103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 240
AN ACT
To provide for the protection of the Bodie Bowl
area of the State of California, and for other
purposes.
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 240
AN ACT
To provide for the protection of the Bodie Bowl area of
the State of California, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bodie Protection Act
of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) the historic Bodie gold mining district in
the State of California is the site of the largest and
best preserved authentic ghost town in the western
United States;
(2) the Bodie Bowl area contains important
natural, historical, and aesthetic resources;
(3) Bodie was designated a National Historical
Landmark in 1961 and a California State Historic
Park in 1962, is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places, and is included in the Federal His-
toric American Buildings Survey;
(4) nearly 200,000 persons visit Bodie each
year, providing the local economy with important an-
nual tourism revenues;
(5) the town of Bodie is threatened by propos-
als to explore and extract minerals: mining in the
Bodie Bowl area may have adverse physical and aes-
thetic impacts on Bodie’s historical integrity, cul-
tural values, and ghosttown character as well as on
its recreational values and the area’s flora and
fauna;
(6) the California State Legislature, on Septem-
ber 4, 1990, requested the President and the Con-
gress to direct the Secretary of the Interior to pro-
tect the ghosttown character, ambience, historic
buildings, and scenic attributes of the town of Bodie
and nearby areas;
(7) the California State Legislature also re-
quested the Secretary, if necessary to protect the
Bodie Bowl area, to withdraw the Federal lands
within the area from all forms of mineral entry and
patent;
(8) the National Park Service listed Bodie as a
priority one endangered National Historic Landmark
in its fiscal year 1990 and 1991 report to Congress
entitled ‘‘Threatened and Damaged National His-
toric Landmarks’’ and recommended protection of
the Bodie area; and
(9) it is necessary and appropriate to provide
that all Federal lands within the Bodie Bowl area
are not subject to location, entry, and patent under
the mining laws of the United States, subject to
valid existing rights, and to direct the Secretary to
consult with the Governor of the State of California
before approving any mining activity plan within the
Bodie Bowl.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Bodie Bowl’’ means the Federal
lands and interests in lands within the area gen-
erally depicted on the map referred to in section
4(a).
(2) The term ‘‘mineral activities’’ means any
activity involving mineral prospecting, exploration,
extraction, milling, beneficiation, processing, and
reclamation.
(3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY OF MINERAL MINING, LEASING AND
DISPOSAL LAWS.
(a) RESTRICTION.—Subject to valid existing rights,
after the date of enactment of this Act Federal lands and
interests in lands within the area generally depicted on
the map entitled ‘‘Bodie Bowl’’ and dated June 12, 1992,
shall not be—
(1) open to the entry or location of mining and
mill site claims under the general mining laws of the
United States;
(2) subject to any lease under the Mineral
Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 and following) or the
Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 100 and
following), for lands within the Bodie Bowl; and
(3) available for disposal of mineral materials
under the Act of July 31, 1947, commonly known as
the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 and fol-
lowing).
Such map shall be on file and available for public inspec-
tion in the Office of the Secretary, and appropriate offices
of the Bureau of Land Management and the National