§ 460mmm-4. — Management.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC460mmm-4]
TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 1--NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES
SUBCHAPTER CXXIV--COLORADO CANYONS NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA
Sec. 460mmm-4. Management
(a) Conservation Area
The Secretary shall manage the Conservation Area in a manner that--
(1) conserves, protects, and enhances the resources of the
Conservation Area specified in section 460mmm(b) \1\ of this title;
and
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\1\ So in original. Probably should be section ``460mmm(a)''.
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(2) is in accordance with--
(A) the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and
(B) other applicable law, including this subchapter.
(b) Uses
The Secretary shall allow only such uses of the Conservation Area as
the Secretary determines will further the purposes for which the
Conservation Area is established.
(c) Withdrawals
Subject to valid existing rights, all Federal land within the
Conservation Area and the Wilderness and all land and interests in land
acquired for the Conservation Area or the Wilderness by the United
States are withdrawn from--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) the operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and
geothermal leasing laws, and all amendments thereto.
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect discretionary
authority of the Secretary under other Federal laws to grant, issue, or
renew rights-of-way or other land use authorizations consistent with the
other provisions of this subchapter.
(d) Off-highway vehicle use
(1) In general
Except as provided in paragraph (2), use of motorized vehicles
in the Conservation Area--
(A) before the effective date of a management plan under
subsection (h) of this section, shall be allowed only on roads
and trails designated for use of motor vehicles in the
management plan that applies on October 24, 2000, to the public
lands in the Conservation Area; and
(B) after the effective date of a management plan under
subsection (h) of this section, shall be allowed only on roads
and trails designated for use of motor vehicles in that
management plan.
(2) Administrative and emergency response use
Paragraph (1) shall not limit the use of motor vehicles in the
Conservation Area as needed for administrative purposes or to
respond to an emergency.
(e) Wilderness
Subject to valid existing rights, lands designated as wilderness by
this subchapter shall be managed by the Secretary, as appropriate, in
accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this
subchapter, except that, with respect to any wilderness areas designated
by this subchapter, any reference in the Wilderness Act to the effective
date of the Wilderness Act shall be deemed to be a reference to October
24, 2000.
(f) Hunting, trapping, and fishing
(1) In general
Hunting, trapping, and fishing shall be allowed within the
Conservation Area and the Wilderness in accordance with applicable
laws and regulations of the United States and the States of Colorado
and Utah.
(2) Area and time closures
The head of the Colorado Division of Wildlife (in reference to
land within the State of Colorado), the head of the Utah Division of
Wildlife (in reference to land within the State of Utah), or the
Secretary after consultation with the Colorado Division of Wildlife
(in reference to land within the State of Colorado) or the head of
the Utah Division of Wildlife (in reference to land within the State
of Utah), may issue regulations designating zones where, and
establishing limited periods when, hunting, trapping, or fishing
shall be prohibited in the Conservation Area or the Wilderness for
reasons of public safety, administration, or public use and
enjoyment.
(g) Grazing
(1) In general
Except as provided by paragraph (2), the Secretary shall issue
and administer any grazing leases or permits in the Conservation
Area and the Wilderness in accordance with the same laws (including
regulations) and Executive orders followed by the Secretary in
issuing and administering grazing leases and permits on other land
under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.
(2) Grazing in wilderness
Grazing of livestock in the Wilderness shall be administered in
accordance with the provisions of section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness
Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)), in accordance with the guidelines set
forth in Appendix A of House Report 101-405 of the 101st Congress.
(h) Management plan
(1) In general
Not later than 3 years after October 24, 2000, the Secretary
shall develop a comprehensive management plan for the long-range
protection and management of the Conservation Area and the
Wilderness and the lands described in paragraph (2)(E).
(2) Purposes
The management plan shall--
(A) describe the appropriate uses and management of the
Conservation Area and the Wilderness;
(B) take into consideration any information developed in
studies of the land within the Conservation Area or the
Wilderness;
(C) provide for the continued management of the utility
corridor, Black Ridge Communications Site, and the Federal
Aviation Administration site as such for the land designated on
the Map as utility corridor, Black Ridge Communications Site,
and the Federal Aviation Administration site;
(D) take into consideration the historical involvement of
the local community in the interpretation and protection of the
resources of the Conservation Area and the Wilderness, as well
as the Ruby Canyon/Black Ridge Integrated Resource Management
Plan, dated March 1998, which was the result of collaborative
efforts on the part of the Bureau of Land Management and the
local community; and
(E) include all public lands between the boundary of the
Conservation Area and the edge of the Colorado River and, on
such lands, the Secretary shall allow only such recreational or
other uses as are consistent with this subchapter.
(i) No buffer zones
The Congress does not intend for the establishment of the
Conservation Area or the Wilderness to lead to the creation of
protective perimeters or buffer zones around the Conservation Area or
the Wilderness. The fact that there may be activities or uses on lands
outside the Conservation Area or the Wilderness that would not be
allowed in the Conservation Area or the Wilderness shall not preclude
such activities or uses on such lands up to the boundary of the
Conservation Area or the Wilderness consistent with other applicable
laws.
(j) Acquisition of land
(1) In general
The Secretary may acquire non-federally owned land within the
exterior boundaries of the Conservation Area or the Wilderness only
through purchase from a willing seller, exchange, or donation.
(2) Management
Land acquired under paragraph (1) shall be managed as part of
the Conservation Area or the Wilderness, as the case may be, in
accordance with this subchapter.
(k) Interpretive facilities or sites
The Secretary may establish minimal interpretive facilities or sites
in cooperation with other public or private entities as the Secretary
considers appropriate. Any facilities or sites shall be designed to
protect the resources referred to in section 460mmm(b) of this title.
(l) Water rights
(1) Findings
Congress finds that--
(A) the lands designated as wilderness by this subchapter
are located at the headwaters of the streams and rivers on those
lands, with few, if any, actual or proposed water resource
facilities located upstream from such lands and few, if any,
opportunities for diversion, storage, or other uses of water
occurring outside such lands that would adversely affect the
wilderness or other values of such lands;
(B) the lands designated as wilderness by this subchapter
generally are not suitable for use for development of new water
resource facilities, or for the expansion of existing
facilities;
(C) it is possible to provide for proper management and
protection of the wilderness and other values of such lands in
ways different from those utilized in other legislation
designating as wilderness lands not sharing the attributes of
the lands designated as wilderness by this subchapter.
(2) Statutory construction
(A) Nothing in this subchapter shall constitute or be construed
to constitute either an express or implied reservation of any water
or water rights with respect to the lands designated as a national
conservation area or as wilderness by this subchapter.
(B) Nothing in this subchapter shall affect any conditional or
absolute water rights in the State of Colorado existing on October
24, 2000.
(C) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as
establishing a precedent with regard to any future national
conservation area or wilderness designations.
(D) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed as limiting,
altering, modifying, or amending any of the interstate compacts or
equitable apportionment decrees that apportion water among and
between the State of Colorado and other States.
(3) 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 Conservation Area
and the Wilderness.
(4) New projects
(A) As used in this paragraph, the term ``water resource
facility'' means irrigation and pumping facilities, reservoirs,
water conservation works, aqueducts, canals, ditches, pipelines,
wells, hydropower projects, and transmission and other ancillary
facilities, and other water diversion, storage, and carriage
structures. Such term does not include any such facilities related
to or used for the purpose of livestock grazing.
(B) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (g) of this
section or other provisions of this subchapter, on and after October
24, 2000, neither the President nor any other officer, employee, or
agent of the United States shall fund, assist, authorize, or issue a
license or permit for the development of any new water resource
facility within the wilderness area designated by this subchapter.
(C) Except as provided in this paragraph, nothing in this
subchapter shall be construed to affect or limit the use, operation,
maintenance, repair, modification, or replacement of water resource
facilities in existence on October 24, 2000, within the boundaries
of the Wilderness.
(5) Boundaries along Colorado River
(A) Neither the Conservation Area nor the Wilderness shall
include any part of the Colorado River to the 100-year high water
mark.
(B) Nothing in this subchapter shall affect the authority that
the Secretary may or may not have to manage recreational uses on the
Colorado River, except as such authority may be affected by
compliance with paragraph (3). Nothing in this subchapter shall be
construed to affect the authority of the Secretary to manage the
public lands between the boundary of the Conservation Area and the
edge of the Colorado River.
(C) Subject to valid existing rights, all lands owned by the
Federal Government between the 100-year high water mark on each
shore of the Colorado River, as designated on the Map from the line
labeled ``Line A'' on the east to the boundary between the States of
Colorado and Utah on the west, are hereby 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.
(Pub. L. 106-353, Sec. 6, Oct. 24, 2000, 114 Stat. 1375.)
References in Text
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, referred to in
subsec. (a)(2)(A), is Pub. L. 94-579, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2743, as
amended, which is classified principally to chapter 35 (Sec. 1701 et
seq.) of Title 43, Public Lands. For complete classification of this Act
to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1701 of Title 43
and Tables.
The public land laws, referred to in subsecs. (c)(1) and
(l)(5)(C)(i), are classified generally to Title 43, Public Lands.
The mining laws and the mineral leasing laws, referred to in
subsecs. (c)(2), (3), (l)(5)(C)(ii), (iii), are classified generally to
Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining.
Geothermal leasing laws, referred to in subsecs. (c)(3) and
(l)(5)(C)(iii), are classified principally to chapter 23 (Sec. 1001 et
seq.) of Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining.
The Wilderness Act, referred to in subsec. (e), is Pub. L. 88-577,
Sept. 3, 1964, 78 Stat. 890, as amended, which is classified generally
to chapter 23 (Sec. 1131 et seq.) of this title. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out
under section 1131 of this title and Tables.
The effective date of the Wilderness Act, referred to in subsec.(e),
means Sept. 3, 1964, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 88-577, which
enacted chapter 23 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 460mmm-1, 460mmm-5 of this
title.