Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that classifies specified lands in Colorado managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or the Forest Service (USFS) as wilderness and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

Highlights:

• Establishes the following additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System in Colorado, including (Sec. 102):

• Certain lands managed by the BLM, which comprise approximately 300 acres, generally referred to as Maroon Bells Addition Proposed Wilderness; 

• Certain lands managed by the BLM, which comprise approximately 38,200 acres, generally referred to as Redcloud and Handies Peak Proposed Wilderness;

• Certain lands managed by the BLM or located in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests, which comprise approximately 26,700 acres, as generally referred to as Redcloud and Handies Peak Proposed Wilderness;

• Certain lands managed by the BLM, which comprise approximately 16,500 acres, as generally referred to as Table Mountain and McIntyre Hills Proposed Wilderness; 

• Certain lands managed by the BML or the Bureau of Reclamation, which comprise approximately 33,400 acres, generally referred to as Dolores River Canyon Proposed Wilderness; and

• Certain lands managed by the BLM, which comprise approximately 28,300 acres, generally referred to as Little Books Cliff Proposed Wilderness.

• Establishes the South Fork Trinity-Mad River Restoration Area in California, comprising approximately 729,000 acres of federal land administered by the USFS and approximately 1,300 acres of federal land administered by the BLM (Sec. 211).

• Specifies that the purposes of the above-mentioned restoration are to (Sec. 211):

• Establish, restore, and maintain fire-resilient forest structures containing late successional forest structure characterized by large trees and multi-stored canopies, as ecologically appropriate; 

• Protect late successional reserves; 

• Enhance the restoration of federal lands within the restoration area; 

• Reduce the threat posed by wildfires to communities within the restoration area; 

• Protect and restore aquatic habitat and anadromous fisheries; 

• Protect the quality of water within the restoration area; and 

• Allow visitors to enjoy the scenic, recreational, natural, cultural, and wildlife values of the restoration area. 

• Establishes the Condor National Scenic Trail to provide an extended hiking corridor that connects the southern and northern portions of the Los Padres National Forest, spanning the entire length of the forest along the coastal mountains of southern and central California (Sec. 309).

• Classifies the following federal lands within the Olympic National Forest in the state of Washington, comprised of approximately 126,560 acres, as wilderness and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System (Sec. 602):

• Lost Creek Wilderness; 

• Rugged Ridge Wilderness;

• Alckee Creek Wilderness; 

• Gates of the Elwha Wilderness;

• Buckhorn Wilderness Additions; 

• Green Mountain Wilderness;

• The Brothers Wilderness Additions; 

• Mount Skokomish Wilderness Additions; 

• Wonder Mountain Wilderness Additions; 

• Moonlight Dome Wilderness; 

• South Quinault Ridge Wilderness; 

• Colonel Bob Wilderness Additions; 

• Sam’s River Wilderness; and

• Canoe Creek Wilderness. 

• Establishes the San Gabriel National Recreation Area in California as a unit of the National Park System (Sec. 413).

• Specifies that nothing in this act will (Sec. 416): 

• Affect the use or allocation of any water, water right, or interest in water, including potable, recycled, reclaimed, waste, imported, exported, banked, or stored water; 

• Affect any public or private contract in existence on this bill’s date of enactment for the sale, lease, loan, or transfer of any water; 

• Interfere with, obstruct, hinder, or delay access to, any water right by the owner of a public water system or any other individual or entity, including the construction, operation, maintenance, replacement, removal, repair, location, or relocation of a well; 

• Authorize or impose any new reserved federal water right or expand water usage; or 

• Be considered a relinquishment or reduction of any water rights held, reserved, or appropriated by any public entity.

• Specifies that nothing in this bill prohibits the upgrading or replacement of any utility facilities of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (Sec. 243).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text