“A bill to withdraw certain Federal land in the Pecos Watershed area of the State of New Mexico from mineral entry, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section withdraws Federal land in the Pecos Watershed area of New Mexico—as depicted as “Pecos Withdrawal” on the map entitled “Proposed Mineral Withdrawal Legislative Map” dated September 11, 2023—from all forms of (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under public land laws; (2) location, entry, and patent under mining laws; and (3) disposition under laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials, subject to valid existing rights.
This section designates approximately 11,599 acres of land managed by the Forest Service in New Mexico, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Proposed Mineral Withdrawal Legislative Map” dated September 11, 2023, as the Thompson Peak Wilderness Area and as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Secretary of Agriculture must file a map and legal description of the area with designated congressional committees, administer the area in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) subject to valid existing rights (with the Act's effective date deemed to be the date of this Act's enactment), incorporate any subsequently acquired lands, and withdraw the area from public land laws, mining laws, and mineral and geothermal leasing or materials disposition. Wilderness administration includes (1) no creation of protective perimeters or buffer zones around the area; (2) allowance for nonwilderness activities outside the area even if visible or audible within it; (3) continuation of established grazing under Wilderness Act section 4(d)(4) and specified congressional guidelines; (4) State jurisdiction over fish and wildlife management; and (5) any necessary wildfire, insect, or disease control measures under Wilderness Act section 4(d)(1).