IB
Union Calendar No. 489
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 1751
[Report No. 106–831]
To establish the Carrizo Plain National Conservation Area in the State
of California, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 11, 1999
Mrs. CAPPS (for herself, Mr. THOMAS, Mr. DOOLEY of California, Mr. LEWIS
of California, Mr. FILNER, Ms. LOFGREN, and Mr. LANTOS) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources
SEPTEMBER 7, 2000
Additional sponsor: Mr. FARR of California
SEPTEMBER 7, 2000
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 11, 1999]
A BILL
To establish the Carrizo Plain National Conservation Area
in 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 ‘‘Carrizo Plain National
Conservation Area Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The public lands administered by the Bureau
of Land Management in the State of California with-
in the Carrizo Plain contain the last remnants of the
once vast San Joaquin Valley grasslands that covered
a large expanse of central California.
(2) As a remnant ecosystem, these lands provide
the best remaining contiguous habitat for a number
of State or federally listed endangered species or
threatened species, including the San Joaquin kit fox,
the blunt-nosed leopard lizard, the giant kangaroo
rat, and the San Joaquin antelope squirrel, and nu-
merous other federally or State listed or sensitive
plant and animal species. Many other important spe-
cies of native wildlife inhabit the area, such as
pronghorn antelope and tule elk.
(3) In addition to its biological diversity,
Carrizo Plain contains nationally significant cultural
and historical sites which are very important to in-
digenous peoples in the area for religious and tradi-
tional cultural purposes.
(4) The Carrizo Plain area also contains one of
the best and most visible exposures of the geologically
unique San Andreas fault, which is the boundary be-
tween the Pacific Plate (on the west) which moves
northward relative to the North American Plate (on
the east) and has and will continue to play a critical
role in the evolution and future of California.
(5) The Carrizo Plain offers unique research, in-
terpretive, and educational opportunities, and signifi-
cant recreation opportunities for the public.
(6) Since 1985, the Carrizo Plain has been coop-
eratively managed by the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment, the California Department of Fish and Game,
and The Nature Conservancy, each of which owns a
part of the Carrizo Plain and all of which work close-
ly together in a manner that makes jurisdictional dif-
ferences among them nearly transparent.
(7) A cooperative management plan has been
prepared for the Carrizo Plain by the Bureau of
Land Management, the California Department of
Fish and Game, and The Nature Conservancy, with
full public involvement, that sets the stage for long-
term joint management of the area for public use and
enjoyment.
(8) This management plan is based on the agen-
cies’ joint primary mission as set forth in the plan
to ‘‘manage the Carrizo Plain . . .
so indigenous
species interact within a dynamic and fully func-
tioning ecosystem in perpetuity while conserving
unique natural and cultural resources and maintain-
ing opportunities for compatible scientific, cultural,
social, and recreational activities’’. In this context,
and under the basic principles of multiple use and
sustained yield, other resource uses, such as livestock
grazing and recreation use, are allowed under the
management plan in the conservation area if they are
managed in a manner compatible with that primary
mission.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NATIONAL CONSERVA-
TION AREA.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSES.—To preserve the
nationally significant biological, geological, cultural, and
recreation values found in the Carrizo Plain, California,
as an enduring legacy of our heritage, and to secure for
future generations the opportunity to experience those val-
ues in an environment rich in biological diversity and nat-
ural beauty, the area described in subsection (b) is hereby
designated as the Carrizo Plain National Conservation
Area.
(b) AREA DESCRIBED.—
(1) BOUNDARY MAP.—The area referred to in
subsection (a) consists of approximately 250,000 acres
of lands and waters, and interests therein, as gen-
erally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Boundary Map,
Carrizo Plain National Conservation Area’’, dated
February 1999.
(2) LEGAL
DESCRIPTION.—As soon as prac-
ticable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall file a legal description of the conserva-
tion area with the Committee on Resources of the
House of Representatives and with the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate. Such
legal description shall have the same force and effect
as if included in this Act, subject to paragraph (3).
(3) REVISIONS
AND
CORRECTIONS.—The Sec-
retary may—
(A) make minor revisions in the boundary
of the conservation area; and
(B) correct clerical and typographical er-
rors in the map and legal description referred to
in paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively.
(4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall
keep the map and legal description referred to in
paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, on file and