106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 15
AN ACT
To designate a portion of the Otay Mountain region
of California as wilderness.
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 15
AN ACT
To designate a portion of the Otay Mountain region of
California as wilderness.
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 ‘‘Otay Mountain Wilder-
ness 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 en-
forcement 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 challenges 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 Cali-
fornia Desert District of the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment, California, comprising approximately 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 enactment of this Act, a map and a legal descrip-
tion for the Wilderness 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 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 Wilder-
ness Area shall be on file and available for public inspec-
tion in the offices of the Director and California State Di-
rector, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the
Interior.
(b) UNITED STATES-MEXICO BORDER.—In carrying
out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that the south-
ern 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 bound-
aries of the Southern Otay Mountain Wilderness Study
Area (CA–060–029) and the Western Otay Mountain Wil-
derness Study Area (CA–060–028) managed by the Bu-
reau of Land Management and reported to the Congress
in 1991, have been adequately studied for wilderness des-
ignation pursuant to section 603 of the Federal Land Pol-
icy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782), and
are no longer subject to the requirements contained in sec-
tion 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 subsection (b), the Wilderness Area shall be admin-
istered by the Secretary 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 ef-
fective 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 Sec-
retary 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 interdiction, border op-
erations, and wildland fire management operations are
common management actions throughout the area encom-
passing 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 enactment of this Act shall become part of the Wilder-
ness 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 Wilderness Area by this Act to lead to the creation
of protective perimeters or buffer zones around the Wil-
derness Area. The fact that nonwilderness activities or
uses can be seen or heard from areas within the Wilder-
ness Area shall not, of itself, preclude such activities 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 des-
ignated by section 3.
Passed the House of Representatives April 12, 1999.
Attest:
Clerk.