Title: Great Bend of the Gila National Monument Establishment Act
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Great Bend of the Gila National Monument Establishment Act
This bill establishes the Great Bend of the Gila National Monument in Arizona.
The Department of the Interior shall: (1) conduct an inventory of invasive plant species in the Monument, (2).develop a management plan for the Monument in government-to-government consultation with Indian tribes having a cultural or historic tie to the Great Bend of the Gila, and (3) allow scientific research within the Monument, including research for the preservation of its historic and cultural resources.
Interior may: (1) carry out vegetation management treatments within the Monument, including efforts to control salt cedar and other invasive plant species; and (2) conduct, or authorize other persons to conduct, research regarding the effects of climate change on the Monument's resources.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6521 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6521

To establish the Great Bend of the Gila National Monument in the State 
                  of Arizona, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2018

 Mr. Grijalva introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish the Great Bend of the Gila National Monument in the State 
                  of Arizona, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Great Bend of the 
Gila National Monument Establishment Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Establishment of Great Bend of the Gila National Monument, 
                            Arizona.
Sec. 3. Management of national monument.
Sec. 4. Management plan.
Sec. 5. Tribal use of national monument.
Sec. 6. Off-road use of motorized and mechanized vehicles.
Sec. 7. No military airspace restrictions.
Sec. 8. Research, education, and visitor services.
Sec. 9. Fish and wildlife.
Sec. 10. Land acquisition.
Sec. 11. Withdrawal.
Sec. 12. Effect on existing facilities and rights-of-way.
Sec. 13. Water rights.
Sec. 14. Advisory council.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF GREAT BEND OF THE GILA NATIONAL MONUMENT, 
              ARIZONA.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the State of Arizona 
the Great Bend of the Gila National Monument (in this Act referred to 
as the ``national monument'').
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the national monument is--
            (1) to preserve, protect, and restore the archaeological, 
        cultural, historic, geologic, hydrologic, natural, educational, 
        and scenic resources of the Great Bend of the Gila (Gila River 
        in Western Maricopa County, Arizona) and adjacent land; and
            (2) to provide for public interpretation and recreation 
        consistent with the resources described in paragraph (1).
    (c) Boundaries.--
            (1) In general.--The national monument consists of 
        approximately 84,296 acres of public lands and interests in 
        land administered by the Secretary of the Interior through the 
        Bureau of Land Management, as generally depicted on the map 
        entitled ``Great Bend of the Gila National Monument'' and dated 
        March 6, 2013.
            (2) Minor adjustments.--The Secretary may make minor 
        adjustments to the boundaries of the national monument to 
        reflect the inclusion of significant archaeological resources 
        discovered after the date of enactment of this Act on public 
        lands adjacent to the national monument.
            (3) Availability of map.--The map described in paragraph 
        (1) and the legal description of any adjustments made under 
        paragraph (2) shall be on file and available for public 
        inspection in the appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land 
        Management.
    (d) Adjacent Uses.--Nothing in this Act--
            (1) creates a protective perimeter or buffer zone around 
        the national monument; or
            (2) affects private property outside of the boundaries of 
        the national monument.

SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL MONUMENT.

    (a) National Landscape Conservation System.--The Secretary of the 
Interior shall manage the national monument as part of the National 
Landscape Conservation System--
            (1) to allow only such uses of the national monument as to 
        further the purposes for which the monument was established; 
        and
            (2) in accordance with this Act and other laws generally 
        applicable to the national monument, including the Native 
        American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 
        et seq.) and the policy described in Public Law 95-341 
        (commonly known as the American Indian Religious Freedom Act; 
        42 U.S.C. 1996).
    (b) Management Objectives.--In managing the national monument, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall--
            (1) maintain the undeveloped character of the national 
        monument to the maximum extent practicable; and
            (2) protect and restore cultural resources, species, and 
        ecosystems of the national monument.
    (c) Vegetation Management.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior--
                    (A) shall conduct an inventory of invasive plant 
                species in the national monument;
                    (B) may carry out vegetation management treatments, 
                including efforts to control salt cedar and other 
                invasive plant species, in the national monument; and
                    (C) shall coordinate vegetation management within 
                the national monument boundaries with ongoing efforts 
                to eradicate invasive species by the Flood Control 
                District of Maricopa County and neighboring 
                communities.
            (2) Use of native plant species.--The Secretary shall 
        utilize native plant species in planning for restoration 
        projects to be conducted in the national monument.
    (d) Grazing.--The Secretary shall permit grazing in the national 
monument, where grazing was established before the date of enactment of 
this Act--
            (1) subject to all applicable laws; and
            (2) consistent with the purposes for which the national 
        monument is established.
    (e) Backcountry Activities.--Management of the national monument 
shall support backcountry hunting and other non-motorized recreation in 
the national monument.

SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

    (a) Management Plan Required.--Not later than three years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
develop a management plan for the national monument that addresses the 
actions necessary to protect the resources described in section 
2(b)(1). The management plan shall include a transportation plan, 
including travel restrictions and road closures.
    (b) Consultation.--In addition to the period of public comment 
required by subsection (b), the Secretary of the Interior shall prepare 
the management plan in government-to-government consultation with 
Indian tribes with a cultural or historic tie to the Great Bend of the 
Gila.

SEC. 5. TRIBAL USE OF NATIONAL MONUMENT.

    (a) Traditional Uses.--The Secretary of the Interior shall allow 
for the continued use of the national monument by members of Indian 
tribes--
            (1) for traditional ceremonies; and
            (2) as a source of traditional plants and other materials.
    (b) Terms and Conditions.--Tribal use of the national monument 
under subsection (a) shall be--
            (1) subject to any terms and conditions the Secretary of 
        the Interior determines to be necessary to further the purposes 
        for which the national monument is established; and
            (2) in accordance with applicable law.
    (c) Tribal Rights.--Nothing in this Act affects--
            (1) the rights of any Indian tribe on Indian land;
            (2) any individually held trust land or Indian allotment; 
        or
            (3) any treaty rights providing for nonexclusive access to 
        or in the national monument by members of Indian tribes for 
        traditional and cultural purposes.

SEC. 6. OFF-ROAD USE OF MOTORIZED AND MECHANIZED VEHICLES.

    Except as needed for administrative purposes or to respond to an 
emergency, the use of motorized and mechanized vehicles in the national 
monument is limited to roads and trails designated for their use.

SEC. 7. NO MILITARY AIRSPACE RESTRICTIONS.

    Establishment of the national monument shall not be construed to 
impact or impose any altitude, flight, or other airspace restrictions 
on current or future military operations or missions. Should the Armed 
Forces require additional or modified airspace after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, Congress does not intend for the establishment 
of the national monument to impede the Secretary of Defense from 
petitioning the Federal Aviation Administration to change or expand 
restricted military airspace.

SEC. 8. RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND VISITOR SERVICES.

    (a) Education and Interpretation.--The Secretary of the Interior 
shall provide such minimal facilities within the national monument for 
education and interpretation, such as signage or other interpretive 
kiosks, as the Secretary considers necessary for visitor enjoyment of 
the national monument, while ensuring the protection of monument 
resources.
    (b) Visitor Center.--Any visitor center for the national monument 
shall be sited in a community in the vicinity of the national monument, 
rather than within the boundaries of the national monument.
    (c) Research Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall allow 
        scientific research to be conducted in the national monument, 
        including research to identify, protect, and preserve the 
        historic and cultural resources of the monument.
            (2) Climate change research.--The Secretary may conduct, or 
        authorize other persons to conduct, research regarding the 
        effects of climate change on monument resources to develop 
        management techniques to boost resiliency and facilitate 
        adaptation to human-caused climate change.

SEC. 9. FISH AND WILDLIFE.

    Nothing in this Act affects the jurisdiction of the State of 
Arizona with respect to the management of fish and wildlife on public 
lands in the State.

SEC. 10. LAND ACQUISITION.

    (a) Acquisition Authority.--The Secretary of the Interior may 
acquire land and any interest in land, State and private, within or 
adjacent to the boundaries of the national monument--
            (1) by purchase from willing sellers with donated or 
        appropriated funds;
            (2) by donation; or
            (3) by exchange.
    (b) Treatment of Acquired Land.--Land and interests in land 
acquired under the authority of subsection (a) shall automatically 
become part of the national monument.

SEC. 11. WITHDRAWAL.

    (a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights, all Federal land 
within the national monument (including any land or interest in land 
acquired after the date of enactment of this Act) is withdrawn from--
            (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land 
        laws;
            (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
            (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, 
        and geothermal leasing laws.
    (b) Renewable Energy Projects.--Subject to valid and existing 
rights, renewable energy and transmission development is prohibited in 
the national monument.

SEC. 12. EFFECT ON EXISTING FACILITIES AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY.

    Nothing in this Act terminates or limits any valid right-of-way 
within the Monument in existence on the date of the enactment of this 
Act (including the customary operation, maintenance, repair, relocation 
within an existing right-of-way, or replacement of energy transport 
facilities within an existing right-of-way), or other authorized right-
of-way.

SEC. 13. WATER RIGHTS.

    (a) In General.--Nothing in this shall affect, alter, or diminish 
the water rights, or claims or entitlements to water of the United 
States, the State of Arizona, or any irrigation or conservation 
district, canal company, entity or individual to the Gila River or any 
tributary thereto.
    (b) Reserved Water Rights.--The designation of the national 
monument does not imply or create a Federal reserved water right to the 
appropriable waters of the Gila River or any tributary thereto.

SEC. 14. ADVISORY COUNCIL.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish an advisory 
council, to be known as the ``Great Bend of the Gila National Monument 
Advisory Council''.
    (b) Duties.--
            (1) The Council shall advise the Secretary with respect to 
        the preparation and implementation of the management plan.
            (2) The Council shall advise, or create a subcommittee to 
        advise, on salt cedar/tamarisk removal within the monument.
    (c) Applicable Law.--The Council shall be subject to--
            (1) the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.); and
            (2) the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
        U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
    (d) Members.--The Council shall include members to be appointed by 
the Secretary. To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall appoint 
not more than 13 members from Category One and an additional 13 
members, in the aggregate, from Category Two, Category Three, and 
Category Four, who will represent the purposes for which the national 
monument was established and stakeholders who may have an interest in 
the planning and management of the national monument. The categories 
referred to in this subsection are the following:
            (1) Category one.--Representatives of affiliated tribes.
            (2) Category two.--Public land ranchers, irrigation 
        districts, and representatives of organizations associated with 
        agriculture, energy and mineral development, transportation or 
        rights-of-way, off-highway vehicle use, and commercial 
        recreation.
            (3) Category three.--Representatives of nationally or 
        regionally recognized environmental organizations, 
        archaeological and historical organizations, and dispersed 
        recreation activities.
            (4) Category four.--
                    (A) Representatives of State, county, or local 
                elected office.
                    (B) Representatives and employees of a State agency 
                responsible for the management of natural resources.
                    (C) Representatives and employees of academic 
                institutions who are involved in natural sciences.
                    (D) The public at large.
    (e) Representation.--The Secretary shall ensure that the membership 
of the Council is fairly balanced in terms of the points of view 
represented and the functions to be performed by the Council.
    (f) Duration.--The Council shall terminate on the date that is one 
year from the date on which the management plan is adopted by the 
Secretary.
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