Lander County Land Management and Conservation Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1411 To provide for the conveyance of certain Federal land to Lander County, Nevada, to designate certain wilderness areas in Lander County, Nevada, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 28, 2021 Ms. ROSEN (for herself and Ms. CORTEZ MASTO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources A BILL To provide for the conveyance of certain Federal land to Lander County, Nevada, to designate certain wilderness areas in Lander County, Nevada, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Lander County Land Management and Conservation 5 Act’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1411.IS S1411 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1411 IS Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—LANDER COUNTY LAND CONVEYANCES Sec. 101. Findings. Sec. 102. Definitions. Sec. 103. Conveyances to Lander County, Nevada. TITLE II—LANDER COUNTY WILDERNESS AREAS Sec. 201. Definitions. Sec. 202. Designation of wilderness areas. Sec. 203. Administration. Sec. 204. Wildlife management. Sec. 205. Release of wilderness study areas. Sec. 206. Native American cultural and religious uses. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means 3 Lander County, Nevada. 4 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 5 the Secretary of the Interior. 6 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 7 of Nevada. 8 TITLE I—LANDER COUNTY LAND 9 CONVEYANCES 10 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 11 Congress finds that— 12 (1) wildland fires pose a threat to public and 13 private natural resources in the County; 14 (2) expanding and improving the airports in the 15 County through the inclusion of available adjacent 16 land would support firefighting capabilities in the 17 County; 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1411.IS S1411 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1411 IS (3) the protection, development, and use of 1 water resources in the County play a key role in 2 major economic activities for the County, includ- 3 ing— 4 (A) commercial development; 5 (B) mining; 6 (C) agriculture; 7 (D) tourism; 8 (E) recreational activity; and 9 (F) conservation; and 10 (4) recreational and public park opportunities 11 in the County could be substantially enhanced 12 through expansion of the park system in the County. 13 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 14 In this title: 15 (1) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map en- 16 titled ‘‘Lander County Selected Lands’’ and dated 17 August 4, 2020. 18 (2) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec- 19 retary concerned’’ means— 20 (A) the Secretary, with respect to land 21 under the jurisdiction of the Secretary; and 22 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 23 through the Chief of the Forest Service, with 24 respect to National Forest System land. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1411.IS S1411 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1411 IS SEC. 103. CONVEYANCES TO LANDER COUNTY, NEVADA. 1 (a) CONVEYANCE FOR WATERSHED PROTECTION, 2 RECREATION, AND PARKS.—Notwithstanding the land use 3 planning requirements of sections 202 and 203 of the Fed- 4 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 5 1712, 1713), not later than 60 days after the date on 6 which the County identifies the parcels of Federal land 7 selected by the County for conveyance to the County from 8 among the parcels identified on the Map as ‘‘Lander 9 County Parcels BLM and USFS’’, the Secretary con- 10 cerned shall convey to the County, subject to valid existing 11 rights and for no consideration, all right, title, and interest 12 of the United States in and to the identified parcels of 13 Federal land (including mineral rights) for use by the 14 County for watershed protection, recreation, and parks. 15 (b) CONVEYANCE FOR AIRPORT FACILITY.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the land 17 use planning requirements of sections 202 and 203 18 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 19 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712, 1713), the Secretary shall 20 convey to the County, subject to valid existing 21 rights, including mineral rights, all right, title, and 22 interest of the United States in and to the parcels 23 of Federal land identified on the Map as ‘‘Kingston 24 Airport’’ for the purpose of improving the relevant 25 airport facility and related infrastructure. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1411.IS S1411 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1411 IS (2) COSTS.—The only costs for the conveyance 1 to be paid by the County under paragraph (1) shall 2 be the survey costs relating to the conveyance. 3 (c) SURVEY.—The exact acreage and legal descrip- 4 tion of any parcel of Federal land to be conveyed under 5 subsection (a) or (b) shall be determined by a survey satis- 6 factory to the Secretary concerned and the County. 7 (d) REVERSIONARY CLAUSE REQUIRED.—A convey- 8 ance of Federal land under subsection (a) or (b) shall in- 9 clude a reversionary clause to ensure that management of 10 the Federal land conveyed under the applicable subsection 11 shall revert to the Secretary concerned if the Federal land 12 is no longer being managed in accordance with the appli- 13 cable subsection. 14 (e) MAP, ACREAGE ESTIMATES, AND LEGAL DE- 15 SCRIPTIONS.— 16 (1) MINOR ERRORS.—The Secretary concerned 17 and the County may, by mutual agreement— 18 (A) make minor boundary adjustments to 19 the parcels of Federal land to be conveyed 20 under subsection (a) or (b); and 21 (B) correct any minor errors in— 22 (i) the Map; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1411.IS S1411 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1411 IS (ii) an acreage estimate or legal de- 1 scription of any parcel of Federal land con- 2 veyed under subsection (a) or (b). 3 (2) CONFLICT.—If there is a conflict between 4 the Map, an acreage estimate, or a legal description 5 of Federal land conveyed under subsection (a) or 6 (b), the Map shall control unless the Secretary con- 7 cerned and the County mutually agree otherwise. 8 (3) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make 9 the Map available for public inspection in— 10 (A) the Office of the Nevada State Direc- 11 tor of the Bureau of Land Management; and 12 (B) the Bureau of Land Management Bat- 13 tle Mountain Field Office. 14 TITLE II—LANDER COUNTY 15 WILDERNESS AREAS 16 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 17 In this title: 18 (1) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map en- 19 titled ‘‘Lander County Wilderness Areas Proposal’’ 20 and dated April 19, 2021. 21 (2) WILDERNESS AREA.—The term ‘‘wilderness 22 area’’ means a wilderness area designated by section 23 202(a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1411.IS S1411 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1411 IS SEC. 202. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the Wilderness 2 Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the following land in the 3 State is designated as wilderness and as components of 4 the National Wilderness Preservation System: 5 (1) CAIN MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS.—Certain 6 Federal land managed by the Director of the Bureau 7 of Land Management, comprising approximately 8 6,386 acres, as generally depicted as ‘‘Cain Moun- 9 tain Wilderness’’ on the Map, which shall be known 10 as the ‘‘Cain Mountain Wilderness’’. 11 (2) DESATOYA MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS.—Cer- 12 tain Federal land managed by the Director of the 13 Bureau of Land Management, comprising approxi- 14 mately 7,766 acres, as generally depicted as 15 ‘‘Desatoya Mountains Wilderness’’ on the Map, 16 which shall be known as the ‘‘Desatoya Mountains 17 Wilderness’’. 18 (b) BOUNDARY.—The boundary of any portion of a 19 wilderness area that is bordered by a road shall be 100 20 feet from the centerline of the road. 21 (c) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 24 shall file with, and make available for inspection in, 25 the appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Man- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1411.IS S1411 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1411 IS agement, a map and legal description of each wilder- 1 ness area. 2 (2) EFFECT.—Each map and legal description 3 prepared under paragraph (1) shall have the same 4 force and effect as if included in this title, except 5 that the Secretary may correct clerical and typo- 6 graphical errors in the map or legal description. 7 (d) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 8 the wilderness areas are withdrawn from— 9 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and dis- 10 posal under the public land laws; 11 (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining 12 laws; and 13 (3) disposition under all laws relating to min- 14 eral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials. 15 SEC. 203. ADMINISTRATION. 16 (a) MANAGEMENT.—Subject to valid existing rights, 17 the wilderness areas shall be administered by the Sec- 18 retary in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 19 1131 et seq.), except that with respect to the wilderness 20 areas— 21 (1) any reference in that Act to the effective 22 date shall be considered to be a reference to the date 23 of enactment of this Act; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1411.IS S1411 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1411 IS (2) any reference in that Act to the Secretary 1 of Agriculture shall be considered to be a reference 2 to the Secretary. 3 (b) LIVESTOCK.—The grazing of livestock in the wil- 4 derness areas, if established before the date of enactment 5 of this Act, shall be allowed to continue, subject to such 6 reasonable regulations, policies, and practices as the Sec- 7 retary considers to be necessary in accordance with— 8 (1) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act (16 9 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)); and 10 (2) the guidelines set forth in Appendix A of 11 the report of the Committee on Interior and Insular 12 Affairs of the House of Representatives accom- 13 panying H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress (House 14 Report 101–405). 15 (c) INCORPORATION OF ACQUIRED LAND AND INTER- 16 ESTS.—Any land or interest in land within the boundary 17 of a wilderness area that is acquired by the United States 18 after the date of enactment of this Act shall be added to, 19 and administered as part of, the wilderness area. 20 (d) ADJACENT MANAGEMENT.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Congress does not intend for 22 the designation of the wilderness areas to create pro- 23 tective perimeters or buffer zones around the wilder- 24 ness areas. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1411.IS S1411 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1411 IS (2) NONWILDERNESS ACTIVITIES.—The fact 1 that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or 2 heard from within a wilderness area shall not pre- 3 clude the conduct of those activities or uses outside 4 the boundary of the wilderness area. 5 (e) MILITARY OVERFLIGHTS.—Nothing in this title 6 restricts or precludes— 7 (1) low-level overflights of military aircraft over 8 the wilderness areas, including military overflights 9 that can be seen or heard within the wilderness 10 areas; 11 (2) flight testing or evaluation; or 12 (3) the designation or creation of new units of 13 special use airspace, or the establishment of military 14 flight training routes, over the wilderness areas. 15 (f) WILDFIRE, INSECT, AND DISEASE MANAGE- 16 MENT.—In accordance with section 4(d)(1) of the Wilder- 17 ness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)), the Secretary may take 18 such measures in the wilderness areas as are necessary 19 for the control of fire, insects, and diseases (including, as 20 the Secretary determines to be appropriate, the coordina- 21 tion of the activities with a State or local agency). 22 (g) CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA COLLECTION.—In ac- 23 cordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) 24 and subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1411.IS S1411 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1411 IS may prescribe, the Secretary may authorize the installa- 1 tion and maintenance of hydrologic, meteorologic, or cli- 2 matological data collection devices in the wilderness areas 3 if the Secretary determines that the facilities and access 4 to the facilities are essential to flood warning, flood con- 5 trol, or water reservoir operation activities. 6 (h) WATER RIGHTS.— 7 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 8 (A) the wilderness areas are located— 9 (i) in the semiarid region of the Great 10 Basin; and 11 (ii) at the headwaters of the streams 12 and rivers on land with respect to which 13 there are few, if any— 14 (I) actual or proposed water re- 15 source facilities located upstream; and 16 (II) opportunities for diversion, 17 storage, or other uses of water occur- 18 ring outside the land that would ad- 19 versely affect the wilderness values of 20 the land; 21 (B) the wilderness areas are generally not 22 suitable for use or development of new water re- 23 source facilities; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 May 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1411.IS S1411 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1411 IS (C) because of the unique nature of the 1 wilderness areas, it is possible to provide for 2 proper management and protection of the wil- 3 derness and other values of the land in ways 4 different from the methods used in other laws. 5 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 6 is to protect the wilderness values of the wilderness 7 areas by means other than a federally reserved water 8 right. 9 (3) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.— 10 (A) NO RESERVATION.—Nothing in this 11 title constitutes an express or implied reserva- 12 tion by the United States of any water or water 13 rights with respect to the wilderness areas. 14 (B) STATE RIGHTS.—Nothing in this title 15 affects any water rights in the State (including 16 any water rights held by the United States) in 17 existence on th [Text truncated for display. 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