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Adds new paragraphs (27) through (29) to section 2(a) of the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 (codified at 16 U.S.C. 1132) to designate additional wilderness additions and a new McKenna Peak Wilderness area.
For specified portions of the Dominguez Canyon and McKenna Peak Wilderness Study Areas, Congress finds they have been adequately studied and provides that those public lands not designated as wilderness are no longer subject to section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)) and shall be managed in accordance with the subtitle and applicable laws.
Designates multiple new wilderness and special management areas in Colorado, creates a BLM pilot program to address fugitive methane from coal mines in the Thompson Divide, and establishes a new national recreation area (Curecanti) with rules for management, land acquisition, recreation, and existing uses. It also sets timelines and conditions for grazing decisions, motorized use for range improvements, land-use studies (including a ski-access study), mapping requirements, mineral withdrawals, and reporting and planning requirements for the methane pilot program.
Defines the term "State" to mean the State of Colorado .
Designates certain Federal land in the White River National Forest (about 8,036 acres, as depicted on a map dated June 24, 2019) as a “potential wilderness area,” in furtherance of the Wilderness Act.
Requires that, subject to valid existing rights and except as provided for range improvements, the potential wilderness area be managed in accordance with the Wilderness Act and this section.
Requires the Secretary, not later than 3 years after enactment and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, to publish a determination on whether to authorize livestock grazing or other livestock use on two vacant allotments: the Big Hole Allotment and the Blue Ridge Allotment.
Authorizes the Secretary, when publishing the livestock determination, to modify or combine the vacant allotments referenced (Big Hole and Blue Ridge).
Primary direct effects will fall on public land users and managers in Colorado: ranchers and grazing permit holders face new decision timelines and conditional limits on equipment use but generally retain preexisting grazing where established. Recreationists and tourists will see changes in land status and management under the new Curecanti National Recreation Area and new wilderness/special management areas; maps and management plans will govern access and permitted activities. Mining and energy operators in the Thompson Divide area may be affected by the methane pilot program, which could create leasing, mitigation, or sequestration opportunities and temporary mineral withdrawals; valid existing rights are preserved but new development may be constrained. Tribal communities are expressly protected for traditional uses, but will be engaged in management processes. Federal land management agencies (USDA Forest Service, BLM, Department of the Interior) must complete inventories, studies, and plans and will incur administrative responsibilities and costs tied to mapping, environmental review, permitting decisions, and reporting. Local communities and businesses (including ski-area operators and recreation businesses) may experience indirect economic impacts from changed land-use rules, new recreation branding, or limits on extractive activities. Overall, the bill shifts land-use designations and requires multiple agency actions with set deadlines, producing regulatory certainty in some areas while imposing new constraints and program requirements in others.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced February 27, 2025 by Michael F. Bennet · Last progress February 27, 2025
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced in Senate