IB
Union Calendar No. 563
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2941
[Report No. 106–934]
To establish the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area in the State
of Arizona.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 24, 1999
Mr. KOLBE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Resources
OCTOBER 4, 2000
Additional sponsor: Mr. PASTOR
OCTOBER 4, 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 September 24, 1999]
A BILL
To establish the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area
in the State of Arizona.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SONOITA VALLEY
CONSERVATION PLANNING DISTRICT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to promote cooperation,
conservation, and scientific research within the Sonoita
Valley region of the State of Arizona, there is hereby estab-
lished the Sonoita Valley Conservation Planning District.
(b) AREAS INCLUDED.—The Conservation Planning
District shall consist of approximately 136,900 acres of
land in the Arizona counties of Pima and Santa Cruz, in-
cluding the Conservation Area, as generally depicted on the
map entitled ‘‘Sonoita Valley Conservation Planning Dis-
trict and Las Cienegas National Conservation Area’’ and
dated September 11, 2000.
(c) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—As soon as prac-
ticable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall submit to Congress a map and legal description
of the Conservation Planning District. In case of a conflict
between the map referred to in subsection (b) and the map
and legal description submitted by the Secretary, the map
referred to in subsection (b) shall control. The map and
legal description shall have the same force and effect as if
included in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct
clerical and typographical errors in such map and legal
description. Copies of the map and legal description shall
be on file and available for public inspection in the Office
of the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, and
in the appropriate office of the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment in Arizona.
SEC. 2. MANAGEMENT OF THE CONSERVATION PLANNING
DISTRICT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the Bureau
of Land Management, shall administer the public lands
within the Conservation Planning District pursuant to this
Act and the applicable provisions of the Federal Land Pol-
icy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)
and subject to valid existing rights. The Secretary shall
allow such uses of the public lands as the Secretary deter-
mines will further the purposes described in section 1(a)
for which the Conservation Planning District was estab-
lished.
(b) FISH AND WILDLIFE.—Nothing in this Act shall
be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or responsibilities
of the State of Arizona with respect to fish and wildlife
within the Conservation Planning District.
(c) PROTECTION OF STATE AND PRIVATE LANDS AND
INTERESTS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed as af-
fecting any property rights of any lands or interest in lands
held by the State of Arizona, any political subdivision of
the State of Arizona, or any private property rights within
the boundaries of the Conservation Planning District.
(A) 2 members appointed from nominees
submitted by permitees holding grazing allot-
ments within the Conservation Planning Dis-
trict;
(B) 2 members interested in natural re-
source conservation;
(C) 2 members interested in recreational ac-
tivities;
(D) 2 members representing community
group interests;
(E) 1 member representing general local
and regional interests;
(F) 1 member appointed from nominees
submitted by the Pima County Board of Super-
visors; and
(G) 1 member appointed from nominees
submitted by the Santa Cruz County Board of
Supervisors.
(3) 
TERMINATION.—Notwithstanding 
section
14(a) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Ad-
visory Council shall terminate 10 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAS CIENEGAS NATIONAL
CONSERVATION AREA.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In order to conserve, protect, and
enhance for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future
generations the unique and nationally important aquatic,
wildlife, vegetative, archaeological, paleontological, sci-
entific, cave, cultural, historical, recreational, educational,
scenic, rangeland, and riparian resources and values of the
public lands described in subsection (b) while allowing live-
stock grazing and recreation to continue in appropriate
areas, there is hereby established the Las Cienegas National
Conservation Area in the State of Arizona.
(b) AREAS INCLUDED.—The Conservation Area shall
consist of approximately 42,000 acres of public lands in
the Arizona counties of Pima and Santa Cruz, as generally
depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Sonoita Valley Conservation
Planning District and Las Cienegas National Conservation
Area’’ and dated September 11, 2000.
(c) MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—As soon as prac-
ticable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall submit to Congress a map and legal description
of the Conservation Area. In case of a conflict between the
map referred to in subsection (b) and the map and legal
description submitted by the Secretary, the map referred to
in subsection (b) shall control. The map and legal descrip-
tion shall have the same force and effect as if included in
this Act, except that the Secretary may correct clerical and
typographical errors in such map and legal description.
Copies of the map and legal description shall be on file and
available for public inspection in the Office of the Director
of the Bureau of Land Management, and in the appropriate
office of the Bureau of Land Management in Arizona.
(d) FOREST LANDS.—Any lands included in the Coro-
nado National Forest that are located within the boundaries
of the Conservation Area shall be considered to be a part
of the Conservation Area. The Secretary of Agriculture shall
revise the boundaries of the Coronado National Forest to
reflect the exclusion of such lands from the Coronado Na-
tional Forest.
SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT OF THE LAS CIENEGAS NATIONAL
CONSERVATION AREA.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage the
Conservation Area in a manner that conserves, protects,
and enhances its resources and values, including the re-
sources and values specified in section 3(a), pursuant to
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and other applicable law, including
this Act.
(b) USES.—The Secretary shall allow only such uses
of the Conservation Area as the Secretary finds will further
the purposes for which the Conservation Area is established
as set forth in section 3(a).
(c) GRAZING.—The Secretary of the Interior shall per-
mit grazing subject to all applicable laws, regulations, and
Executive Orders consistent with the purposes of this Act.
(d) MOTORIZED VEHICLES.—Except where needed for
administrative purposes or to respond to an emergency, use
of motorized vehicles on public lands in the Conservation
Area shall be allowed only—
(1) before the effective date of a management
plan prepared pursuant to section 5, on roads and
trails designated for use of motorized vehicles in the
management plan that applies on the date of the en-
actment of this Act; and
(2) after the effective date of a management plan
prepared pursuant to section 5, on roads and trails
designated for use of motor vehicles in that manage-
ment plan.
(e) MILITARY AIRSPACE.—Prior to the date of the en-
actment of this Act the Federal Aviation Administration
approved restricted military airspace (Areas 2303A and
2303B) which covers portions of the Conservation Area.
Designation of the Conservation Area shall not impact or
impose any altitude, flight, or other airspace restrictions
on current or future military operations or missions.
Should the military require additional or modified airspace
in the future, the Congress does not intend for the designa-
tion of the Conservation Area to impede the military from
petitioning the Federal Aviation Administration to change
or expand existing restricted military airspace.
(f) ACCESS TO STATE AND PRIVATE LANDS.—Nothing
in this Act shall affect valid existing rights-of-way within
the Conservation Area. The Secretary shall provide reason-
able access to nonfederally owned lands or interest in lands
within the boundaries of the Conservation Area.
(g) HUNTING.—Hunting shall be allowed within the
Conservation Area in accordance with applicable laws and
regulations of the United States and the State of Arizona,
except that the Secretary, after consultation with the Ari-
zona State wildlife management agency, may issue regula-
tions designating zones where and establishing periods when
no hunting shall be permitted for reasons of public safety,
administration, or public use and enjoyment.
(h) PREVENTATIVE MEASURES.—Nothing in this Act
shall preclude such measures as the Secretary determines
necessary to prevent devastating fire or infestation of in-
sects or disease within the Conservation Area.
(i) NO BUFFER ZONES.—The establishment of the
Conservation Area shall not lead to the creation of protec-
tive perimeters or buffer zones around the Conservation
Area. The fact that there may be activities or uses on lands
outside the Conservation Area that would not be permitted
in the Conservation Area shall not preclude such activities
or uses on such lands up to the boundary of the Conserva-
tion Area consistent with other applicable laws.
(j) WITHDRAWALS.—Subject to valid existing rights all
Federal lands within the Conservation Area and all lands
and interest therein which are hereafter acquired by the
United States are hereby withdrawn from all forms of
entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land
laws and from location, entry, and patent under the mining
laws, and from operation of the mineral leasing and geo-
thermal leasing laws and all amendments thereto.
SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN.
(a) PLAN REQUIRED.—Not later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, through
the Bureau of Land Management, shall develop and begin
to implement a comprehensive management plan for the
long-term management of the public lands within the Con-
servation Area, in coordination with the management of the
Conservation Planning District, in order to fulfill the pur-
poses for which they are established, as set forth in sections
3(a) and 1(a), respectively. Consistent with the provisions
of this Act, the management plan shall be developed—
(1) in consultation with appropriate depart-
ments of the State of Arizona, including wildlife and
land management agencies, with full public partici-
pation, and with the recommendations and advice of
the Advisory Council;
(2) from the draft Empire-Cienega Ecosystem
Management Plan/EIS, dated October 2000, as it ap-
plies to Federal lands or lands with conservation
easements; and
(3) in accordance with the resource goals and ob-
jectives developed through the Sonoita Valley Plan-
ning Partnership process as incorporated in the draft
Empire-Cienega Ecosystem Management Plan/EIS,
dated October 2000, giving full consideration to the
management alternative preferred by the Sonoita Val-
ley Planning Partnership, as it applies to Federal
lands or lands with conservation easements.
(b) 
CONTENTS.—The 
management 
plan 
shall
include—
(1) provisions designed to ensure the protection
of the resources and values described in sections 1(a)
and 3(a);
(2) an implementation plan for a continuing
program of interpretation and public education about
the resources and values of the Conservation Area;
(3) a proposal for minimal administrative and
public facilities to be developed or improved at a level
compatible with achieving the resource objectives for
the Conservation Area and with the other proposed
management activities to accommodate visitors to the
Conservation Area;
(4) cultural resources management strategies for
the Conservation Area, prepared in consultation with
appropriate departments of the State of Arizona, with
emphasis on the preservation of the resources of the
Conservation Area and the interpretive, educational,
and long-term scientific uses of these resources, giving
priority to the enforcement of the Archaeological Re-
sources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et
seq.) and the National Historic Preservation Act (16
U.S.C. 470 et seq.) within the Conservation Area;
(5) wildlife management strategies for the Con-
servation Area, prepared in consultation with appro-
priate departments of the State of Arizona and using
previous studies of the Conservation Area;
(6) production livestock grazing management
strategies, prepared in consultation with appropriate
departments of the State of Arizona;
(7) provisions designed to ensure the protection
of livestock uses of the lands included in the Conserva-
tion Area;
(8) recreation management strategies, including
motorized and nonmotorized dispersed recreation op-
portunities for the Conservation Area, prepared in
consultation with appropriate departments of the
State of Arizona;
(9) cave resources management strategies pre-
pared in compliance with the goals and objectives of
the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act of 1988 (16
U.S.C. 4301 et seq.); and
(10) provisions designed to ensure that if a road
or trail located on public lands within the Conserva-
tion Area, or any portion of such a road or trail, is
removed, consideration shall be given to providing
similar alternative access to the portion of the Con-
servation Area serviced by such removed road or trail.
(c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—In order to better
implement the management plan, the Secretary may enter
into cooperative agreements with appropriate Federal,
State, and local agencies pursuant to section 307(b) of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
U.S.C. 1737(b)).
(d) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—In order to assist in the
development and implementation of the management plan,
the Secretary may authorize appropriate research, includ-
ing research concerning the environmental, biological,
hydrological, cultural, agricultural, recreational, and other
characteristics, resources, and values of the Conservation
Area, pursuant to section 307(a) of the Federal Land Policy
and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1737(a)).
SEC. 6. LAND ACQUISITION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—
(1) PRIORITY TO CONSERVATION EASEMENTS.—
In acquiring lands or interest in lands under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give priority to such acquisi-
tions in the form of conservation easements.
(2) PRIVATE LANDS.—The Secretary is author-
ized to acquire privately held lands or interest in
lands within the boundaries of the Conservation Plan-
ning District only from a willing seller through dona-
tion, exchange, or purchase.
(3) COUNTY LANDS.—The Secretary is author-
ized to acquire county lands or interest in lands with-
in the boundaries of the Conservation Planning Dis-
trict only with the consent of the county through do-
nation, exchange, or purchase.
(4) STATE LANDS.—The Secretary is authorized
to acquire lands or interest in lands owned by the
State of Arizona located within the boundaries of the
Conservation Planning District only with the consent
of the State by donation, exchange, purchase, or emi-
nent domain.
(A) CONSIDERATION.—As consideration for
the acquisitions by the United States of lands or
interest in such lands under this subsection, the
Secretary shall pay fair market value for such
lands or shall convey to the State of Arizona all
or some interest in Federal lands (including
buildings and other improvements on such lands
or other Federal property other than real prop-
erty) or any other asset of equal value within the
State of Arizona.
(B) TRANSFER OF JURISDICTION.—All Fed-
eral agencies are authorized to transfer jurisdic-
tion of Federal lands or interest in lands (in-
cluding buildings and other improvements on
such lands or other Federal property other than
real property) or any other asset within the
State of Arizona to the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment for the purpose of acquiring lands or inter-
est in lands as provided for in this subsection.
(b) MANAGEMENT OF ACQUIRED LANDS.—Lands ac-
quired under this section shall, upon acquisition, become
part of the Conservation Area and shall be administered
as part of the Conservation Area. These lands shall be man-
aged in accordance with this Act, other applicable laws, and
the management plan.
SEC. 7. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.
(a) PROTECTION OF CERTAIN LANDS.—Not later than
2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall submit to Congress a report with recommenda-
tions on the most effective measures to protect the lands
within the Rincon Valley, Colossal Cave area, and Agua
Verde Creek corridor north of Interstate 10 to provide an
ecological link to Saguaro National Park and the Rincon
Mountains and contribute to local government conservation
priorities.
(b) IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS ACT.—Not later than
5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, and at
least at the end of every 10-year period thereafter, the Sec-
retary shall submit to Congress a report describing the im-
plementation of this Act, the condition of the resources and
values of the Conservation Area, and the progress of the Sec-
retary in achieving the purposes for which the Conservation
Area is established as set forth in section 3(a).