James Peak Wilderness and Protection Area Act
PL 107-216 (H.R.1576), enacted 08/21/2002

PUBLIC LAW 107-216—AUG. 21, 2002 
116 STAT. 1055 
16 u s e 539/. 
Public Law 107-216 
107th Congress 
An Act 
To designate the James Peak Wilderness and Protection Area in the Arapaho 
Aug. 21, 2002 
and Roosevelt National Forests in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes. 
[HR 1576] 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
James Peak 
Wilderness and 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
Protection Act. 
This Act may be cited as the "James Peak Wilderness and 
Protection Area Act". 
SEC. 2. WILDERNESS DESIGNATION. 
(a) INCLUSION WITH OTHER COLORADO WILDERNESS AREAS.— 
Section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (Public Law 
103-77; 107 Stat. 756; 16 U.S.C. 1132 note) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraph: 
"(21) Certain lands in the Arapaho/Roosevelt National 
Forest which comprise approximately 14,000 acres, as generally 
depicted on a map entitled 'Proposed James Pesik Wilderness', 
dated September 2001, and which shall be known as the James 
Peak Wilderness.". 
(b) ADDITION TO THE INDIAN PEAKS WILDERNESS AREA.—Section 
3 of the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area and ArapEiho National 
Recreation Area and the Oregon Islands Wilderness Area Act 
(Public Law 95-450; 92 Stat. 1095; 16 U.S.C. 1132 note) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsections: 
"(c) The approximately 2,232 acres of Federal lands in the 
Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest generally depicted on the map 
entitled 'Ranch Creek Addition to Indian Peaks Wilderness' dated 
September 2001, are hereby added to the Indian Peaks Wilderness 
Area. 
"(d) The approximately 963 acres of Federal lands in the 
Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest generally depicted on the map 
entitled 'Fourth of July Addition to Indian Peaks Wilderness' dated 
September 2001, are hereby added to the Indian Peaks Wilderness 
Area.". 
(c) MAPS AND BOUNDARY DESCRIPTIONS.—^As soon as practicable 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri-
culture (hereafter in this Act referred to as the "Secretary") shall 
file with the Committee on Resources of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
the Senate a map £ind a boundary description of the eirea designated 
as wilderness by subsection (a) and of the area added to the Indian 
Peaks Wilderness Area by subsection (b). The maps and boundary 
descriptions shall have the same force and effect as if included 
in the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 £ind the Indian Peaks 
116 STAT. 1056 
PUBLIC LAW 107-216—AUG. 21, 2002 
Wilderness Area and Arapaho National Recreation Area and the 
Oregon Islands Wilderness Area Act, respectively, except that the 
Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in the maps 
and boimdary descriptions. The maps and boundary descriptions 
shall be on file and available for public inspection in the office 
of the Chief of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture and 
in the office of the Forest Supervisor of the Arapaho/Roosevelt 
National Forest. 
16 use 539/. 
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF JAMES PEAK PROTECTION AREA, COLORADO. 
(a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 
(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 
(A) The lands covered by this section include important 
resources and values, including wildlife habitat, clean 
water, open space, and opportunities for solitude. 
(B) These lands also include areas that are suitable 
for recreational uses, including use of snowmobiles in times 
of adequate snow cover as well as use of other motorized 
and nonmotorized mechanical devices. 
(C) These lands should be managed in a way that 
affords permanent protection to their resources and values 
while permitting continued recreational uses in appropriate 
locales and subject to appropriate regulations. 
(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to provide 
for management of certain l2inds in the Arapaho/Roosevelt 
National Forest in a manner consistent with the 1997 Revised 
Land and Resources Management Plan for this forest in order 
to protect the natural qualities of these areas. 
(b) DESIGNATION.—The approximately 16,000 acres of land in 
the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest generally depicted on the 
map entitled "Proposed James Peak Protection Area", dated Sep-
tember 2001, are hereby designated as the James Peak Protection 
Area (hereafter in this Act referred to as the "Protection Area"). 
(c) MAP AND BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION.—As soon as practicable 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shadl 
file with the Committee on Resources of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
the Senate a map and a boundary description of the Protection 
Area. The map and boundeuy description shall have the same 
force and effect as if included in this Act, except that the Secretary 
may correct clerical and typographical errors in the map and 
boundary description. The map and boundary description shall be 
on file and available for public inspection in the office of the Chief 
of the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, and in the office 
of the Forest Supervisor of the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest. 
(d) MANAGEMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in this sec-
tion, the Protection Area shall be managed and administered 
by the Secretsuy in the same manner as the management 
area prescription designations identified for these lands in the 
1997 Revision of the Land and Resource Management Plan 
for the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest and the Pawnee 
Nationed Grasslands. Such management and administration 
shall be in accordance with the following: 
(A) GRAZING.—Nothing in this Act, including the 
establishment of the Protection Area, shall affect grazing 
on lands within or outside of the Protection Area. 
PUBLIC LAW 107-216—AUG. 21, 2002 
116 STAT. 1057 
(B) MINING WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing 
rights, all Federal land within the Protection Area and 
all land and interests in land acquired for the Protection 
Area by the United States are withdrawn from— 
(i) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal 
under the public land laws; 
(ii) location, entry, and patent under the mining 
laws; and 
(iii) the operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 
materials, and geothermal leasing laws, and all amend-
ments thereto. 
Nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to affect 
discretionary authority of the Secretary under other Fed-
eral laws to grant, issue, or renew rights-of-way or other 
land use authorizations consistent with the other provisions 
of this Act. 
(C) MOTORIZED AND MECHANIZED TRAVEL.— 
(i) REVIEW AND INVENTORY.—Not later than two Deadline, 
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary, in consultation with interested parties, 
shall complete a review and inventory of all roads 
and trails in the Protection Area on which use was 
allowed on September 10, 2001, except those lands 
managed under the management prescription referred 
to in subparagraph (F). During the review and inven-
tory, the Secretary may— 
(I) connect existing roads and trails in the 
inventoried area to other existing roads and trails 
in the inventoried area for the purpose of mecha-
nized and other nonmotorized use on any lands 
within the Protection Area as long as there is 
no net gain in the total mileage of either roads 
or trails open for public use within the Protection 
Area; and 
(II) close or remove roads or trails within the 
Protection Area that the Secretary determines to 
be undesirable, except those roads or trails man-
aged pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection 
or subsection (e)(3). 
(ii) 
AFTER 
COMPLETION OF INVENTORY.—After 
completion of the review and inventory required by 
clause (i), the Secretary shall ensure that motorized 
and mechanized travel within the Protection Area shall 
be permitted only on those roads and trails identified 
as open to use in the inventory or established pursuant 
to subparagraph (D). 
(D) NEW ROADS AND TRAILS.—No new roads or trails 
shall be established within the Protection Area except those 
which the Secretary shall establish as follows: 
(i) Roads and trails established to replace roads 
or trails of the same character and scope which have 
become nonserviceable through reasons other than 
neglect. 
(ii) Nonpermanent roads as needed for hazardous 
fuels reduction or other control of fire, insect or disease 
control projects, or other management purposes. 
116 STAT. 1058 
PUBLIC LAW 107-216—AUG. 21, 2002 
Applicability. 
(iii) Roads determined to be appropriate for reason-
able access under section 4(b)(2). 
(iv) A loop trail established pursuant to section 
6. 
(v) Construction of a trail for nonmotorized use 
following the corridor designated as the Continental 
Divide Trail. 
(E) TIMBER HARVESTING.—No timber harvesting shall 
be allowed within the Protection Area except to the extent 
needed for hazardous fuels reduction or other control of 
fire, insect or disease control projects, or protection of public 
health or safety. 
(F) 
SPECIAL 
INTEREST 
AREA.—The 
management 
prescription applicable to the lands described in the 1997 
Revision of the Land and Resource Management Plan as 
the James Peak Special Interest Area shall also be 
applicable to all the lands in the Protection Area that 
are bounded on the north by Rollins Pass Road, on the 
east by the Continental Divide, and on the west by the 
11,300 foot elevation contour as shown on the map referred 
to in subsection (b). In addition, motorized vehicle use 
shall not be permitted on any part of the Rogers Pass 
trail. 
(2) NATURAL GAS PIPELINE.—The Secretary shall allow for 
maintenance of rights-of-ways and access roads located within 
the Protection Area to the extent necessary to operate the 
natural gas pipeline permitted under the Arapaho/Roosevelt 
National Forest master permit numbered 4138.01 in a manner 
that avoids negative impacts on public safety and allows for 
compliance with Federal pipeline safety requirements. Such 
maintenance may include vegetation management, road mainte-
nance, ground stabilization, and motorized vehicle access. 
(3) PERMANENT FEDERAL OWNERSHIP.—All right, title, and 
interest of the United States, held on or acquired after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, to lands within the boundaries 
of the Protection Area shall be retained by the United States. 
(e) ISSUES RELATED TO WATER.— 
(1) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 
(A) Nothing in this Act shall constitute or be construed 
to constitute either an express or implied reservation of 
any water or water rights with respect to the lands within 
the Protection Area. 
(B) Nothing in this Act shall affect any conditional 
or absolute water rights in the State of Colorado existing 
on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(C) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as 
establishing a precedent with regard to any future protec-
tion area designation. 
(D) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as limiting, 
alj;ering, modifying, or amending any of the interstate com-
pacts or equitable apportionment decrees that apportion 
water among and between the State of Colorado and other 
States. 
(2) COLORADO WATER LAW.—The Secretary shall follow the 
procedural and substantive requirements of the law of the 
State of Colorado in order to obtain and hold any new water 
rights with respect to the Protection Area. 
PUBLIC LAW 107-216—AUG. 21, 2002 
116 STAT. 1059 
(3) 
WATER 
INFRASTRUCTURE.—Nothing 
in 
this 
Act 
(including the provisions related to establishment or manage-
ment of the Protection Area) shall giffect, impede, interfere 
with, or diminish the operation, existence, access, maintenance, 
improvement, or construction of water facilities and infrastruc-
ture, rights-of-way, or other water-related property, interests, 
and uses, (including the use of motorized vehicles and equip-
ment existing or located on lands within the Protection Area) 
on £iny lands except those lands managed under the manage-
ment prescription referred to in subsection (d)(1)(F). 
SEC. 4. INHOLDINGS. 
16 USC 539/-1. 
(a) STATE LAND BOARD LANDS.—If the Colorado State Land 
BoEird informs the Secretary that the Board is willing to transfer 
to the United States some or all of the lands owned by the Board 
located within the Protection Area, the Secretary shall promptly 
seek to reach agreement with the Board regsirding terms and condi-
tions for acquisition of such lands by the United States by purchase 
or exchange. 
(b) JIM CREEK INHOLDING.— 
(1) ACQUISITION OF LANDS.—The Secretary shall enter into 
negotiations with the owner of lands located within the portion 
of the Jim Creek drainage within the Protection Area for the 
purpose of acquiring the lands by purchase or exchange, but 
the United States shall not acquire such lemds without the 
consent of the owner of the lands. 
(2) LANDOWNER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act shall affect 
any rights of the owner of lands located within the Jim Creek 
drainage within the Protection Area, including any right to 
reasonable access to such lands by motorized or other means 
as determined by the Forest Service and the landowner con-
sistent with applicable law and relevant and appropriate rules 
and regulations governing such access. 
(c) REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secreteiry shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 
a report concerning any agreement or the status of negotiations 
conducted pursuant to— 
(A) subsection (a), upon conclusion of £in agreement 
for acquisition by the United States of lands referred to 
in subsection (a), or 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, whichever occurs first; and 
(B) subsection (b), upon conclusion of £in agreement 
for acquisition by the United States of lands referred to 
in subsection (b), or 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, whichever occurs first. 
(2) FUNDING INFORMATION.—The report required by this 
subsection shall indicate to what extent funds are avedlable 
to the Secretary as of the date of the report for the acquisition 
of the relevant lands and whether additional funds need to 
be appropriated or otherwise made available to the Secretary 
for such purpose. 
(d) MANAGEMENT OF ACQUISITIONS.—-Any lands within the 
James Peeik Wilderness or the Protection Area acquired by the 
United States after the date of the enactment of this Act shsdl 
116 STAT. 1060 
PUBLIC LAW 107-216—AUG. 21, 2002 
be added to the James Peak Wilderness or the Protection Area, 
respectively, and managed accordingly. 
16 use 539/-2. 
SEC. 5. JAMES PEAK FALL RIVER TRAILHEAD. 
(a) 
SERVICES AND FACILITIES.—Following the consultation 
required by subsection (c), the Forest Supervisor of the Arapaho/ 
Roosevelt National Forest in the State of Colorado (in this section 
referred to as the "Forest Supervisor") shall establish a trailhead 
and corresponding facilities and services to regulate use of National 
Forest System lands in the vicinity of the Fall River basin south 
of the communities of Alice Township and St. Mary's Glacier in 
the State of Colorado. The facilities and services shall include 
the following: 
(1) Treiilhead parking. 
(2) Public restroom accommodations. 
(3) Trailhead and trail maintenance. 
(b) PERSONNEL.—The Forest Supervisor shall assign Forest 
Service personnel to provide appropriate management and oversight 
of the area described in subsection (a). 
(c) CONSULTATION.—The Forest Supervisor shall consult with 
the Clear Creek County commissioners and with residents of Alice 
Township and St. Mary's Glacier regarding— 
(1) the appropriate location of facilities euid services in 
the area described in subsection (a); £ind 
(2) appropriate measures that may be needed in this area— 
(A) to provide access by emergency or law enforcement 
vehicles; 
(B) for public hegJth; and 
(C) to address concerns regarding impeded access by 
local residents. 
(d) REPORT.—^After the consultation required by subsection (c), 
the Forest Supervisor shall submit to the Committee on Resources 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and 
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report regarding 
the amount of £iny additional funding required to implement this 
section. 
16 use 539Z-3. 
SEC. 6. LOOP TRAIL STUDY; AUTHORIZATION. 
Deadline. 
(a) STUDY.—Not later than three years after funds are first 
made available for this purpose, the Secretary, in consultation 
with interested parties, shall complete a study of the suitability 
and feasibility of establishing, consistent with the purpose set forth 
in section 3(a)(2), a loop trail for mechanized and other non-
motorized recreation connecting the trail designated as "Rogers 
Pass" and the trail designated as "Rollins Pass Road". 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—If the results of the study required by 
subsection (a) indicate that establishment of such a loop trail would 
be suitable and feasible, consistent with the purpose set forth 
in section 3(a)(2), the Secretary shedl establish the loop trail in 
a manner consistent with that purpose. 
16 use 539/-4. 
SEC. 7. OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 
(a) BUFFER ZONES.—The designation by this Act or by amend-
ments made by this Act of wilderness areas and the Protection 
Area in the State of Colorado shall not create or imply the creation 
of protective perimeters or buffer zones around any wilderness 
area or the Protection Area. The fact that nonwilderness activities 
PUBLIC LAW 107-216—AUG. 21, 2002 
116 STAT. 1061 
or uses can be seen or heard from within a wilderness area or 
Protection Area shsill not, of itself, preclude such activities or uses 
up to the boundeiry of the wilderness area or the Protection Area, 
(b) ROLLINS PASS ROAD.—If requested by one or more of the 
Colorado Counties of Grand, Gilpin, and Boulder, the Secretary 
shall provide technical assistance and otherwise cooperate with 
respect to repairing the Rollins Pass road in those counties suffi-
ciently to allow two-wheel-drive vehicles to travel between Colorado 
State Highway 119 and U.S. Highway 40. If this road is repaired 
to such extent, the Secretary shall close the motorized roads and 
trails on Forest Service land indicated on the map entitled "Rollins 
Pass Road Reopening: Attendant Road and Trail Closures", dated 
September 2001. 
SEC. 8. WILDERNESS POTENTIAL. 
16 USC 539/-5. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall preclude or restrict 
the authority of the Secretsu-y to evaluate the suitability of lands 
in the Protection Area for inclusion in the National Wilderness 
Preservation System or to make recommendations to Congress for 
such inclusion. 
(b) EVALUATION OF CERTAIN LANDS.—In connection with the 
first revision of the land and resources management plan for the 
Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall evaluate the suitability of the 
lands managed under the management prescription referred to 
in section 3(d)(1)(F) for inclusion in the National Wilderness 
Preservation System and make recommendations to Congress 
regarding such inclusion. 
Approved August 21, 2002. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1576: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 107-316 (Comm. on Resources). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 107-200 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 147 (2001): Dec. 11, considered and passed House. 
Vol. 148 (2002): Aug. 1, considered and passed Senate.