113 S364 IS: Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act of 2013
U.S. Senate
2013-02-14
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as
the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act
of 2013
.
2.In this Act:
(1)Conservation
management areaThe term Conservation Management
Area means the Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Management Area
established by section 3(a)(1).
(2)The
term decommission means—
(A)to reestablish
vegetation on a road; and
(B)to restore any
natural drainage, watershed function, or other ecological processes that are
disrupted or adversely impacted by the road by removing or hydrologically
disconnecting the road prism.
(3)The
term district
means the Rocky Mountain Ranger District of the
Lewis and Clark National Forest.
(4)The
term map means the map entitled Rocky Mountain Front
Heritage Act
and dated October 27, 2011.
(5)Nonmotorized
recreation trailThe term nonmotorized recreation
trail means a trail designed for hiking, bicycling, or equestrian
use.
(6)The
term Secretary means—
(A)with respect to
land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of
Agriculture; and
(B)with respect to
land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of
the Interior.
(7)The
term State means the State of Montana.
3.Rocky Mountain
Front Conservation Management Area
(a)
(1)There is established the Rocky Mountain Front
Conservation Management Area in the State.
(2)The Conservation Management Area shall consist of
approximately 195,073 acres of Federal land managed by the Forest Service and
13,087 acres of Federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management in the
State, as generally depicted on the map.
(3)Incorporation
of acquired land and interestsAny land or interest in land that
is located in the Conservation Management Area and is acquired by the United
States from a willing seller shall—
(A)become part of
the Conservation Management Area; and
(B)be managed in
accordance with—
(i)in
the case of land managed by the Forest Service—
(I)the Act of March
1, 1911 (commonly known as the Weeks Law
) (16 U.S.C. 552 et
seq.); and
(II)any laws
(including regulations) applicable to the National Forest System;
(ii)in
the case of land managed, by the Bureau of Land Management, the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.);
(iii)this section;
and
(iv)any other
applicable law (including regulations).
(b)The
purposes of the Conservation Management Area are to conserve, protect, and
enhance for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations the
recreational, scenic, historical, cultural, fish, wildlife, roadless, and
ecological values of the Conservation Management Area.
(c)
(1)The Secretary shall manage the Conservation Management
Area—
(A)in a manner that
conserves, protects, and enhances the resources of the Conservation Management
Area; and
(B)in accordance
with—
(i)the
laws (including regulations) and rules applicable to the National Forest System
for land managed by the Forest Service;
(ii)the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) for land managed by
the Bureau of Land Management;
(iii)this section;
and
(iv)any other
applicable law (including regulations).
(2)
(A)The Secretary shall only allow such uses of the
Conservation Management Area that the Secretary determines would further the
purposes described in subsection (b).
(B)
(i)The use of motorized vehicles in the Conservation
Management Area shall be permitted only on existing roads, trails, and areas
designated for use by such vehicles as of the date of enactment of this
Act.
(ii)Except as provided in clause (iii), no new or
temporary roads shall be constructed within the Conservation Management
Area.
(iii)Nothing
in clause (i) or (ii) prevents the Secretary from—
(I)rerouting or
closing an existing road or trail to protect natural resources from
degradation, as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary;
(II)constructing a
temporary road on which motorized vehicles are permitted as part of a
vegetation management project in any portion of the Conservation Management
Area located not more than 1/4 mile from the Teton Road,
South Teton Road, Sun River Road, Beaver Willow Road, or Benchmark Road;
(III)authorizing the
use of motorized vehicles for administrative purposes (including noxious weed
eradication or grazing management); or
(IV)responding to an
emergency.
(iv)Decommissioning
of temporary roadsThe Secretary shall decommission any temporary
road constructed under clause (iii)(II) not later than 3 years after the date
on which the applicable vegetation management project is completed.
(C)The
Secretary shall permit grazing within the Conservation Management Area, if
established on the date of enactment of this Act—
(i)subject
to—
(I)such reasonable
regulations, policies, and practices as the Secretary determines appropriate;
and
(II)all applicable
laws; and
(ii)in
a manner consistent with—
(I)the purposes
described in subsection (b); and
(II)the guidelines
set forth in the report of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the
House of Representatives accompanying H.R. 5487 of the 96th Congress (H. Rept.
96–617).
(D)Nothing in this Act prevents the Secretary from
conducting vegetation management projects within the Conservation Management
Area—
(i)subject
to—
(I)such reasonable
regulations, policies, and practices as the Secretary determines appropriate;
and
(II)all applicable
laws (including regulations); and
(ii)in
a manner consistent with the purposes described in subsection (b).
4.Designation of
wilderness additions
(a)In accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et
seq.), the following Federal land in the State is designated as wilderness and
as additions to existing components of the National Wilderness Preservation
System:
(1)Certain land in the Lewis and Clark National Forest,
comprising approximately 50,401 acres, as generally depicted on the map, which
shall be added to and administered as part of the Bob Marshall Wilderness
designated under section 3 of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1132).
(2)Certain land in the Lewis and Clark National Forest,
comprising approximately 16,711 acres, as generally depicted on the map, which
shall be added to and administered as part of the Scapegoat Wilderness
designated by the first section of Public Law 92–395 (16 U.S.C. 1132
note).
(b)Management of
wilderness additionsSubject to valid existing rights, the land
designated as wilderness additions by subsection (a) shall be administered by
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 deemed to be a reference to the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c)The
grazing of livestock and the maintenance of existing facilities relating to
grazing in the wilderness additions designated by this section, if established
before the date of enactment of this Act, shall be permitted to continue in
accordance with—
(1)section 4(d)(4)
of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)); and
(2)the guidelines
set forth in the report of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the
House of Representatives accompanying H.R. 5487 of the 96th Congress (H. Rept.
96–617).
(d)Wildfire,
insect, and disease managementIn accordance with section 4(d)(1)
of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)), within the wilderness additions
designated by this section, the Secretary may take any measures that the
Secretary determines to be necessary to control fire, insects, and diseases,
including, as the Secretary determines appropriate, the coordination of those
activities with a State or local agency.
(e)
(1)The designation of a wilderness addition by this section
shall not create any protective perimeter or buffer zone around the wilderness
area.
(2)The fact that nonwilderness activities or uses can be
seen or heard from areas within a wilderness addition designated by this
section shall not preclude the conduct of those activities or uses outside the
boundary of the wilderness area.
5.Maps and legal
descriptions
(a)As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall prepare maps and legal descriptions of the
Conservation Management Area and the wilderness additions designated by
sections 3 and 4, respectively.
(b)The maps and legal descriptions prepared under subsection (a)
shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that
the Secretary may correct typographical errors in the map and legal
descriptions.
(c)The maps and legal descriptions prepared under
subsection (a) shall be on file and available for public inspection in the
appropriate offices of the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.
6.
(a)Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare a comprehensive management
strategy for preventing, controlling, and eradicating noxious weeds in the
district.
(b)The
management strategy shall—
(1)include
recommendations to protect wildlife, forage, and other natural resources in the
district from noxious weeds;
(2)identify
opportunities to coordinate noxious weed prevention, control, and eradication
efforts in the district with State and local agencies, Indian tribes, nonprofit
organizations, and others;
(3)identify existing
resources for preventing, controlling, and eradicating noxious weeds in the
district;
(4)identify
additional resources that are appropriate to effectively prevent, control, or
eradicate noxious weeds in the district; and
(5)identify
opportunities to coordinate with county weed districts in Glacier, Pondera,
Teton, and Lewis and Clark Counties in the State to apply for grants and enter
into agreements for noxious weed control and eradication projects under the
Noxious Weed Control and Eradication Act of 2004 (7 U.S.C. 7781 et
seq.).
(c)In
developing the management strategy required under subsection (a), the Secretary
shall consult with—
(1)the Secretary of
the Interior;
(2)appropriate
State, tribal, and local governmental entities; and
(3)members of the
public.
7.Nonmotorized
recreation opportunitiesNot
later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Agriculture, in consultation with interested parties, shall conduct a study to
improve nonmotorized recreation trail opportunities (including mountain
bicycling) on land not designated as wilderness within the district.
8.Management of
fish and wildlife; hunting and fishingNothing in this Act affects the jurisdiction
of the State with respect to fish and wildlife management (including the
regulation of hunting and fishing) on public land in the State.
9.
(a)Jurisdiction of
the federal aviation administrationNothing in this Act affects
the jurisdiction of the Federal Aviation Administration with respect to the
airspace above the wilderness or the Conservation Management Area.
(b)Nothing in this Act affects the continued use,
maintenance, and repair of the Benchmark (3U7) airstrip.
10.Authorization
of appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this
Act.