[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 15 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.15
One Hundred Sixth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine
An Act
To designate a portion of the Otay Mountain region of California as
wilderness.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Otay Mountain Wilderness Act of
1999''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds and declares the following:
(1) The public lands within the Otay Mountain region of
California are one of the last remaining pristine locations in
western San Diego County, California.
(2) This rugged mountain adjacent to the United States-Mexico
border is internationally known for its diversity of unique and
sensitive plants.
(3) This area plays a critical role in San Diego's multi-
species conservation plan, a national model made for maintaining
biodiversity.
(4) Due to its proximity to the international border, this area
is the focus of important law enforcement and border interdiction
efforts necessary to curtail illegal immigration and protect the
area's wilderness values.
(5) The illegal immigration traffic, combined with the rugged
topography, also presents unique fire management challenges for
protecting lives and resources.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION.
In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C.
1131 et seq.), certain public lands in the California Desert District
of the Bureau of Land Management, California, comprising approximately
18,500 acres as generally depicted on a map entitled ``Otay Mountain
Wilderness'' and dated May 7, 1998, are hereby designated as wilderness
and therefore as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation
System, which shall be known as the Otay Mountain Wilderness.
SEC. 4. MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.
(a) In General.--As soon as practicable after the date of the
enactment of this Act, a map and a legal description for the Wilderness
Area shall be filed by the Secretary with the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the
House of Representatives. Such map and legal description shall have the
same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that the
Secretary, as appropriate, may correct clerical and typographical
errors in such legal description and map. Such map and legal
description for the Wilderness Area shall be on file and available for
public inspection in the offices of the Director and California State
Director, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.
(b) United States-Mexico Border.--In carrying out this section, the
Secretary shall ensure that the southern boundary of the Wilderness
Area is 100 feet north of the trail depicted on the map referred to in
subsection (a) and is at least 100 feet from the United States-Mexico
international border.
SEC. 5. WILDERNESS REVIEW.
The Congress hereby finds and directs that all the public lands not
designated wilderness within the boundaries of the Southern Otay
Mountain Wilderness Study Area (CA-060-029) and the Western Otay
Mountain Wilderness Study Area (CA-060-028) managed by the Bureau of
Land Management and reported to the Congress in 1991, have been
adequately studied for wilderness designation pursuant to section 603
of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782),
and are no longer subject to the requirements contained in section
603(c) of that Act pertaining to the management of wilderness study
areas in a manner that does not impair the suitability of such areas
for preservation as wilderness.
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION OF WILDERNESS AREA.
(a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights and to subsection
(b), the Wilderness Area shall be administered by the Secretary in
accordance with the provisions of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et
seq.), except that--
(1) any reference in such provisions to the effective date of
the Wilderness Act is deemed to be a reference to the effective
date of this Act; and
(2) any reference in such provisions to the Secretary of
Agriculture is deemed to be a reference to the Secretary of the
Interior.
(b) Border Enforcement, Drug Interdiction, and Wildland Fire
Protection.--Because of the proximity of the Wilderness Area to the
United States-Mexico international border, drug interdiction, border
operations, and wildland fire management operations are common
management actions throughout the area encompassing the Wilderness
Area. This Act recognizes the need to continue such management actions
so long as such management actions are conducted in accordance with the
Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and are subject to such
conditions as the Secretary considers appropriate.
SEC. 7. FURTHER ACQUISITIONS.
Any lands within the boundaries of the Wilderness Area that are
acquired by the United States after the date of the enactment of this
Act shall become part of the Wilderness Area and shall be managed in
accordance with all the provisions of this Act and other laws
applicable to such a wilderness.
SEC. 8. NO BUFFER ZONES.
The Congress does not intend for the designation of the Wilderness
Area by this Act to lead to the creation of protective perimeters or
buffer zones around the Wilderness Area. The fact that nonwilderness
activities or uses can be seen or heard from areas within the
Wilderness Area shall not, of itself, preclude such activities or uses
up to the boundary of the Wilderness Area.
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act:
(1) Public lands.--The term ``public lands'' has the same
meaning as that term has in section 103(e) of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
(3) Wilderness area.--The term ``Wilderness Area'' means the
Otay Mountain Wilderness designated by section 3.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.