H. R. 15
One Hundred Sixth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine
An Act
To designate a portion of the Otay Mountain region of California as wilderness.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Otay Mountain Wilderness Act
of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds and declares the following:
(1) The public lands within the Otay Mountain region
of California are one of the last remaining pristine locations
in western San Diego County, California.
(2) This rugged mountain adjacent to the United States-
Mexico border is internationally known for its diversity of
unique and sensitive plants.
(3) This area plays a critical role in San Diego’s multi-
species conservation plan, a national model made for
maintaining biodiversity.
(4) Due to its proximity to the international border, this
area is the focus of important law enforcement and border
interdiction efforts necessary to curtail illegal immigration and
protect the area’s wilderness values.
(5) The illegal immigration traffic, combined with the
rugged topography, also presents unique fire management chal-
lenges for protecting lives and resources.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION.
In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C.
1131 et seq.), certain public lands in the California Desert District
of the Bureau of Land Management, California, comprising approxi-
mately 18,500 acres as generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Otay
Mountain Wilderness’’ and dated May 7, 1998, are hereby des-
ignated as wilderness and therefore as a component of the National
Wilderness Preservation System, which shall be known as the Otay
Mountain Wilderness.
SEC. 4. MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the date of the
enactment of this Act, a map and a legal description for the Wilder-
ness Area shall be filed by the Secretary with the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee
on Resources of the House of Representatives. Such map and legal
description shall have the same force and effect as if included
H. R. 15—2
in this Act, except that the Secretary, as appropriate, may correct
clerical and typographical errors in such legal description and map.
Such map and legal description for the Wilderness Area shall be
on file and available for public inspection in the offices of the
Director and California State Director, Bureau of Land Manage-
ment, Department of the Interior.
(b) UNITED STATES-MEXICO BORDER.—In carrying out this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall ensure that the southern boundary of
the Wilderness Area is 100 feet north of the trail depicted on
the map referred to in subsection (a) and is at least 100 feet
from the United States-Mexico international border.
SEC. 5. WILDERNESS REVIEW.
The Congress hereby finds and directs that all the public lands
not designated wilderness within the boundaries of the Southern
Otay Mountain Wilderness Study Area (CA–060–029) and the
Western Otay Mountain Wilderness Study Area (CA–060–028) man-
aged by the Bureau of Land Management and reported to the
Congress in 1991, have been adequately studied for wilderness
designation pursuant to section 603 of the Federal Land Policy
and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782), and are no longer
subject to the requirements contained in section 603(c) of that
Act pertaining to the management of wilderness study areas in
a manner that does not impair the suitability of such areas for
preservation as wilderness.
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION OF WILDERNESS AREA.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights and to sub-
section (b), the Wilderness Area shall be administered by the Sec-
retary in accordance with the provisions of the Wilderness Act
(16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), except that—
(1) any reference in such provisions to the effective date
of the Wilderness Act is deemed to be a reference to the effective
date of this Act; and
(2) any reference in such provisions to the Secretary of
Agriculture is deemed to be a reference to the Secretary of
the Interior.
(b) BORDER ENFORCEMENT, DRUG INTERDICTION, AND WILDLAND
FIRE PROTECTION.—Because of the proximity of the Wilderness
Area to the United States-Mexico international border, drug inter-
diction, border operations, and wildland fire management operations
are common management actions throughout the area encompassing
the Wilderness Area. This Act recognizes the need to continue
such management actions so long as such management actions
are conducted in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C.
1131 et seq.) and are subject to such conditions as the Secretary
considers appropriate.
SEC. 7. FURTHER ACQUISITIONS.
Any lands within the boundaries of the Wilderness Area that
are acquired by the United States after the date of the enactment
of this Act shall become part of the Wilderness Area and shall
be managed in accordance with all the provisions of this Act and
other laws applicable to such a wilderness.
SEC. 8. NO BUFFER ZONES.
The Congress does not intend for the designation of the Wilder-
ness Area by this Act to lead to the creation of protective perimeters
H. R. 15—3
or buffer zones around the Wilderness Area. The fact that non-
wilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard from areas
within the Wilderness Area shall not, of itself, preclude such activi-
ties or uses up to the boundary of the Wilderness Area.
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act:
(1) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public lands’’ has the same
meaning as that term has in section 103(e) of the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(3) WILDERNESS AREA.—The term ‘‘Wilderness Area’’ means
the Otay Mountain Wilderness designated by section 3.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.