Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2014
Latest action · Dec 22, 2014 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 524.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 6, 2013
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2014 - (Sec. 4) Permits specified federal lands in San Juan National Forest in Colorado to be called the Hermosa Creek Watershed and Protection Area.
(Sec. 5) Designates certain federal lands in a proposed watershed protection area in San Juan National Forest to be administered by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) as the Hermosa Creek Special Management Area.
Authorizes in the Special Management Area, subject to conditions, specified activities including: (1) the use of motorized vehicles and snowmobiles, and (2) grazing and other traditional economic activities. Prohibits an area identified as East Hermosa Area from having unauthorized new road construction, renovations of existing nonsystem roads, or commercial timber harvests.
Requires any land interests acquired by the United States within the Special Management Area to occur only through donation or exchange with written consent of the property owner.
Declares that nothing in this Act affects: (1) Colorado's fish and wildlife jurisdiction, or (2) management of water storage reservoirs.
Withdraws federal land within the Special Management Area from: (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under public land laws; (2) location, entry, and patent under mining laws; and (3) disposition under mineral leasing, geothermal leasing, or mineral materials laws.
Sets forth authority for the management of ski area permits, vegetation, wildfires, hazardous fuels, insects, and diseases in the Special Management Area.
Requires USDA, within three years after enactment of this Act, to develop a management plan for the long-term protection and management of the Special Management Area.
(Sec. 6) Prohibits designation of the Special Management Area from affecting water rights decreed under existing Colorado laws.
(Sec. 7) Designates certain San Juan National Forest land as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System to be known as Hermosa Creek Wilderness.
(Sec. 8) Withdraws federal land and mineral interests depicted on a map entitled "Perins Peak & Animas City Mountain, Horse Gulch and Lake Nighthorse Mineral Withdrawal" from certain acts under public land, mining, mineral, and geothermal laws. Permits USDA to convey that land to the city of Durango, the county of La Plata, or the state of Colorado pursuant to the Recreation and Public Purposes Act or by a legal exchange.
(Sec. 9) Directs the Department of the Interior, upon the expiration of a specified permit and upon the request and agreement of La Plata, to convey to La Plata identified land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Tres Rios District in Colorado.
Directs Interior to require La Plata to pay administrative costs associated with such conveyance.
(Sec. 10) Designates certain San Juan County land as the Molas Pass Recreation Area. Authorizes snowmobiles in the area under specified conditions and requires USDA to authorize mountain biking and other recreational uses.
Designates as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System certain San Juan National Forest land depicted as "Weminuche Wilderness Addition" on a map entitled "West Needles Contiguous Wilderness Study Area." Transfers administrative jurisdiction of that land from the BLM to the Forest Service.
(Sec. 11) Declares that nothing in this Act restricts low-level overflights of military aircraft, flight testing and evaluation, special use airspace, or military flight training routes over wilderness areas.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Jul 28, 2014.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-CO | Mike Coffman | Jul 28, 2014 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred May 6, 2013Markup Sep 18, 2014Reported Dec 22, 2014 |
| Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee | Referred May 8, 2013Discharged Sep 18, 2014 | |
| Federal Lands Subcommittee | Referred May 8, 2013Hearings Mar 6, 2014 |
Actions 10
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 22, 2014Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 113-693.
- Dec 22, 2014Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 524.
- Sep 18, 2014Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources Discharged.
- Sep 18, 2014Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Sep 18, 2014Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 22 - 18.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Dec 9, 2014H.R. 1839, Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2014As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on September 18, 2014
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H2437.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 113-342 | CURRENT PUBLIC LANDS, FORESTS, AND MINING BILLS128 pages | Energy and Natural Resources Committee | Nov 20, 2013 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 841 | Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2014 | Related bill | Dec 10, 2014 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To designate certain Federal land in the San Juan National Forest in the State of Colorado as wilderness, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2013
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2014
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.
- Colorado
- Ecology
- Economic development
- Fishes
- Forests, forestry, trees
- Lakes and rivers
- Land transfers
- Land use and conservation
- Mining
- Outdoor recreation
- Parks, recreation areas, trails
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Roads and highways
- Water quality
- Water use and supply
- Watersheds
- Wilderness and natural areas, wildlife refuges, wild rivers, habitats
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 22, 2014Reported in House
- May 6, 2013Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
