Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act of 2007

Bill: 110-s-647
Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2007-02-15 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Agriculture and Food
Animals
Biomass energy
Bridges
Building laws
Commemorations
Commerce
Concessions
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Conservation easements
Disabled
Disaster relief
Easements
Economic development
Economic impact statements
Economics and Public Finance
Electric power transmission
Emergency Management
Endangered species
Energy
Environmental Protection
Environmental assessment
Federal-Indian relations
Federal-local relations
Fire prevention
Forest conservation
Forest fires
Forest health
Forest management
Forest roads
Government Operations and Politics
Governmental investigations
Habitat conservation
Housing and Community Development
Indian economic development
Indian lands
Infrastructure
Insect control
Intermodal transportation
Land transfers
Landscape protection
Law
Licenses
Lumber trade
Minorities
Mountains
Names
National forests
National recreation areas
Native Americans
Oregon
Outdoor recreation
Restoration ecology
Right-of-way
Road construction
Roads and highways
Skiing
Sports and Recreation
Sports facilities
Standards
Timber sales
Trails
Transportation and Public Works
Transportation and the disabled
Transportation planning
Tree diseases
Trees
User charges
Water Resources Development
Water rights
Watersheds
Wild rivers
Wilderness areas

Summary:
action_date: 2007-02-15
text: 
Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act of 2007 - Designates specified wilderness additions in Oregon as wilderness areas and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. 
 
Designates the Richard L. Kohnstamm Memorial Area as the "Richard L. Kohnstamm Wilderness." 
 
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary concerned) to construct a system of defensible fuel profile zones between the wilderness boundary and community boundary around Cascade Locks and Government Camp. 
 
Directs such Secretaries to identify Oregon and California railroad land within the boundary of Clackamas Wilderness subject to provisions governing the annual distribution of moneys from the Oregon and California land-grant fund. 
 
Designates specified segments of creeks and rivers in Mount Hood National Forest as components of the national wild and scenic rivers system. 
 
 Establishes the Mount Hood National Recreation Area within Mount Hood National Forest. 
 
Directs the Secretary concerned to participate with the State of Oregon, local governments, and other federal agencies in the development of an integrated, multimodal transportation plan for the Mount Hood Region. 
 
 Requires the Oregon Department of Transportation to conduct a study regarding a specified gondola connection and intermodal transportation center. 
 
Authorizes the Secretary concerned to provide funds to Cascade Locks and Hood River County to bury ground power lines adjacent to Mount Hood Wilderness areas. 
 
Excludes any part of any state highway from wilderness under this Act. 
 
Requires separate land exchanges: (1) involving specified Cooper Spur and Government Camp land; (2) regarding the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail; and (3) regarding Hunchback Mountain land. 
 
 Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) prepare a specified forest stewardship assessment; and (2) conduct a study to assess the amount of sustainable biomass available in Mount Hood. Authorizes such Secretary to complete memoranda of understanding that outline watershed management goals. 
 
Requires the establishment of: (1) a Crystal Springs watershed special resources management unit; and (2) priority-use areas in Mount Hood for the gathering of first foods by Indian tribe members. 
 
Authorizes such Secretary to use funds received from the special account established by this Act to support recreation purposes related to Mount Hood. 
 
Directs such Secretary to establish the Mount Hood National Forest Recreational Working Group. 
 
Sets forth provisions for the consideration of forest road conversion. 
 
Authorizes the construction of a trail in Mount Hood suitable for use by persons with disabilities. 

action_date: 2007-09-17
text: 
Lewis and Clark Mount Hood Wilderness Act of 2007 - 
Title I: Protected Areas 
- 
Subtitle A: Designation of Wilderness Areas 
- (Sec. 101) Designates specified wilderness additions in Oregon as wilderness areas and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. 

(Sec. 102) Designates certain federal land as the "Richard L. Kohnstamm Memorial Area.&quot; 
 
(Sec. 103) Designates certain federal land on the Roaring River Wilderness map as a potential wilderness area. 
 
Requires the inclusion of: (1) certain federal land in the Mount Hood Wilderness upon the completion of the Cooper Spur-Government Camp land exchange under section 202; and (2) certain land in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness upon acquisition by the United States. 

(Sec. 104) Requires the boundaries of the areas designated as wilderness by section 101 that are immediately adjacent to a utility right-of-way or a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) project boundary to be 100 feet from the boundary of the right-of-way or the project boundary. 

(Sec. 106) Declares Congress's intention with regard to: (1) protective perimeters or buffer zones around the wilderness areas designated under this title; and (2) nonwilderness activities or uses up to the boundaries of such areas. 

(Sec. 107) Prohibits anything in this Act from affecting the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the state of Oregon with respect to fish and wildlife.

(Sec. 108) Authorizes necessary measures to control fire, insects, and diseases within the wilderness areas designated by this Act. 

(Sec. 109) Withdraws the federal land designated as wilderness by this subtitle from all forms of: (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and (3) disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials. 

Subtitle B: Designation of Streams for Wild and Scenic River Protection in the Mount Hood Area 
- (Sec. 111) Designates specified segments of creeks and rivers in Mount Hood National Forest as components of the national wild and scenic rivers system.

(Sec. 112) Amends the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act to permanently protect the Hood River, Oregon.

Subtitle C: Mount Hood National Recreation Area 
- (Sec. 121) Establishes the Mount Hood National Recreation Area within Mount Hood National Forest. 

Permits the cutting, sale, or removal of timber within the Area for specified purposes. Bars the construction of new or temporary roads within the Area except as necessary, including to: (1) protect the health and safety of individuals; and (2) conduct environmental cleanup required by the government.

 Withdraws all federal land within the Area from: (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and (3) disposition under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing. 

Transfers administrative jurisdiction from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over certain BLM land within or adjacent to the Area to the Forest Service. 

Subtitle D: Protections for Crystal Springs, Upper Big Bottom, and Cultus Creek 
- (Sec. 131) Requires, upon completion of the Cooper Spur-Government Camp land exchange, the establishment of a Crystal Springs Watershed Special Resources Management Unit. Excludes from the Unit certain land that is designated as wilderness by subtitle A. 

Withdraws the federal land designated as the Unit from all forms of: (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, except parcel HES 151; (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and (3) disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials. 

Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) to conduct fuel reduction and forest health management treatments to maintain and restore specified fire-resilient forest structures as ecologically appropriate, on National Forest System (NFS) land in the Unit. 

Specifies prohibited activities on NFS land in the Unit.
 
Permits closure to the public of forest roads within the Unit. 
 
Prohibits anything in this section from: (1) requiring the Secretary to close Cloud Cap Road; and (2) affecting the use of, or access to, private property within the Crystal Springs zone of contribution. 

Authorizes the Secretary to acquire from willing landowners any land located within the zone of contribution. Requires any acquired land to be included in the Unit. 

(Sec. 132) Directs the Secretary to manage the federal lands known as Upper Big Bottom and Cultus Creek in a manner that preserves the natural and primitive character of such lands for recreational, scenic, and scientific use.

Specifies the prohibited uses of such lands.

Withdraws such lands from all forms of: (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and (3) disposition under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing. 

Title II: Land Exchanges 
- 
Subtitle A: Cooper Spur-Government Camp Land Exchange 
- (Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary, if Mt. Hood Meadows Oregon, Limited Partnership offers to convey to the United States a specified parcel of private land at Cooper Spur and any buildings, furniture, fixtures, and equipment at the Inn at Cooper Spur and the Cooper Spur Ski Area (the nonfederal land) covered by an appraisal conducted pursuant to this section, to convey to Mt. Hood Meadows specified NFS land in the Mount Hood National Forest in Government Camp, Clackamas County, Oregon (the federal land). 

Sets forth requirements for an appraisal of the federal and non-federal lands.

Provides for reservation by the Secretary of specified conservation and trail easements.

Subtitle B: Port of Cascade Locks Land Exchange 
- (Sec. 212) Directs the Secretary, if the Port of Cascade Locks, Cascade Locks, Oregon, offers to convey to the United States specified parcels of land (the non-federal land), to convey to the Port a parcel of NFS land in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area (the federal land).

Sets forth requirements for an appraisal of the federal and non-federal lands.

Subtitle C: Hunchback Mountain Land Exchange and Boundary Adjustment 
- (Sec. 222) Directs the Secretary, if Clackamus County offers to convey to the United States a specified parcel of land (the non-federal land) to convey to the County a parcel of NFS land in Mount Hood National Forest (the federal land). 

Sets forth requirements for an appraisal of the federal and non-federal lands.

(Sec. 233) Adjusts the boundary of Mount Hood National Forest to include: (1) any land conveyed to the United States under such land exchange; and (2) the BLM land transferred to the Forest Service under section 121. 

Subtitle D: Conditions on Development of Federal Land 
- (Sec. 231) Requires the Secretary, as a condition of each of the federal land conveyances under this title, to include in the deed of conveyance a requirement that applicable construction activities and alterations be conducted according to: (1) nationally recognized building and property maintenance codes; and (2) nationally recognized codes for development in the wildland-urban interface and wildfire hazard mitigation. 

Instructs the Secretary to ensure that applicable construction activities and alterations undertaken or permitted by the Secretary on NFS land in Mount Hood National Forest are conducted according to those codes. 

Title III: Tribal Provisions; Planning and Studies 
- (Sec. 301) Directs the Secretary to seek to participate in the development of an integrated, multimodal transportation plan developed by the Oregon Department of Transportation for the Mount Hood Region to achieve comprehensive solutions to transportation challenges in order to: (1) promote economic development; (2) preserve the landscape of the Mount Hood Region; and (3) enhance public safety. 

Specifies the issues to be addressed by the Secretary in the development of the transportation plan, including the feasibility of establishing: (1) a gondola connection that connects Timberline Lodge to Government Camp and is in close proximity to the site of the historic gondola corridor; and (2) an intermodal transportation center in close proximity to Government Camp.

(Sec. 302) Directs the Secretary to submit to specified congressional committees a report on and an implementation schedule for the vegetation management strategy (including recommendations for biomass utilization) for Mount Hood National Forest being developed by the Forest Service. 
 
(Sec. 303) Directs the Secretary, in consultation with certain Indian tribes with treaty-reserved gathering rights on land encompassed by Mount Hood National Forest and in a manner consistent with a specified memorandum of understanding to develop and implement a management plan that meets the cultural foods obligations of the United States under applicable treaties.
 
 Specifies this subtitle's effect with regard to: (1) the treaty rights of Indian tribes; and (2) Indian trust land or certain land acquired for the benefit of Indian tribes and individual members of tribes. 
 
(Sec. 304) Authorizes the Secretary to establish a working group for the purpose of providing advice and recommendations to the Forest Service on planning and implementing recreation enhancements in Mount Hood National Forest. 

Requires considering the conversion of Forest Service roads in Mount Hood National Forest to recreational uses. 

Authorizes the construction of a trail in Mount Hood National Forest suitable for use by persons with disabilities. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2007-09-17
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 370.
action_date: 2007-09-17
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Bingaman with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 110-172.
action_date: 2007-09-17
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Reported by Senator Bingaman with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 110-172.
action_date: 2007-07-25
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2007-05-03
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 110-91.
action_date: 2007-02-15
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2091-2099)
action_date: 2007-02-15
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2088-2091)
action_date: 2007-02-15
text: Introduced in Senate