§410aaa. Findings
The Congress hereby finds that-
(1) proclamations by Presidents Herbert Hoover in 1933 and Franklin Roosevelt in 1937 established and expanded the Death Valley National Monument for the preservation of the unusual features of scenic, scientific, and educational interest therein contained;
(2) Death Valley National Monument is today recognized as a major unit of the National Park System, having extraordinary values enjoyed by millions of visitors;
(3) the monument boundaries established in the 1930's exclude and thereby expose to incompatible development and inconsistent management, contiguous Federal lands of essential and superlative natural, ecological, geological, archeological, paleontological, cultural, historical ad 1 wilderness values;
(4) Death Valley National Monument should be substantially enlarged by the addition of all contiguous Federal lands of national park caliber and afforded full recognition and statutory protection as a National Park; and
(5) the wilderness within Death Valley should receive maximum statutory protection by designation pursuant to the Wilderness Act [16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.].
(
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Wilderness Act, referred to in par. (5), is
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Short Title
Timbisha Shoshone Homeland
"SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
"This Act may be cited as the 'Timbisha Shoshone Homeland Act'.
"SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
"Congress finds the following:
"(1) Since time immemorial, the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe has lived in portions of California and Nevada. The Tribe's ancestral homeland includes the area that now comprises Death Valley National Park and other areas of California and Nevada now administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
"(2) Since 1936, the Tribe has lived and governed the affairs of the Tribe on approximately 40 acres of land near Furnace Creek in the Park.
"(3) The Tribe achieved Federal recognition in 1983 but does not have a land base within the Tribe's ancestral homeland.
"(4) Since the Tribe commenced use and occupancy of the Furnace Creek area, the Tribe's membership has grown. Tribal members have a desire and need for housing, government and administrative facilities, cultural facilities, and sustainable economic development to provide decent, safe, and healthy conditions for themselves and their families.
"(5) The interests of both the Tribe and the National Park Service would be enhanced by recognizing their coexistence on the same land and by establishing partnerships for compatible land uses and for the interpretation of the Tribe's history and culture for visitors to the Park.
"(6) The interests of both the Tribe and the United States would be enhanced by the establishment of a land base for the Tribe and by further delineation of the rights and obligations of each with respect to the Furnace Creek area and to the Park as a whole.
"SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
"Consistent with the recommendations of the report required by section 705(b) [now (c)] of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 [16 U.S.C. 410aaa–75(b) [now (c)]] (
"(1) to provide in trust to the Tribe land on which the Tribe can live permanently and govern the Tribe's affairs in a modern community within the ancestral homeland of the Tribe outside and within the Park;
"(2) to formally recognize the contributions by the Tribe to the history, culture, and ecology of the Park and surrounding area;
"(3) to ensure that the resources within the Park are protected and enhanced by-
"(A) cooperative activities within the Tribe's ancestral homeland; and
"(B) partnerships between the Tribe and the National Park Service and partnerships involving the Bureau of Land Management;
"(4) to ensure that such activities are not in derogation of the purposes and values for which the Park was established;
"(5) to provide opportunities for a richer visitor experience at the Park through direct interactions between visitors and the Tribe including guided tours, interpretation, and the establishment of a tribal museum and cultural center;
"(6) to provide appropriate opportunities for economically viable and ecologically sustainable visitor-related development, by the Tribe within the Park, that is not in derogation of the purposes and values for which the Park was established; and
"(7) to provide trust lands for the Tribe in 4 separate parcels of land that is now managed by the Bureau of Land Management and authorize the purchase of 2 parcels now held in private ownership to be taken into trust for the Tribe.
"SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
"In this Act:
"(1)
"(2)
"(3)
"(4)
"(5)
"SEC. 5. TRIBAL RIGHTS AND AUTHORITY ON THE TIMBISHA SHOSHONE HOMELAND.
"(a)
"(b)
"(1)
"(A) Furnace Creek, Death Valley National Park, California, an area of 313.99 acres for community development, residential development, historic restoration, and visitor-related economic development, depicted as Tract 37 on the map of Township 27 North, Range 1 East, of the San Bernardino Meridian, California, numbered Map #1 and dated December 2, 1999, together with 92 acre feet per annum of surface and ground water for the purposes associated with the transfer of such lands. This area shall include a 25-acre, nondevelopment zone at the north end of the area and an Adobe Restoration zone containing several historic adobe homes, which shall be managed by the Tribe as a tribal historic district.
"(B) Death Valley Junction, California, an area of approximately 1,000 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled 'Death Valley Junction, California', numbered Map #2 and dated April 12, 2000, together with 15.1 acre feet per annum of ground water for the purposes associated with the transfer of such lands.
"(C)(i) Centennial, California, an area of approximately 640 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled 'Centennial, California', numbered Map #3 and dated April 12, 2000, together with an amount of ground water not to exceed 10 acre feet per annum for the purposes associated with the transfer of such lands.
"(ii) If the Secretary determines that there is insufficient ground water available on the lands described in clause (i) to satisfy the Tribe's right to ground water to fulfill the purposes associated with the transfer of such lands, then the Tribe and the Secretary shall, within 2 years of such determination, identify approximately 640 acres of land that are administered by the Bureau of Land Management in that portion of Inyo County, California, to the north and east of the China Lake Naval Weapons Center, to be a mutually agreed upon substitute for the lands described in clause (i). If the Secretary determines that sufficient water is available to fulfill the purposes associated with the transfer of the lands described in the preceding sentence, then the Tribe shall request that the Secretary accept such lands into trust for the benefit of the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, and the Secretary shall accept such lands, together with an amount of water not to exceed 10 acre feet per annum, into trust for the Tribe as a substitute for the lands described in clause (i).
"(D) Scotty's Junction, Nevada, an area of approximately 2,800 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled 'Scotty's Junction, Nevada', numbered Map #4 and dated April 12, 2000, together with 375.5 acre feet per annum of ground water for the purposes associated with the transfer of such lands.
"(E) Lida, Nevada, Community Parcel, an area of approximately 3,000 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled 'Lida, Nevada, Community Parcel', numbered Map #5 and dated April 12, 2000, together with 14.7 acre feet per annum of ground water for the purposes associated with the transfer of such lands.
"(2)
"(3)
"(A)
"(i) for purposes of community and residential development-
"(I) a maximum of 50 single-family residences; and
"(II) a tribal community center with space for tribal offices, recreation facilities, a multipurpose room and kitchen, and senior and youth facilities;
"(ii) for purposes of economic development-
"(I) a small-to-moderate desert inn; and
"(II) a tribal museum and cultural center with a gift shop; and
"(iii) the infrastructure necessary to support the level of development described in clauses (i) and (ii).
"(B)
"(C)
"(4)
"(c)
"(d)
"(1) Indian Rancheria Site, California, an area of approximately 120 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled 'Indian Rancheria Site, California' numbered Map #6 and dated December 3, 1999.
"(2) Lida Ranch, Nevada, an area of approximately 2,340 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled 'Lida Ranch' numbered Map #7 and dated April 6, 2000, or another parcel mutually agreed upon by the Secretary and the Tribe.
"(e)
"(1)
"(2)
"(3)
"(4)
"(A)
"(B)
"(C)
"(5)
"(A) the Tribe may establish and maintain a tribal resource management field office, garage, and storage area, all within the area of the existing ranger station at Wildrose (existing as of the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 1, 2000]);
"(B) the Tribe also may use traditional camps for tribal members at Wildrose and Hunter Mountain in accordance with the jointly established management plan referred to in paragraph (1);
"(C) the area shall be depicted on maps of the Park and Bureau of Land Management that are provided for general visitor use;
"(D) the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management shall accommodate access by the Tribe to and use by the Tribe of-
"(i) the area (including portions described in subparagraph (E)) for traditional cultural and religious activities, in a manner consistent with the purpose and intent of
"(ii) areas designated as wilderness (including portions described in subparagraph (E)), in a manner consistent with the purpose and intent of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.); and
"(E)(i) on the request of the Tribe, the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management shall temporarily close to the general public, 1 or more specific portions of the area in order to protect the privacy of tribal members engaging in traditional cultural and religious activities in those portions; and
"(ii) any such closure shall be made in a manner that affects the smallest practicable area for the minimum period necessary for the purposes described in clause (i).
"(f)
"(g)
"SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS.
"(a)
"(b)
"(c)
"SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
"(a)
"(b)
"(c)
"(d)
"SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
"There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as may be necessary."
Findings and Policy
"(a) The Congress finds and declares that-
"(1) the federally owned desert lands of southern California constitute a public wildland resource of extraordinary and inestimable value for this and future generations;
"(2) these desert wildlands display unique scenic, historical, archeological, environmental, ecological, wildlife, cultural, scientific, educational, and recreational values used and enjoyed by millions of Americans for hiking and camping, scientific study and scenic appreciation;
"(3) the public land resources of the California desert now face and are increasingly threatened by adverse pressures which would impair, dilute, and destroy their public and natural values;
"(4) the California desert, embracing wilderness lands, units of the National Park System, other Federal lands, State parks and other State lands, and private lands, constitutes a cohesive unit posing unique and difficult resource protection and management challenges;
"(5) through designation of national monuments by Presidential proclamation, through enactment of general public land statutes (including section 601 [43 U.S.C. 1781] of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976,
"(6) statutory land unit designations are needed to afford the full protection which the resources and public land values of the California desert merit.
"(b) In order to secure for the American people of this and future generations an enduring heritage of wilderness, national parks, and public land values in the California desert, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress that-
"(1) appropriate public lands in the California desert shall be included within the National Park System and the National Wilderness Preservation System, in order to-
"(A) preserve unrivaled scenic, geologic, and wildlife values associated with these unique natural landscapes;
"(B) perpetuate in their natural state significant and diverse ecosystems of the California desert;
"(C) protect and preserve historical and cultural values of the California desert associated with ancient Indian cultures, patterns of western exploration and settlement, and sites exemplifying the mining, ranching and railroading history of the Old West;
"(D) provide opportunities for compatible outdoor public recreation, protect and interpret ecological and geological features and historic, paleontological, and archeological sites, maintain wilderness resource values, and promote public understanding and appreciation of the California desert; and
"(E) retain and enhance opportunities for scientific research in undisturbed ecosystems."
Removal of Feral Burros and Horses From Death Valley National Monument
Definitions
"(a)
"(1) sections 1 and 2 [enacting provisions set out as notes under this section]; and
"(2) titles I through IX [enacting this subchapter, subchapter CXLII, provisions listed in a table of Wilderness Areas set out under section 1132 of this title, provisions set out as notes under section 410aaa–82 of this title and section 1781 of Title 43, Public Lands, and amending provisions listed in a table of National Monuments Established Under Presidential Proclamation set out under section 431 of this title and a table of Wilderness Areas set out under section 1132 of this title].
"(b)
"(1)
"(2)
"(A) with respect to land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the Interior; and
"(B) with respect to land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Agriculture.
"(3)