Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Ou27J2 <br /> <br />17 <br /> <br />, <br />! <br />, <br />, <br /> <br />FOSSIL RIDGE AND BOWEN GULCH <br /> <br />Section 5 would designate 43,900 acres of National Forest lands <br />as the "Fossil Ridge Recreation Management Area." The area <br />would be established to conserve, protect, and enhance its scenic, <br />wildlife, recreational, and other natural resource values; would be <br />withdrawn (subject to valid existing rights) from mineral entry and <br />from mineral and geothermal leasing; would be closed to timber <br />harvesting to the same extent as if the area were designated as <br />wilderness; and would be closed to construction of developed camp- <br />grounds and new roads or trails. The area would be closed to non- <br />emergency motorized travel except on existing trails or routes <br />where such travel was permitted as of July 1, 1991, as identified <br />on a map to be made available within one year after enactment of <br />the bill, and motorized use even of these identified routes and <br />trails could be curtailed for resource protection or public safety. <br />Designation of the area would not prohibit or change the adminis- <br />tration of livestock grazing on the lands involved. <br />The provisions of the section related to identification of trails or <br />routes open to non-emergency motorized travel can be implemented <br />through essentially ministerial actions, and are not intended to ei- <br />ther trigger a process of formal revision or amendment of any ap- <br />plicable National Forest management plans, or to preclude future <br />plan revision or amendment in the regular course of implementa- <br />tion of the National Forest Management Act. The Committee un- <br />derstands that the Forest Service has begun the identification proc- <br />ess, and therefore expects compliance with the year-after-enact- <br />ment deadline for completion of this process and preparation of a <br />publicly-available map reflecting its results. <br />Section 6 would designate 11,600 acres of National Forest lands <br />as the "Bowen Gulch Protection Area". While all of the Bowen <br />Gulch area would be appropriate for management as wilderness, <br />the portion covered by section 6 has been given a different status <br />so as to accommodate snowmobiling and Uf;e of mountain bicycles <br />under appropriate regulations. The area would be withdrawn from <br />mineral entry and from mineral and geothermal leasing; would be <br />closed to new developed campgrounds, roads, and trails; would be <br />closed to timber harvesting to the same extent as if designated a <br />wilderness; and would be closed to motorized travel except for <br />snowmobile use on designated trails and routes in existence on <br />July 1, 1991 during periods of adequate snow cover (but open to <br />mechanized, non-motorized travel). The Forest Service would be re- <br />quired to develop a management plan for the area during revision <br />of the relevant National Forest plan. <br />Section 7 provides that nothing in the bill will affect ownership <br />or use of lands therein not owned by the United States or access <br />to such lands available under other applicable law. The Committee <br />is aware that within the wilderness areas designated by the biB <br />there are some lands and interests (e.g., mining claims) that are <br />not owned by the United States, and notes that under the Wilder- <br />ness Act limch inholdings in National Forest wilderness areas can- <br />not be acauired without the consent of the owner, and that ade- <br />quate access is required to be provided to the owner by existing <br />law. <br />