Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act”.
Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act
A BILL
To expand the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in the State of Washington, to designate the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River and Pratt River as wild and scenic rivers, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Expansion of alpine lakes wilderness
In general— There is designated as wilderness and as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System certain Federal land in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in the State of Washington comprising approximately 21,493 acres that is within the Proposed Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions Boundary, as generally depicted on the map entitled “HR 361, Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act, 2013” and dated October 25, 2013, which is incorporated in and shall be considered to be a part of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
Administration—
Management— Subject to valid existing rights, the land designated as wilderness by subsection (a) shall be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”), in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), except that any reference in that Act to the effective date of that Act shall be considered to be a reference to the date of enactment of this Act, and in accordance with section 4 of this Act.
Military overflights— Nothing in this section restricts or precludes—
low-level overflights of military aircraft over the area designated as wilderness under this section, including military overflights that can be seen or heard within any wilderness area;
flight testing and evaluation; or
the designation or creation of new units of special use airspace, or the establishment of military flight training routes over the wilderness area.
Prevention of wildfires— The designation of wilderness under this section shall not be construed to interfere with the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to authorize mechanical thinning of trees or underbrush to prevent or control the spread of wildfires, or conditions creating the risk of wildfire that threaten areas outside the boundary of the wilderness, or the use of mechanized equipment for wildfire pre-suppression and suppression.
Map and description—
In general— As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall file a map and a legal description of the land designated as wilderness by subsection (a) with—
the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; and
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
Force of law— A map and legal description filed under subparagraph (A) shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct minor errors in the map and legal description.
Public availability— The map and legal description filed under subparagraph (A) shall be filed and made available for public inspection in the appropriate office of the Forest Service.
Sec. 3 Wild and scenic river designations
Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(__) Middle Fork Snoqualmie, Washington—Subject to subparagraph (C), the 27.4-mile segment from the headwaters of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River near La Bohn Gap in NE 1/4 sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 E., to the northern boundary of sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in the following classifications:
“(A) The approximately 6.4-mile segment from the headwaters of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River near La Bohn Gap in NE 1/4 sec. 20, T. 24 N., R. 13 E., to the west section line of sec. 3, T. 23 N., R. 12 E., as a wild river.
“(B) The approximately 21-mile segment from the west section line of sec. 3, T. 23 N., R. 12 E., to the northern boundary of sec. 11, T. 23 N., R. 9 E., as a scenic river.
“(C) The Secretary of Agriculture may not acquire by condemnation any land or interest in land within the boundaries of the Wild and Scenic River segments designated by this paragraph. Private or non-Federal public property shall not be included within the boundaries of the Wild and Scenic River segments designated by this paragraph unless the owner of such property has consented in writing to having that property included in such boundaries.
“(__) Pratt River, Washington—The entirety of the Pratt River in the State of Washington, located in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture as a wild river. The Secretary of Agriculture may not acquire by condemnation any land or interest in land within the boundaries of the Wild and Scenic River segments designated by this paragraph. Private or non-Federal public property shall not be included within the boundaries of the Wild and Scenic River segments designated by this paragraph unless the owner of such property has consented in writing to having that property included in such boundaries.”
Sec. 4 Adjacent land management
Nothing in this Act—
establishes or authorizes the establishment of a protective perimeter or buffer zone around the boundaries of the Wild and Scenic River segments or wilderness designated by this Act; or
precludes, limits, or restricts an activity from being conducted outside such boundaries, including an activity that can be seen or heard from within such boundaries.