---
kind: "section"
citation: "16 U.S.C. § 460ddd"
title: "16"
title_heading: "Conservation"
number: "460ddd"
heading: "Establishment"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/16/460ddd"
units:
  - "Chapter 1 — National Parks, Military Parks, Monuments, and Seashores"
  - "Subchapter CXV — Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area"
---

# §460ddd. Establishment

- (a) **In general—** In order to conserve, protect, and enhance the riparian and associated [areas](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) described in [subsection (b)](#b) and the aquatic, wildlife, archeological, paleontological, scientific, cultural, recreational, educational, scenic, and other resources and values of such [areas](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A), there is hereby established the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation [Area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) (hereafter in this subchapter referred to as the “conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A)”).
- (b) **Areas included—** The conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) shall consist of the [public lands](/usc/16/620e.md?p=7) generally depicted on a [map](/usc/16/430f–7.md?p=1) entitled “Gila Box Riparian National Conservation [Area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A)” dated February 1990, and comprising approximately 20,900 acres.
- (c) **Map—** As soon as practicable after November 28, 1990, a [map](/usc/16/430f–7.md?p=1) and legal description of the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) shall be filed by the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) with the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate. Such [map](/usc/16/430f–7.md?p=1) shall have the same force and effect as if included in this section. Copies of such [map](/usc/16/430f–7.md?p=1) shall be on file and available for public inspection in the Office of the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, and in the appropriate office of the Bureau of Land Management in Arizona.
- (d) **Management of conservation area—**
  - (1) The [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) shall manage the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) in a manner that conserves, protects and enhances its resources and values, including the resources and values specified in [subsection (a)](#a), pursuant to the [Federal Land](/usc/16/3102.md?p=2) Policy and Management Act of 1976 [[43 U.S.C. 1701](/usc/43/1701.md) et seq.] and other applicable law, including this subchapter.
  - (2) The [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) shall allow only such uses of the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) as the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) finds will further the purposes for which the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) is established. Except where needed for administrative purposes or to respond to an emergency, use of motorized vehicles in the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) shall be permitted only on roads specifically designated for such use as part of the [management plan](/usc/16/544.md?p=k) prepared pursuant to [subsection (g)](#g).
- (e) **Withdrawal—** Subject to valid existing rights, all [Federal lands](/usc/16/620e.md?p=2) within the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) are hereby withdrawn from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; from location, entry, and patent under the United States mining laws; and from disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing, and all amendments thereto.
- (f) **Water—**
  - (1) Congress hereby reserves a quantity of water sufficient to fulfill the purposes, as specified in [subsection (a)](#a), for which the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) is established. The priority date of this reserved right shall be November 28, 1990.
  - (2) The [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) and all other officers of the United States shall [take](/usc/16/3102.md?p=18) all steps necessary to protect the right reserved by [paragraph (1)](#f-1), including the filing by the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) of a claim for the quantification of such right in any present or future appropriate stream adjudication in the courts of the [State](/usc/16/590q.md?p=a) of Arizona in which the United States is or may be joined and which is conducted in accordance with [section 666 of title 43](/usc/43/666.md).
  - (3) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed as a relinquishment or reduction of any water rights reserved or appropriated by the United States in the [State](/usc/16/590q.md?p=a) of Arizona on or before November 28, 1990.
  - (4) The Federal rights reserved by this subchapter are specific to the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) located in the [State](/usc/16/590q.md?p=a) of Arizona designated by this subchapter. Nothing in this subchapter related to reserved Federal water rights shall be construed as establishing a precedent with regard to any future designations, nor shall it constitute an interpretation of any other Act or any designation made pursuant thereto.
  - (5) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to impair or conflict with the implementation of the authorization contained in [section 1524(f) of title 43](/usc/43/1524.md?p=f).
- (g) **Management plan—**
  - (1) No later than two years after November 28, 1990, the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) shall develop a comprehensive plan for the long-term management of the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) (hereinafter in this subchapter referred to as the “[management plan](/usc/16/544.md?p=k)”) in order to fulfill the purposes for which the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) is established. The [management plan](/usc/16/544.md?p=k) shall be developed with full public participation and shall include provisions designed to assure protection of the resources and values (including the resources and values specified in [subsection (a)](#a)) of the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A).
  - (2) The [management plan](/usc/16/544.md?p=k) shall include a discussion of the desirability of the inclusion in the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) of additional lands, including the lands not in Federal ownership that are contiguous to the boundary of the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) (as depicted on the [map](/usc/16/430f–7.md?p=1) referenced in [subsection (b)](#b) or as hereafter adjusted pursuant to [subsection (h)](#h)) and within the [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) extending two miles on either side of the centerline of Eagle Creek from the point where Eagle Creek crosses the southern boundary of the Apache National Forest to the confluence of Eagle Creek with the Gila River (this [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) is hereafter referred to in this subchapter as the “Eagle Creek riparian [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A)”).
  - (3) In order to better implement the [management plan](/usc/16/544.md?p=k), the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) may enter into cooperative agreements with appropriate [State](/usc/16/590q.md?p=a) and local agencies pursuant to section 307(b) of the [Federal Land](/usc/16/3102.md?p=2) Policy and Management Act of 1976 [[43 U.S.C. 1737(b)](/usc/43/1737.md?p=b)].
  - (4) In order to assist in the development and implementation of the [management plan](/usc/16/544.md?p=k), the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) may authorize appropriate research, including research concerning the environmental, biological, hydrological, cultural, and other characteristics, resources, and values of the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A), pursuant to section 307(a) of the [Federal Land](/usc/16/3102.md?p=2) Policy and Management Act of 1976 [[43 U.S.C. 1737(a)](/usc/43/1737.md?p=a)].
- (h) **Acquisition and boundary adjustments—**
  - (1) Subject to the limitations set forth in [paragraph (3)](#h-3), the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) is authorized to [acquire](/usc/16/620e.md?p=1) non-[Federal lands](/usc/16/620e.md?p=2) or interests therein within the boundaries of the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) or within the Eagle Creek riparian [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A).
  - (2) The [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) is authorized to adjust the boundaries of the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) so as to incorporate within the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) any lands or interests within the Eagle Creek riparian [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) that may be acquired after November 28, 1990, as well as [public lands](/usc/16/620e.md?p=7) within that portion of the Eagle Creek riparian [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) west of the centerline of Eagle Creek that the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) finds appropriate in order to properly manage such acquired lands as part of the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A). Any lands or interests so incorporated shall be managed as part of the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A).
  - (3) No lands or interests therein owned by the [State](/usc/16/590q.md?p=a) of Arizona or any political [subdivision](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=15) of such [State](/usc/16/590q.md?p=a) shall be acquired pursuant to this subsection except through donation or exchange, and no lands or interests within the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) or the Eagle Creek riparian [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) shall be acquired from any other party or entity except by donation, exchange, or purchase with the consent of the [owner](/usc/16/429b–3.md?p=4) of such lands or interests.
- (i) **No buffer zones—** The Congress does not intend for the establishment of the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) to lead to the creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones around the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A). The fact that there may be activities or uses on lands outside the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) that would not be permitted in the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) shall not preclude such activities or uses on such lands up to the boundary of the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) to the extent consistent with other applicable law.
- (j) **Advisory committee—** The [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) shall establish an [advisory committee](/usc/16/698u–1.md?p=1) to advise the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) with respect to the preparation and implementation of the [management plan](/usc/16/544.md?p=k). Such [advisory committee](/usc/16/698u–1.md?p=1) shall consist of seven members appointed by the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1). One member shall be appointed from among recommendations submitted by the Governor of Arizona, one member shall be appointed from among recommendations submitted by the Graham County Board of Supervisors and one member shall be appointed from among recommendations submitted by the Greenlee County Board of Supervisors. The remaining members shall be [persons](/usc/16/450rr–1.md?p=b) recognized as experts in wildlife conservation, riparian ecology, archeology, paleontology, or other disciplines directly related to the purposes for which the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) is established.
- (k) **Report—** No later than five years after November 28, 1990, and at least each ten years thereafter, the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) shall report to the Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate on the implementation of this subchapter, the condition of the resources and values of the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A), and the progress of the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) in achieving the purposes for which the conservation [area](/usc/16/539m–1.md?p=1-A) is established.
- (l) **Enforcement—** Any [person](/usc/16/450rr–1.md?p=b) who violates any regulation promulgated by the [Secretary](/usc/16/410r–5.md?p=c-1) to implement the provisions of this subchapter shall be subject to a fine in accordance with applicable provisions of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, or imprisonment of not more than 1 year, or both such fine and imprisonment.
- (m) **Authorization—** There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this subchapter.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 101–628, title II, § 201, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4475; Pub. L. 103–437, § 6(d)(24), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4584.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### References in Text

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, referred to in subsec. (d)(1), is Pub. L. 94–579, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2743, which is classified principally to chapter 35 (§ 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 Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, referred to in subsec. (l), is chapter II (§§ 211–239) of Pub. L. 98–473, title II, Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 1987. For complete classification of chapter II to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3551 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, and Tables.

### Amendments

1994—Subsecs. (c), (k). Pub. L. 103–437 substituted “Natural Resources” for “Interior and Insular Affairs” after “Committee on”.

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Short Title

Pub. L. 101–628, § 1, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4469, provided that: “Titles I through III of this Act [enacting this subchapter and provisions listed in a table of Wilderness Areas set out under section 1132 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 1990’.”

### Termination of Advisory Committees

Advisory committees established after Jan. 5, 1973, to terminate not later than the expiration of the 2-year period beginning on the date of their establishment, unless, in the case of a committee established by the President or an officer of the Federal Government, such committee is renewed by appropriate action prior to the expiration of such 2-year period, or in the case of a committee established by the Congress, its duration is otherwise provided by law. See section 1013 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.