I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 403 
To establish the Clear Creek National Recreation Area in San Benito and 
Fresno Counties, California, to designate the Joaquin Rocks Wilderness 
in such counties, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 9, 2019 
Mr. PANETTA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To establish the Clear Creek National Recreation Area in 
San Benito and Fresno Counties, California, to designate 
the Joaquin Rocks Wilderness in such counties, 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 ‘‘Clear Creek National 
Recreation Area and Conservation Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term ‘‘manage-
ment plan’’ means the Plan for the Recreation Area 
prepared under section 4(c). 
(2) RECREATION AREA.—The term ‘‘Recreation 
Area’’ means the Clear Creek National Recreation 
Area. 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 
of California. 
(5) OFF HIGHWAY VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘off 
highway vehicle’’ means any motorized vehicle de-
signed for or capable of cross-country travel on or 
immediately over land, water, snow, or other natural 
terrain and not intended for use on public roads. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF CLEAR CREEK NATIONAL 
RECREATION AREA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—To promote environmentally re-
sponsible off highway vehicle recreation, the area generally 
depicted as ‘‘Proposed Clear Creek National Recreation 
Area’’ on the map titled ‘‘Proposed Clear Creek National 
Recreation Area’’ and dated February 14, 2017, is estab-
lished as the ‘‘Clear Creek National Recreation Area’’, to 
be managed by the Secretary. 
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(b) OTHER PURPOSES.—The Recreation Area shall 
also support other public recreational uses, such as hunt-
ing, hiking, and rock and gem collecting. 
(c) MAP ON FILE.—Copies of the map referred to in 
subsection (a) shall be on file and available for public in-
spection in— 
(1) the Office of the Director of the Bureau of 
Land Management; and 
(2) the appropriate office of the Bureau of 
Land Management in California. 
SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage the 
Recreation Area to further the purposes described in sec-
tion 3(a), in accordance with— 
(1) this Act; 
(2) the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and 
(3) any other applicable law. 
(b) USES.—The Secretary shall— 
(1) prioritize environmentally responsible off 
highway vehicle recreation and also facilitate hunt-
ing, hiking, gem collecting, and the use of motorized 
vehicles, mountain bikes, and horses in accordance 
with the management plan described in subsection 
(c); 
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(2) issue special recreation permits for motor-
ized and non-motorized events; and 
(3) reopen the Clear Creek Management Area 
to the uses described in this subsection as soon as 
practicable following the enactment of this Act and 
in accordance with the management guidelines out-
lined in this Act and other applicable law. 
(c) INTERIM MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Secretary 
shall use the 2006 Clear Creek Management Area Re-
source Management Plan Amendment and Route Designa-
tion Record of Decision as modified by this Act or the 
Secretary to incorporate natural resource protection infor-
mation not available in 2006, as the basis of an interim 
management plan to govern off highway vehicle recreation 
within the Recreation Area pending the completion of the 
long-term management plan required in subsection (d). 
(d) PERMANENT MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later 
than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary shall create a comprehensive management 
plan for the Clear Creek Recreation Area that— 
(1) shall describe the appropriate uses and 
management of the Recreation Area in accordance 
with this Act; 
(2) shall be prepared in consultation with— 
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(A) appropriate Federal, State, and local 
agencies (including San Benito, Monterey, and 
Fresno Counties); 
(B) adjacent land owners; 
(C) other stakeholders (including conserva-
tion and recreational organizations); and 
(D) holders of any easements, rights-of- 
way, and other valid rights in the Recreation 
Area; 
(3) shall include a hazards education program 
to inform people entering the Recreation Area of the 
asbestos related risks associated with various activi-
ties within the Recreation Area, including off-high-
way vehicle recreation; 
(4) shall include a user fee program for motor-
ized vehicle use within the Recreational Area and 
guidelines for the use of the funds collected for the 
management and improvement of the Recreation 
Area; 
(5) shall designate as many previously used 
trails, roads, and other areas for off highway vehicle 
recreation as feasible in accordance with this in 
order to provide a substantially similar recreational 
experience, except that nothing in this paragraph 
shall be construed as precluding the Secretary from 
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other rights relating to any non-Federal land (in-
cluding any interest in any non-Federal land). 
(3) BUFFER ZONES.—Nothing in this Act cre-
ates a protective perimeter or buffer zone around the 
Recreation Area. 
(4) VALID RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act affects 
any easements, rights-of-way, and other valid rights 
in existence on the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
(g) WATER RIGHT EXCLUSION.—Nothing in this 
Act— 
(1) shall constitute or be construed to con-
stitute either an express or implied reservation by 
the United States of any water or water rights with 
respect to the Recreation Area; or 
(2) shall affect any water rights existing on the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(h) HUNTING AND FISHING.—Nothing in this Act— 
(1) limits hunting or fishing; or 
(2) affects the authority, jurisdiction, or respon-
sibility of the State to manage, control, or regulate 
fish and resident wildlife under State law (including 
regulations), including the regulation of hunting or 
fishing on public land managed by the Bureau of 
Land Management. 
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(i) MOTORIZED VEHICLES.—Except in cases in which 
motorized vehicles are needed for administrative purposes 
or to respond to an emergency, the use of motorized vehi-
cles on public land in the Recreation Area shall be per-
mitted only on roads, trails, and areas designated by the 
management plan for the use by motorized vehicles. 
(j) GRAZING.—In the Recreation Area, the grazing 
of livestock in areas in which grazing is allowed as of the 
date of the enactment of this Act shall be allowed to con-
tinue, consistent with— 
(1) this Act; 
(2) the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and 
(3) any regulations promulgated by the Sec-
retary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of 
Land Management. 
(k) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 
all Federal land within the Recreation Area is withdrawn 
from— 
(1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and dis-
posal under the public land laws; 
(2) location, entry, and patenting under the 
mining laws; and 
(3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 
materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 
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(l) FEES.—Amounts received by the Secretary under 
the fee structure required by subsection (d)(4) shall be— 
(1) deposited in a special account in the Treas-
ury of the United States; and 
(2) made available until expended to the Sec-
retary for use in the Recreation Area. 
(m) RISK STANDARD.—The National Oil and Haz-
ardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (section 
300 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations), published 
pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Environ-
mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 
1980 (42 U.S.C. 9605), shall not apply to the Secretary’s 
management of asbestos exposure risks faced by the public 
when recreating within the Clear Creek Recreation Area 
described in section 3(b). 
SEC. 5. JOAQUIN ROCKS WILDERNESS. 
In accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 
1131 et seq.), the approximately 21,000 acres of Federal 
lands located in Fresno County and San Benito County, 
California, and generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Pro-
posed Joaquin Rocks Wilderness’’ and dated February 14, 
2017, is designated as wilderness and as a component of 
the National Wilderness Preservation System and shall be 
known as the ‘‘Joaquin Rocks Wilderness’’. 
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SEC. 6. RELEASE OF SAN BENITO MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS 
STUDY AREA. 
(a) FINDING.—Congress finds that, for the purposes 
of section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage-
ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782), the San Benito 
Mountain wilderness study area has been adequately stud-
ied for wilderness designation. 
(b) RELEASE.—The San Benito Mountain wilderness 
study area is no longer subject to section 603(c) of the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
U.S.C. 1782(c)). 
SEC. 7. CLARIFICATION REGARDING FUNDING. 
No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 
requirements of this Act. Such requirements shall be car-
ried out using amounts otherwise authorized. 
Æ 
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