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Title II — San Gabriel Mountains

H.R. 2215 · 116th Congress · Apr 10, 2019 · Lineage

II San Gabriel Mountains

Sec. 201 Definitions

In this title:
(1)
Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.
(2)
Wilderness area or addition— The term wilderness area or addition means any wilderness area or wilderness addition designated by section 203(a).

Sec. 202 National Monument Boundary Modification

(a)
In general— The Secretary shall modify the boundaries of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument in the State to include the approximately 109,167 acres of additional National Forest System land depicted as the “Proposed San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Expansion” on the map entitled “Proposed San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Expansion” and dated June 26, 2019.
(b)
Administration— On inclusion of the National Forest System land described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall administer that land as part of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument in accordance with the laws generally applicable to the Monument and this Act.
(c)
Management plan— Not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall consult with State and local governments and the interested public to update the existing San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Plan to incorporate and provide management direction and protection for the lands added to the Monument.

Sec. 203 Designation of Wilderness Areas and Additions

(a)
Designation— In accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the following parcels of National Forest System land in the State are designated as wilderness and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System:
(1)
Condor peak wilderness— Certain Federal land in the Angeles National Forest, comprising approximately 8,207 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Condor Peak Wilderness—Proposed” and dated June 6, 2019, which shall be known as the “Condor Peak Wilderness”.
(2)
San gabriel wilderness additions— Certain Federal land in the Angeles National Forest, comprising approximately 2,032 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled “San Gabriel Wilderness Additions” and dated June 6, 2019, which is incorporated in, and considered to be a part of, the San Gabriel Wilderness designated by Public Law 90–318 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; 82 Stat. 131).
(3)
Sheep mountain wilderness additions— Certain Federal land in the Angeles National Forest, comprising approximately 13,726 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Sheep Mountain Wilderness Additions” and dated June 6, 2019, which is incorporated in, and considered to be a part of, the Sheep Mountain Wilderness designated by section 101(a)(29) of the California Wilderness Act of 1984 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; 98 Stat. 1623; Public Law 98–425).
(4)
Yerba buena wilderness— Certain Federal land in the Angeles National Forest, comprising approximately 6,694 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Yerba Buena Wilderness—Proposed” and dated June 6, 2019, which shall be known as the “Yerba Buena Wilderness”.
(b)
Map and legal description—
(1)
In general— As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall file a map and a legal description of the wilderness areas and additions with—
(A)
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and
(B)
the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives.
(2)
Force of law— The map and legal description filed under paragraph (1) shall have the same force and effect as if included in this title, except that the Secretary may correct any clerical or typographical error in the map or legal description.
(3)
Public availability— The map and legal description filed under paragraph (1) shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Forest Service.

Sec. 204 Administration of Wilderness Areas and Additions

(a)
In general— Subject to valid existing rights, the wilderness areas and additions shall be administered by the Secretary in accordance with this section and 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 the enactment of this Act.
(b)
Fire management and related activities—
(1)
In general— The Secretary may take such measures in a wilderness area or addition designated in section 203 as are necessary for the control of fire, insects, or diseases in accordance with—
(A)
section 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)); and
(B)
House Report 98–40 of the 98th Congress.
(2)
Funding priorities— Nothing in this title limits funding for fire or fuels management in a wilderness area or addition.
(3)
Revision and development of local fire management plans— As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall amend, as applicable, any local fire management plan that applies to a wilderness area or addition designated in section 203.
(4)
Administration— In accordance with paragraph (1) and any other applicable Federal law, to ensure a timely and efficient response to a fire emergency in a wilderness area or addition, the Secretary shall—
(A)
not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, establish agency approval procedures (including appropriate delegations of authority to the Forest Supervisor, District Manager, or other agency officials) for responding to fire emergencies; and
(B)
enter into agreements with appropriate State or local firefighting agencies.
(c)
Grazing— The grazing of livestock in a wilderness area or addition, if established before the date of the enactment of this Act, shall be administered in accordance with—
(1)
section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)); and
(2)
the guidelines contained in Appendix A of the report of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives accompanying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress (H. Rept. 101–405).
(d)
Fish and wildlife—
(1)
In general— In accordance with section 4(d)(7) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)), nothing in this title affects the jurisdiction or responsibility of the State with respect to fish or wildlife on public land in the State.
(2)
Management activities—
(A)
In general— In furtherance of the purposes and principles of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the Secretary may conduct any management activity that are necessary to maintain or restore fish or wildlife populations or habitats in the wilderness areas and wilderness additions designated in section 203, if the management activities are—
(i)
consistent with relevant wilderness management plans; and
(ii)
conducted in accordance with appropriate policies, such as the policies established in Appendix B of the report of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives accompanying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress (H. Rept. 101–405).
(B)
Inclusions— A management activity under subparagraph (A) may include the occasional and temporary use of motorized vehicles, if the use, as determined by the Secretary, would promote healthy, viable, and more naturally distributed wildlife populations that would enhance wilderness values while causing the minimum impact necessary to accomplish those tasks.
(C)
Existing activities— In accordance with section 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)) and appropriate policies (such as the policies established in Appendix B of House Report 101–405, the State may use aircraft (including helicopters) in a wilderness area or addition to survey, capture, transplant, monitor, or provide water for a wildlife population, including bighorn sheep.
(e)
Buffer zones—
(1)
In general— Congress does not intend for the designation of wilderness areas or wilderness additions by section 203 to lead to the creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones around each wilderness area or wilderness addition.
(2)
Activities or uses up to boundaries— The fact that a nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard from within a wilderness area or wilderness addition designated by section 203 shall not, of itself, preclude the activities or uses up to the boundary of the wilderness area or addition.
(f)
Military activities— Nothing in this Act precludes—
(1)
low-level overflights of military aircraft over the wilderness areas or wilderness additions designated by section 203;
(2)
the designation of new units of special airspace over the wilderness areas or wilderness additions designated by section 203; or
(3)
the use or establishment of military flight training routes over wilderness areas or wilderness additions designated by section 203.
(g)
Horses— Nothing in this title precludes horseback riding in, or the entry of recreational or commercial saddle or pack stock into, an area designated as a wilderness area or wilderness addition by section 203—
(1)
in accordance with section 4(d)(5) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(5)); and
(2)
subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines to be necessary.
(h)
Law enforcement— Nothing in this title precludes any law enforcement or drug interdiction effort within the wilderness areas or wilderness additions designated by section 203 in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.).
(i)
Withdrawal— Subject to valid existing rights, the wilderness areas and additions designated by section 203 are withdrawn from—
(1)
all forms of entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws;
(2)
location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
(3)
operation of the mineral materials and geothermal leasing laws.
(j)
Incorporation of acquired land and interests— Any land within the boundary of a wilderness area or addition that is acquired by the United States shall—
(1)
become part of the wilderness area or addition in which the land is located; and
(2)
be managed in accordance with this section, the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), and any other applicable laws (including regulations).
(k)
Climatological data collection— In accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may authorize the installation and maintenance of hydrologic, meteorologic, or climatological collection devices in a wilderness area or addition if the Secretary determines that the facilities and access to the facilities is essential to a flood warning, flood control, or water reservoir operation activity.
(l)
Authorized events— The Secretary of Agriculture may authorize the Angeles Crest 100 competitive running event to continue in substantially the same manner and degree in which this event was operated and permitted in 2015 within additions to the Sheep Mountain Wilderness in section 203 of this Act and the Pleasant View Ridge Wilderness Area designated by section 1802 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, provided that the event is authorized and conducted in a manner compatible with the preservation of the areas as wilderness.

Sec. 205 Designation of Wild and Scenic Rivers

(a)
Designation— 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:

“(__) East Fork San Gabriel River, California—The following segments of the East Fork San Gabriel River, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in the following classes:

“(A) The 10-mile segment from the confluence of the Prairie Fork and Vincent Gulch to 100 yards upstream of the Heaton Flats trailhead and day use area, as a wild river.

“(B) The 2.7-mile segment from 100 yards upstream of the Heaton Flats trailhead and day use area to 100 yards upstream of the confluence with Williams Canyon, as a recreational river.

“(__) North Fork San Gabriel River, California—The 4.3-mile segment of the North Fork San Gabriel River from the confluence with Cloudburst Canyon to 0.25 miles upstream of the confluence with the West Fork San Gabriel River, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture as a recreational river.

“(__) West Fork San Gabriel River, California—The following segments of the West Fork San Gabriel River, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in the following classes:

“(A) The 6.7-mile segment from 0.25 miles downstream of its source near Red Box Gap in sec. 14, T. 2 N., R. 12 W., to the confluence with the unnamed tributary 0.25 miles downstream of the power lines in sec. 22, T. 2 N., R. 11 W., as a recreational river.

“(B) The 1.6-mile segment of the West Fork from 0.25 miles downstream of the powerlines in sec. 22, T. 2 N., R. 11 W., to the confluence with Bobcat Canyon, as a wild river.

“(__) Little Rock Creek, California—The following segments of Little Rock Creek and tributaries, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in the following classes:

“(A) The 10.3-mile segment from its source on Mt. Williamson in sec. 6, T. 3 N., R. 9 W., to 100 yards upstream of the confluence with the South Fork Little Rock Creek, as a wild river.

“(B) The 6.6-mile segment from 100 yards upstream of the confluence with the South Fork Little Rock Creek to the confluence with Santiago Canyon, as a recreational river.

“(C) The 1-mile segment of Cooper Canyon Creek from 0.25 miles downstream of Highway 2 to 100 yards downstream of Cooper Canyon Campground, as a scenic river.

“(D) The 1.3-mile segment of Cooper Canyon Creek from 100 yards downstream of Cooper Canyon Campground to the confluence with Little Rock Creek, as a wild river.

“(E) The 1-mile segment of Buckhorn Creek from 100 yards downstream of the Buckhorn Campground to its confluence with Cooper Canyon Creek, as a wild river.”

(b)
Water resource facilities; and water use—
(1)
Water resource facilities—
(A)
Definition— In this section, the term water resource facility means irrigation and pumping facilities, dams and reservoirs, flood control facilities, water conservation works and facilities, including debris protection facilities, sediment placement sites, rain gauges and stream gauges, water quality facilities, recycled water facilities and water pumping, conveyance distribution systems, water storage tanks and reservoirs, and water treatment facilities, aqueducts, canals, ditches, pipelines, wells, hydropower projects, and transmission and other ancillary facilities, groundwater recharge facilities, water conservation, water filtration plants, and other water diversion, conservation, groundwater recharge, storage, and carriage structures.
(B)
No effect on existing water resource facilities— Nothing in this section shall alter, modify, or affect—
(i)
the use, operation, maintenance, repair, construction, destruction, reconfiguration, expansion, relocation or replacement of a water resource facility downstream of a wild and scenic river segment designated by this section, provided that the physical structures of such facilities or reservoirs shall not be located within the river areas designated in this section; or
(ii)
access to a water resource facility downstream of a wild and scenic river segment designated by this section.
(C)
No effect on new water resource facilities— Nothing in this section shall preclude the establishment of a new water resource facilities (including instream sites, routes, and areas) downstream of a wild and scenic river segment.
(2)
Limitation— Any new reservation of water or new use of water pursuant to existing water rights held by the United States to advance the purposes of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.) shall be for nonconsumptive instream use only within the segments designated by this section.
(3)
Existing law— Nothing in this section affects the implementation of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

Sec. 206 Water rights

(a)
Statutory construction— Nothing in this Act, and no action to implement this Act—
(1)
shall constitute an express or implied reservation of any water or water right, or authorizing an expansion of water use pursuant to existing water rights held by the United States, with respect to the land designated as a wilderness area or wilderness addition by section 203 or land adjacent to the wild and scenic river segments designated by the amendment made by section 205;
(2)
shall affect, alter, modify, or condition any water rights in the State in existence on the date of the enactment of this Act, including any water rights held by the United States;
(3)
shall be construed as establishing a precedent with regard to any future wilderness or wild and scenic river designations;
(4)
shall affect, alter, or modify the interpretation of, or any designation, decision, adjudication or action made pursuant to, any other Act; or
(5)
shall be construed as limiting, altering, modifying, or amending any of the interstate compacts or equitable apportionment decrees that apportions water among or between the State and any other State.
(b)
State water law— The Secretary shall comply with applicable procedural and substantive requirements of the law of the State in order to obtain and hold any water rights not in existence on the date of the enactment of this Act with respect to the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, wilderness areas and wilderness additions designated by section 203, and the wild and scenic rivers designated by amendment made by section 205.