I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 698
To protect Lechuguilla Cave and other resources and values in and adjacent
to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 27, 1993
Mr. VENTO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources
A BILL
To protect Lechuguilla Cave and other resources and values
in and adjacent to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND FINDINGS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Lechuguilla Cave Protection Act of 1993’’.
(b) FINDING.—Congress finds and declares that
Lechuguilla Cave and the other resources of Carlsbad Cav-
erns National Park and adjacent public lands have inter-
nationally-significant scientific, environmental, and other
values that should be retained in public ownership and
protected against adverse effects of mineral exploration
and development and other activities presenting threats to
those values.
SEC. 2. LAND WITHDRAWAL.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights,
the lands referred to in subsection (b), and all other lands
within the boundaries of the area specified on the map
referred to in such subsection which may become subject
to the operation of the public land laws, are hereby with-
drawn from all forms of appropriation under the public
land laws (including the mining laws) and from the oper-
ation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws.
(b) LAND DESCRIPTION.—The lands referred to in
subsection (a) are the public lands comprising approxi-
mately 5100 acres in Eddy County, New Mexico, as gen-
erally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Dark Canyon Cave
Protection Area’’, dated January 1993, and filed in ac-
cordance with subsection (c).
(c) PUBLICATION AND FILING.—As soon as possible
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of the Interior shall publish in the Federal Register a no-
tice containing the legal description of the lands with-
drawn by subsection (a), and shall file such legal descrip-
tion and a detailed map of the lands referred to in such
subsection with the Committee on Natural Resources of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on En-
ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
(d) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—The map and legal
description referred to in subsection (b), shall have the
same force and effect as if they were included in this Act
except that the Secretary of the Interior may correct cleri-
cal and typographical errors in such map and legal de-
scription.
(e) PUBLIC INSPECTION.—Copies of the map and
legal description referred to in subsection (b), shall be
available for public inspection in the offices of the Director
and appropriate State Director of the Bureau of Land
Management.
(f) MANAGEMENT.—The lands withdrawn by this sec-
tion shall be managed by the Secretary of the Interior,
acting through the Bureau of Land Management, pursu-
ant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 and following) and other applicable
provisions of law, including this Act.
SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT OF EXISTING LEASES.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec-
retary of the Interior shall not permit the holder of any
mineral lease affecting lands withdrawn by section 2 or
any adjacent public lands in New Mexico that are man-
aged pursuant to section 603 of the Federal Land Policy
and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782) to carry
out any drilling or other activities on such lands that could
have any adverse effects on Lechuguilla Cave or any other
cave resources located within Carlsbad Caverns National
Park or within the lands withdrawn by section 2.
Æ