S. 764 — Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act

This section defines terms for purposes of this title, including (1) covered area as any area designated as wilderness by the amendments made by section 102(a) to section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993; (2) Secretary as the Secretary of Agriculture; and (3) wildlife conservation area as the Porcupine Gulch, Williams Fork Mountains, or Spraddle Creek Wildlife Conservation Areas designated by sections 104 through 106.

This section amends sec. 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to designate approximately 31,255 acres of federal land in the White River National Forest as wilderness or wilderness additions, as follows: (1) 6,896 acres as additions to the Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness; (2) 3,866 acres as additions to the Holy Cross Wilderness designated by PL 96-560; (3) 5,235 acres as the new Hoosier Ridge Wilderness; (4) 7,624 acres as the new Tenmile Wilderness; and (5) 7,634 acres as additions to the Eagles Nest Wilderness designated by PL 94-352. The section applies the Wilderness Act's effective date as the date of enactment for administering these areas (covered areas); authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to manage fire, insects, and diseases in covered areas per sec. 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act; permits pre-enactment livestock grazing in covered areas to continue subject to reasonable regulations and applicable law and guidelines; and requires coordination with state and local agencies, as appropriate for watershed protection, on fire and flood responses for the Eagles Nest Wilderness additions.

This section designates approximately 8,036 acres of federal land in the White River National Forest in Colorado, as generally depicted as “Proposed Williams Fork Mountains Wilderness” on the map entitled “Williams Fork Mountains Proposal” dated June 24, 2019, as the Williams Fork Mountains potential wilderness area and requires its management in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and this section, subject to valid existing rights. The section directs the Secretary of Agriculture, not later than three years after enactment, to determine whether to authorize livestock grazing on the vacant Big Hole and Blue Ridge allotments within the potential wilderness area (with authority to modify or combine them) and, if authorized, to issue a permit or other authorization not later than one year after that determination. If grazing is authorized, the section permits the Secretary or a third party to use motorized or mechanized equipment for constructing or rehabilitating necessary range improvements (including for habitat and watershed restoration), with such authority terminating two years after the grazing determination. The section designates the potential wilderness area as the Williams Fork Mountains Wilderness, effective not earlier than 180 days after enactment and on the earliest of (1) the date the Secretary publishes notice in the Federal Register that range improvements are complete; (2) two years after a positive grazing determination; or (3) the date of a determination not to authorize grazing. Upon designation, the Secretary must manage the area in accordance with the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–77), treating the effective date of that Act as the date of this designation.

This section designates approximately 8,287 acres of Federal land in the White River National Forest, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Porcupine Gulch Wildlife Conservation Area Proposal” dated June 24, 2019, as the Porcupine Gulch Wildlife Conservation Area, subject to valid existing rights. The purposes of the area are to conserve a wildlife migration corridor over Interstate 70 and to conserve, protect, and enhance wildlife, scenic, roadless, watershed, and ecological resources for present and future generations. It directs the Secretary to manage the area in accordance with the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 and other applicable laws to further those purposes, allowing only compatible uses including recreation; prohibiting motorized vehicles, mechanized transport, and new or temporary roads except for administrative purposes, fire or post-fire watershed protection, activities authorized under this section, or emergencies; and banning commercial timber harvesting except for byproducts of authorized activities. It authorizes management of wildland fire, hazardous fuels, insects, and diseases; permits subsurface use for regional transportation projects including Interstate 70 and the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels; and applies water rights protections from section 3(e) of the James Peak Wilderness and Protection Area Act.

This section designates approximately 3,528 acres of Federal land in the White River National Forest in Colorado, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Williams Fork Mountains Proposal” dated June 24, 2019, as the Williams Fork Mountains Wildlife Conservation Area (subject to valid existing rights). The purposes of the area are to conserve, protect, and enhance its wildlife, scenic, roadless, watershed, recreational, and ecological resources. The Secretary shall manage the area to further those purposes in accordance with the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 and other applicable laws, allowing only uses that advance those purposes, including: (1) limiting motorized vehicles and bicycles to designated roads and trails (with no new or temporary roads, except for administrative purposes, fire/insect/disease management, or emergencies); (2) prohibiting commercial timber harvesting (except for byproducts of authorized activities); and (3) continuing grazing consistent with the area's purposes. The Secretary may conduct wildland fire, hazardous fuels, insect, and disease management activities as needed. Section 3(e) of the James Peak Wilderness and Protection Area Act applies to the area.

This section designates approximately 2,674 acres of Federal land in the White River National Forest, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Eagles Nest Wilderness Additions Proposal” dated April 26, 2022, as the Spraddle Creek Wildlife Conservation Area to conserve, protect, and enhance wildlife, scenic, roadless, watershed, recreational, and ecological resources, subject to valid existing rights. The Secretary shall manage the area in accordance with the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 and other applicable laws to further those purposes, allowing only uses that support them and specifically: (1) prohibiting motorized vehicles and mechanized transport except for administrative purposes or emergencies; (2) barring construction of new roads except temporary roads required for vegetation management projects, which must be decommissioned within three years, or for emergencies; and (3) prohibiting projects for commercial timber harvesting while permitting harvest or sale of merchantable byproducts from authorized activities. The Secretary may manage wildland fire, hazardous fuels, insects, and diseases as needed. Section 3(e) of the James Peak Wilderness and Protection Area Act applies to the area.

This section modifies the boundary of the White River National Forest to include approximately 120 acres (SW 1/4, SE 1/4, and NE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of sec. 1, T. 2 S., R. 80 W., 6th Principal Meridian) in Summit County, Colorado. For Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) purposes under 54 U.S.C. 200306—which authorizes funding for land acquisition within national forest boundaries as of January 1, 1965—the modified boundaries are deemed to be those in existence on that date. (Thus, LWCF funds may be used for acquisitions of inholdings or adjacent lands within the added acreage for outdoor recreation purposes.)

This section modifies the boundary of the potential wilderness area in Rocky Mountain National Park, as designated by the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, to exclude approximately 15.5 acres of the Trail River Ranch identified as “Potential Wilderness to Non-wilderness” on the map entitled “Rocky Mountain National Park Proposed Wilderness Area Amendment” dated January 16, 2018. (Potential wilderness areas are National Park Service lands managed to become congressionally designated wilderness upon removal of inhibiting structures or uses; thus, this adjustment facilitates ongoing maintenance and use of the ranch property.)

This section establishes administrative provisions for areas designated under this title (i.e., covered areas, wilderness areas or potential wilderness areas designated by section 103, and Wildlife Conservation Areas). Specifically, it (1) preserves state jurisdiction over fish and wildlife; (2) prohibits buffer zones around such areas, allowing nonwilderness activities outside boundaries even if visible or audible from within; (3) protects Indian tribe treaty rights and authorizes traditional tribal uses (i.e., ceremonies and gathering plants or materials) subject to necessary terms; (4) directs the Secretary to prepare maps and legal descriptions in coordination with relevant congressional committees, with such documents having legal force (allowing clerical corrections and minor boundary adjustments for specified Wildlife Conservation Areas); (5) authorizes acquisition of nonfederal land or interests within boundaries by donation, purchase from willing sellers, or exchange for incorporation into the applicable area; (6) withdraws such areas from entry, appropriation, disposal under public land laws, mining laws, and mineral/geothermal leasing laws (subject to valid existing rights); and (7) preserves military low-level overflights, flight testing, special use airspace, and training over such areas. It also expresses the sense of Congress that military aviation training on federal public lands in the state, including at the High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site, is critical to national security and Armed Forces readiness.

This section defines terms for purposes of this title, including: (1) covered land as land designated as wilderness under paragraphs (27) through (29) of section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-77) (as added by section 202) and a Special Management Area; (2) Secretary as the Secretary of Agriculture; and (3) Special Management Area as the Sheep Mountain Special Management Area and the Liberty Bell East Special Management Area (designated by section 203(a)).

This section adds land to the National Wilderness Preservation System, as follows: (1) approximately 3,141 acres in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests as an addition to the Lizard Head Wilderness, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Proposed Wilson, Sunshine, Black Face and San Bernardo Additions to the Lizard Head Wilderness” dated September 6, 2018; (2) approximately 7,235 acres (Liberty Bell and Last Dollar additions) and 12,465 acres (Whitehouse additions) in the same national forests to the Mount Sneffels Wilderness, as generally depicted on the maps entitled “Proposed Liberty Bell and Last Dollar Additions to the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness, Liberty Bell East Special Management Area” dated September 6, 2018, and “Proposed Whitehouse Additions to the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness” dated September 6, 2018, respectively; and (3) approximately 8,884 acres of Bureau of Land Management land in Colorado as the McKenna Peak Wilderness, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Proposed McKenna Peak Wilderness Area” dated September 18, 2018.

This section designates two special management areas in national forests in Colorado: (1) the Sheep Mountain Special Management Area comprising approximately 21,663 acres in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison and San Juan National Forests, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Proposed Sheep Mountain Special Management Area” and dated September 19, 2018; and (2) the Liberty Bell East Special Management Area comprising approximately 792 acres in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Proposed Liberty Bell and Last Dollar Additions to the Mt. Sneffels Wilderness, Liberty Bell East Special Management Area” and dated September 6, 2018. The purpose of the special management areas is to conserve and protect geological, cultural, archaeological, paleontological, natural, scientific, recreational, wilderness, wildlife, riparian, historical, educational, and scenic resources. The Secretary must manage the areas to conserve and enhance those resources and values, maintain or improve their wilderness character and suitability for potential inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System, and comply with the National Forest Management Act of 1976 and other applicable laws. Permanent roads are prohibited, as are motor vehicles, motorized equipment, mechanical transport, and temporary roads except as needed for minimum administration, abandoned mine cleanup, or public health and safety; however, the Secretary may continue or newly permit previously authorized activities (including helicopter access for recreation and maintenance and the competitive running event permitted since 1992) and allow bicycles in the Ophir Valley Area of the Sheep Mountain Special Management Area and the Liberty Bell Corridor of the Liberty Bell East Special Management Area. Water and water rights in the special management areas are administered pursuant to section 8 of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993, with references in that section to designated wilderness and protection areas updated to apply to these special management areas and this Act. Not later than two years after enactment, the Secretary, in consultation with interested parties including San Miguel County and the Colorado Department of Transportation, must complete a study on safe Nordic skiing access near the Sheep Mountain Special Management Area and identify actions to provide or facilitate off-highway parking along State Highway 145.

This section releases from section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c))—which requires management of wilderness study areas (WSAs) to preserve their suitability for wilderness designation until Congress decides otherwise—the portions of (1) the Dominguez Canyon WSA not designated as wilderness by Subtitle E of title II of Public Law 111–11, and (2) the McKenna Peak WSA in San Miguel County, Colorado, not designated as wilderness by paragraph (29) of section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; Public Law 103–77), as added by section 202 of this Act. Such lands shall be managed in accordance with applicable laws (thus, without WSA protections).

This section establishes standard administrative provisions for wilderness areas designated by paragraphs (27) through (29) of section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (as added by section 202) and Special Management Areas, including (1) preserving state jurisdiction over fish and wildlife; (2) prohibiting buffer zones around such areas, with activities outside the boundaries permitted even if visible or audible within; (3) preserving Indian Tribes' treaty rights, including under the 1873 Agreement ratified in 1874, and allowing traditional tribal uses for ceremonies and plants or materials, subject to necessary terms; (4) directing the Secretaries of Agriculture or the Interior, as appropriate, to file maps and legal descriptions of the new wilderness areas and Special Management Areas with the House Committee on Natural Resources and Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, with such maps and descriptions having the force of law (subject to typographical corrections) and available for public inspection in Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service offices; (5) authorizing acquisition of land or interests within such areas by donation, purchase from willing sellers, or exchange, with acquired land incorporated into and managed as part of the applicable area; (6) permitting continuation of established livestock grazing, subject to reasonable regulations under Wilderness Act section 4(d)(4) and specified congressional grazing guidelines; (7) authorizing necessary measures for fire, insect, and disease control under Wilderness Act section 4(d)(1); and (8) withdrawing the covered land and approximately 6,590 acres depicted as the Proposed Naturita Canyon Mineral Withdrawal Area (dated September 6, 2018) from entry, appropriation, disposal under public land laws; location, entry, and patent under mining laws; and operation of mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws, subject to valid existing rights.

This section declares the purposes of this title to be (1) withdrawing certain federal lands in the Thompson Divide area from mineral and other disposal laws—subject to valid existing rights—to protect the area's agricultural, ranching, wildlife, air quality, recreation, ecological, and scenic values; and (2) promoting the capture of fugitive methane emissions that would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere.

This section defines terms used in this title, including (1) fugitive methane emissions (methane gas from federal lands in Garfield, Gunnison, Delta, or Pitkin County, Colorado, within the Fugitive Coal Mine Methane Use Pilot Program Area depicted on a map dated April 29, 2022, leaking from active/inactive federally leased coal mines or abandoned mines where the federal government owns methane mineral rights); (2) pilot program (the Greater Thompson Divide Fugitive Coal Mine Methane Use Pilot Program established in section 305(a)(1)); (3) Thompson Divide Withdrawal and Protection Area (federal lands and minerals depicted on a map dated September 19, 2023); (4) Thompson Divide lease (oil or gas leases in effect on enactment within that area, excluding Wolf Creek Storage Field-associated leases or previously expired/terminated leases); and (5) Wolf Creek Storage Field development right (specified federal mineral leases—numbered COC 0007496, COC 0007497, COC 0007498, COC 0007499, COC 0007500, COC 0007538, COC 0008128, COC 0015373, COC 0128018, COC 0051645, and COC 0051646—excluding storage rights or related activities).

This section establishes the Thompson Divide Withdrawal and Protection Area and withdraws such area, subject to valid existing rights, from (1) entry, appropriation, and disposal under public land laws; (2) location, entry, and patent under mining laws; and (3) operation of mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws. The section directs the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, to determine the area's exact acreage and legal description through surveys and specifies that nothing in the title affects grazing administration in the area.

This section authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue credits to holders of Thompson Divide leases who relinquish all such leases, usable toward bid, royalty, or rental payments due on any federal oil or gas lease on federal land in the same state. Credits equal the sum of (1) bonus bids paid for the leases, (2) rentals paid as of the relinquishment notice date, and (3) Secretary-approved reasonable expenses incurred as of January 28, 2019, for drilling permits, sundry notices, or related submissions including National Environmental Policy Act analyses (excluding legal fees and pre-lease expenses). Upon relinquishment, Thompson Divide leases are permanently canceled without further action by the Secretary and shall not be reissued; credits are accepted as cash and treated as amounts received for state (50%) and county (25%) revenue sharing under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191) and Geothermal Steam Act (30 U.S.C. 1019). As a condition of relinquishment, holders with Wolf Creek Storage Field development rights must convey them to the Secretary, who may issue similar credits for approved pre-January 28, 2019, expenses (subject to the same exclusions and conditions); acquired rights are held through the parent leases' term without transfer, reissuance, or mineral extraction use.

This section establishes in the Bureau of Land Management the Greater Thompson Divide Fugitive Coal Mine Methane Use Pilot Program to promote the capture, beneficial use, mitigation, and sequestration of fugitive methane emissions (i.e., unintentional releases from coal mines) in Garfield, Gunnison, Delta, and Pitkin Counties, Colorado, to reduce methane emissions, promote economic development, improve air quality, and enhance public safety. Not later than 180 days after enactment, the Secretary must develop a plan—developed in coordination with the state, specified counties, federal coal lessees, institutions of higher education, and the public—to (1) complete an inventory of such emissions within two years (using available data for split-estate federal minerals and leased coal mines without requiring new private-land access or lessee reporting, incorporating agency data, and making results publicly available except for sensitive information); (2) implement a leasing program within one year after inventory completion to authorize holders of valid existing federal coal leases to capture emissions for beneficial use (e.g., electrical power production) or destroy them, subject to safety and non-interference conditions; and (3) provide for capping or destruction of emissions.

This section provides that, except as expressly provided, nothing in this title—(1) expands, diminishes, or impairs valid existing mineral leases, mineral interests, or other property rights in the Thompson Divide Withdrawal and Protection Area (i.e., certain federal lands in Colorado withdrawn from new mineral development), including access thereto in accordance with applicable law; (2) prevents methane capture from any active, inactive, or abandoned coal mine covered by the title, in accordance with applicable law; or (3) prevents access to, or development of, any new or existing coal mine or lease in Delta or Gunnison County, Colorado.

This section defines, for purposes of this title, (1) "map" as the map entitled "Curecanti National Recreation Area, Proposed Boundary," numbered 616/100,485D, and dated April 25, 2022; (2) "National Recreation Area" as the Curecanti National Recreation Area established by section 402(a); and (3) "Secretary" as the Secretary of the Interior.

This section establishes the Curecanti National Recreation Area, consisting of approximately 50,300 acres of land as generally depicted on the specified map, as a unit of the National Park System effective on the earlier of one year after enactment or the date the Secretary approves a Bureau of Reclamation request to retain administrative jurisdiction over a minimum quantity of lands needed for water facility operations. The section directs the Secretary to administer the area in accordance with applicable National Park System laws; authorizes management agreements with the Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and the State; allows boating, hunting, and fishing subject to potential closures after consultation; preserves Bureau of Reclamation authority over the Uncompahgre Valley Reclamation Project, Wayne N. Aspinall Unit, and related facilities; and transfers administrative jurisdiction over Reclamation project lands to the National Park Service by one year after enactment (subject to any approved retention and a required memorandum of understanding for Reclamation access). The section further authorizes the Secretary, at a private landowner's request, to partner on conserving lands in the designated Conservation Opportunity Area by acquiring all or a portion by purchase, exchange, or donation in accordance with section 403.

This section authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land or interests in land within the boundary of the National Recreation Area by donation, purchase from willing sellers using donated or appropriated funds, transfer from another federal agency, or exchange (state or local government land only by purchase, donation, or exchange) and requires any such acquired land to be added to and managed as part of the National Recreation Area. The section also directs the following administrative jurisdiction transfers: (1) approximately 2,500 acres of U.S. Forest Service land to the National Park Service (NPS) for administration as part of the National Recreation Area, with a corresponding boundary adjustment to exclude the land from the Gunnison National Forest; (2) approximately 6,100 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land to NPS for the same purpose; and (3) land identified for transfer to BLM upon relinquishment by the Bureau of Reclamation and revocation by BLM of any applicable withdrawal. Finally, the section requires relinquishment by the Bureau of Reclamation (with revocation by BLM) of the withdrawal over land identified as potential exchange lands, followed by transfer of that land to NPS for potential exchange (subject to a conservation easement to protect scenic resources) with private land described in section 402(c)(5) or, if not exchanged, addition to the National Recreation Area.

This section directs the Director of the National Park Service, in consultation with the Commissioner of Reclamation, to prepare a general management plan for the National Recreation Area in accordance with section 100502 of title 54, United States Code, not later than three years after funds are made available to carry out this title. Section 100502 requires general management plans for all National Park System units to address resource preservation measures; types and intensities of development (including visitor circulation and transportation); visitor carrying capacities; and potential boundary modifications.