of the sci-
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1 entific, cultural, and educational resources and values of

2 the public lands in the conservation area.

3 (3) Subject to the provisions of subsection (d) of this

4 section and section 4, uses of the public lands in the con5 servation area existing on the date of enactment of this

6 Act shall be allowed to continue.

7 (b) AREA INCLUDED.—The conservation area shall

8 consist of approximately 482,457 acres of Federally owned

9 lands and interests therein managed by the Bureau of

10 Land Management as generally depicted on the map enti11 tled ‘‘Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation

12 Area’’, dated November 1991.

13 (c) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—As soon as is

14 practicable after enactment of this Act, the map referred

15 to in subsection (b) and a legal description of the con16 servation area shall be filed by the Secretary with the

17 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep18 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural

19 Resources of the Senate. Each such map shall have the

20 same force and effect as if included in this Act; except

21 that the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical

22 errors in such map and legal description. Each such map

23 shall be on file and available for public inspection in the

24 office of the Director and the Idaho State Director of the
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1 Bureau of Land Management of the Department of the

2 Interior.

3 (d) WITHDRAWALS.—Subject to valid existing rights,

4 the Federal lands within the conservation area are hereby

5 withdrawn from all forms of entry, appropriation, or dis6 posal under the public land laws; and from entry, applica7 tion, and selection under the Act of March 3, 1877 (Ch.

8 107, 19 Stat. 377, 43 U.S.C. 321 et seq.; commonly re9 ferred to as the ‘‘Desert Lands Act’’), section 4 of the

10 Act of August 18, 1894 (Ch. 301, 28 Stat. 422; 43 U.S.C.

11 641; commonly referred to as the ‘‘Carey Act’’), the Act

12 of July 3, 1890 (Ch. 656, 26 Stat. 215; commonly referred

13 to as the ‘‘State of Idaho Admissions Act’’), section 2275

14 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (43 U.S.C. 851), and

15 section 2276 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (43

16 U.S.C. 852). The Secretary shall return to the applicants

17 any such applications pending on the date of enactment

18 of this Act, without further action. Subject to valid exist19 ing rights, as of the date of enactment of this Act, lands

20 within the Birds of Prey Conservation Area are withdrawn

21 from location under the general mining laws, the operation

22 of the mineral and geothermal leasing laws, and the min23 eral material disposal laws, except that mineral materials

24 subject to disposal may be made available from existing
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1 sites to the extent compatible with the purposes for which

2 the conservation area is established.

3 SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT AND USE.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1)(A) Within 1 year after the

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall make

6 any revisions in the existing management plan for the con7 servation area as necessary to assure its conformance with

8 this Act, and no later than January 1, 1996, shall finalize

9 a new management plan for the conservation area.

10 (B) Thereafter, the Secretary shall review the plan

11 at least once every 5 years and shall make such revisions

12 as may be necessary or appropriate.

13 (C) In reviewing and revising the plan, the Secretary

14 shall provide for appropriate public participation.

15 (2) Except as otherwise specifically provided in sec16 tion 3(d) and subsections (d), (e), and (f) of this section,

17 the Secretary shall allow only such uses of lands in the

18 conservation area as the Secretary determines will further

19 the purposes for which the Conservation Area is estab20 lished.

21 (b) MANAGEMENT GUIDANCE.—After each review

22 pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall make such

23 revisions as may be needed so that the plan and manage24 ment program to implement the plan include, in addition
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1 to any other necessary or appropriate provisions, provi2 sions for—

3 (1) protection for the raptor populations and

4 habitats and the scientific, cultural, and educational

5 resources and values of the public lands in the con6 servation area;

7 (2) identifying levels of continued military use

8 of the Orchard Training Area compatible with para9 graph (1) of this subsection;

10 (3) public use of the conservation area consist11 ent with the purposes of this Act;

12 (4) interpretive and educational opportunities

13 for the public;

14 (5) a program for continued scientific investiga15 tion and study to provide information to support

16 sound management in accordance with this Act, to

17 advance knowledge of raptor species and the re18 sources and values of the conservation area, and to

19 provide a process for transferring to other areas of

20 the public lands and elsewhere this knowledge and

21 management experience;

22 (6) such vegetative enhancement and other

23 measures as may be necessary to restore or enhance

24 prey habitat;
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1 (7) the identification of levels, types, timing,

2 and terms and conditions for the allowable non3 military uses of lands within the conservation area

4 that will be compatible with the protection, mainte5 nance, and enhancement of raptor populations and

6 habitats and the other purposes for which the con7 servation area is established; and

8 (8) assessing the desirability of imposing appro9 priate fees for public uses (including, but not limited

10 to, recreational use) of lands in the conservation

11 area, which are not now subject to fees, to be used

12 to further the purposes for which the conservation

13 area is established.

14 (c) VISITORS CENTER.—The Secretary, acting

15 through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management,

16 is authorized to establish, in cooperation with other public

17 or private entities as the Secretary may deem appropriate,

18 a visitors center designed to interpret the history and the

19 geological, ecological, natural, cultural, and other re20 sources of the conservation area and the biology of the

21 raptors and their relationships to man.

22 (d) VISITORS USE OF AREA.—In addition to the Visi23 tors Center, the Secretary may provide for visitor use of

24 the public lands in the conservation area to such extent

25 and in such manner as the Secretary considers consistent
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1 with the protection of raptors and raptor habitat, public

2 safety, and the purposes for which the conservation area

3 is established. To the extent practicable, the Secretary

4 shall make available to visitors and other members of the

5 public a map of the conservation area and such other edu6 cational and interpretive materials as may be appropriate.

7 (e) NATIONAL GUARD USE OF THE AREA.—(1)

8 Pending completion of the ongoing research concerning

9 military use of lands in the conservation area, or until the

10 date 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act,

11 whichever is the shorter period, the Secretary shall permit

12 continued military use of those portions of the conserva13 tion area known as the Orchard Training Area in accord14 ance with the Memorandum of Understanding, to the ex15 tent consistent with the use levels identified pursuant to

16 subsection (b)(2) of this section.

17 (2) Upon completion of the ongoing research concern18 ing military use of lands in the conservation area, the Sec19 retary shall review the management plan and make such

20 additional revisions therein as may be required to assure

21 that it meets the requirements of this Act.

22 (3) Upon completion of the ongoing research concern23 ing military use of lands in the conservation area, the Sec24 retary shall submit to the Committees on Natural Re25 sources and Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the House
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1 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and

2 Natural Resources of the Senate a report of the results

3 of such research.

4 (4) Nothing in this Act shall preclude minor adjust5 ment of the boundaries of the Orchard Training Area in

6 accordance with provisions of the Memorandum of Under7 standing.

8 (5) After completion of the ongoing research concern9 ing military use of lands in the Orchard Training Area

10 or after the date 5 years after the date of enactment of

11 this Act, whichever first occurs, the Secretary shall con12 tinue to permit military use of such lands, unless the Sec13 retary, on the basis of such research, determines such use

14 is not compatible with the purposes set forth in section

15 3(a)(2). Any such use thereafter shall be permitted in ac16 cordance with the Memorandum of Understanding, which

17 may be extended or renewed by the Secretary so long as

18 such use continues to meet the requirements of subsection

19 (b)(2) of this section.

20 (6) In accordance with the Memorandum of Under21 standing, the Secretary shall require the State of Idaho

22 Military Division to insure that military units involved

23 maintain a program of decontamination.

24 (7) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as by itself

25 precluding the extension or renewal of the Memorandum
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1 of Understanding, or the construction of any improve2 ments or buildings in the Orchard Training Area so long

3 as the requirements of this subsection are met.

4 (f) LIVESTOCK GRAZING.—(1) So long as the Sec5 retary determines that domestic livestock grazing is com6 patible with the purposes for which the conservation area

7 is established, the Secretary shall permit such use of pub8 lic lands within the conservation area, to the extent such

9 use of such lands is compatible with such purposes. Deter10 minations as to compatibility shall be made in connection

11 with the initial revision of management plans for the con12 servation area and in connection with each plan review re13 quired by section 4(a)(1)(B).

14 (2) Any livestock grazing on public lands within the

15 conservation area, and activities the Secretary determines

16 necessary to carry out proper and practical grazing man17 agement programs on such lands (such as animal damage

18 control activities) shall be managed in accordance with the

19 Act of June 28, 1934 (43 U.S.C. 315 et seq.; commonly

20 referred to as the ‘‘Taylor Grazing Act’’), section 402 of

21 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

22 (43 U.S.C. 1752), other laws applicable to such use and

23 programs on the public lands, and the management plan

24 for the conservation area.
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1 (g) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary is

2 authorized to provide technical assistance to, and to enter

3 into such cooperative agreements and contracts with, the

4 State of Idaho and with local governments and private en5 tities as the Secretary deems necessary or desirable to

6 carry out the purposes and policies of this Act.

7 (h) AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES.—Nothing in this Act

8 shall be construed as constituting a grant of authority to

9 the Secretary to restrict recognized agricultural practices

10 or other activities on private land adjacent to or within

11 the conservation area boundary.

12 (i) HYDROELECTRIC FACILITIES.—Notwithstanding

13 any provision of this Act, or regulations and management

14 plans undertaken pursuant to its provisions, the Federal

15 Energy Regulatory Commission shall retain its current ju16 risdiction concerning all aspects of the continued and fu17 ture operation of hydroelectric facilities, licensed or reli18 censed under the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et

19 seq.), located within the boundaries of the conservation

20 area.

21 SEC. 5. ADDITIONS.

22 (a) ACQUISITIONS.—(1) The Secretary is authorized

23 to acquire lands and interests therein within the bound24 aries of the conservation area by donation, purchase with

25 donated or appropriated funds, exchange, or transfer from
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1 another Federal agency, except that such lands or inter2 ests owned by the State of Idaho or a political subdivision

3 thereof may be acquired only by donation or exchange.

4 (2) Any lands located within the boundaries of the

5 conservation area that are acquired by the United States

6 on or after the date of enactment of this Act shall become

7 a part of the conservation area and shall be subject to

8 this Act.

9 (b) PURCHASE OF LANDS.—In addition to the au10 thority in section 318(d) of the Federal Land Policy and

11 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1748) and notwith12 standing section 7(a) of the Land and Water Conservation

13 Fund Act of 1964 (16 U.S.C. 4601–9(a)), monies appro14 priated from the Land and Water Conservation Fund may

15 be used as authorized in section 5(b) of the Endangered

16 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1534(b)), for the purposes

17 of acquiring lands or interests therein within the conserva18 tion area for administration as public lands as a part of

19 the conservation area.

20 (c) LAND EXCHANGES.—The Secretary shall, within

21 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, study,

22 identify, and initiate voluntary land exchanges which

23 would resolve ownership related land use conflicts within

24 the conservation area.
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1 SEC. 6. OTHER LAWS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

2 (a) OTHER LAWS.—(1) Nothing in this Act shall be

3 construed to supersede, limit, or otherwise affect adminis4 tration and enforcement of the Endangered Species Act

5 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) or to limit the applicabil6 ity of the National Trails System Act to any lands within

7 the conservation area.

8 (2) Except as otherwise specifically provided in this

9 Act, nothing in this Act shall be construed as limiting the

10 applicability to lands in the conservation area of laws ap11 plicable to public lands generally, including but not limited

12 to the National Historic Preservation Act, the Archae13 ological Resources Protection Act of 1979, or the Native

14 American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

15 (3) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as by itself

16 altering the status of any lands that on the date of enact17 ment of this Act were not managed by the Bureau of Land

18 Management.

19 (4) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as prohibit20 ing the Secretary from engaging qualified persons to use

21 public lands within the conservation area for the propaga22 tion of plants (including seeds) to be used for vegetative

23 enhancement of the conservation area in accordance with

24 the plan and in furtherance of the purposes for which the

25 conservation area is established.
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1 (b) RELEASE.—The Congress finds and directs that

2 the public lands within the Snake River Birds of Prey Nat3 ural Area established as a natural area in October 1971

4 by Public Land Order 5133 have been adequately studied

5 and found unsuitable for wilderness designation pursuant

6 to section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage7 ment Act of 1976. Such lands are hereby released from

8 further management pursuant to section 603(c) of such

9 an Act and shall be managed in accordance with other

10 applicable provisions of law, including this Act.

11 (c) EXISTING ADMINISTRATIVE WITHDRAWAL TER12 MINATED.—Public Land Orders 5133 dated October 12,

13 1971, and 5777 dated November 21, 1980, issued by the

14 Secretary are hereby revoked subject to subsections (d)(3)

15 and (d)(4).

16 (d) WATER.—(1) The Congress finds that the United

17 States is currently a party in an adjudication of rights

18 to waters of the Snake River, including water rights

19 claimed by the United States on the basis of the reserva20 tion of lands for purposes of conservation of fish and wild21 life and that consequently there is no need for this Act

22 to effect a reservation by the United States of rights with

23 respect to such waters in order to fulfill the purposes for

24 which the conservation area is established.
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1 (2) Nothing in this Act or any action taken pursuant

2 thereto shall constitute either an expressed or implied res3 ervation of water or water rights for any purpose.

4 (3) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as effecting

5 a relinquishment or reduction of any of the water rights

6 held or claimed by the United States within the State of

7 Idaho or elsewhere on or before the date of enactment of

8 this Act.

9 (4) The Secretary and all other officers of the United

10 States shall take all steps necessary to protect all water

11 rights claimed by the United States in the Snake River

12 adjudication now pending in the district court of the State

13 of Idaho in which the United States is joined under section

14 208 of the Act of July 10, 1952 (66 Stat. 560; 43 U.S.C.

15 666; commonly referred to as the ‘‘McCarran Amend16 ment’’).

17 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

19 as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

Passed the House of Representatives May 11, 1993.

Attest:

Clerk.

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