H.R. 2467 — America's Red Rock Wilderness Act

This section designates 77 specified areas in the Great Basin region of western Utah, totaling approximately 2.05 million acres, as wilderness areas and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System in accordance with the Wilderness Act. (Thus, these areas—ranging from approximately 750 acres (Mahogany Peak) to 127,000 acres (Deep Creek Mountains)—must be managed to preserve their wilderness character, prohibiting motorized access, new infrastructure, and commercial development.)

This section designates approximately 1.84 million acres in 48 areas in southern Utah as wilderness areas and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System in accordance with the Wilderness Act. Specifically, it designates (1) approximately 519,500 acres in 18 areas in the Grand Staircase region (e.g., Paria-Hackberry, Timber Mountain), most within the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument; (2) approximately 905,750 acres in 19 areas on the Kaiparowits Plateau (e.g., Paradise Canyon-Wahweap, Fiftymile Mountain), most within the monument; and (3) approximately 415,250 acres in 11 areas in the Escalante Canyons (e.g., North Escalante Canyons, Death Hollow), all within the monument. (Thus, these areas will be managed to preserve wilderness character, generally prohibiting motorized access, new roads, structures, and commercial development.)

This section designates approximately 314,350 acres in 17 areas in Utah—known collectively as the Moab-La Sal Canyons Wilderness Areas and surrounding the La Sal Mountains and Moab—as wilderness areas and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, in accordance with the Wilderness Act. (As background, the Wilderness Act preserves designated federal lands in their natural condition, generally prohibiting motorized equipment, structures, and commercial activities.)

This section designates approximately 327,500 acres in 10 areas of the Henry Mountains in Utah as wilderness areas and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System in accordance with the Wilderness Act. The areas are: (1) Bull Mountain (approximately 16,000 acres); (2) Bullfrog Creek (approximately 42,000 acres); (3) Dogwater Creek (approximately 5,000 acres); (4) Fremont Gorge (approximately 22,000 acres); (5) Long Canyon (approximately 16,500 acres); (6) Mount Ellen-Blue Hills (approximately 14,750 acres); (7) Mount Hillers (approximately 20,250 acres); (8) Mount Pennell (approximately 155,500 acres); (9) Notom Bench (approximately 6,250 acres); and (10) Ragged Mountain (approximately 29,250 acres).

This section designates approximately 916,000 acres in 14 areas in the Glen Canyon region of Utah as wilderness areas and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, in accordance with the Wilderness Act. The areas are: (1) Cane Spring Desert (approximately 18,250 acres); (2) Copper Point (approximately 4,500 acres); (3) Dark Canyon (approximately 139,000 acres); (4) Dirty Devil (approximately 245,000 acres); (5) Fiddler Butte (approximately 93,000 acres); (6) Flat Tops (approximately 29,750 acres); (7) Fort Knocker (approximately 12,500 acres); (8) Little Rockies (approximately 64,000 acres); (9) Pleasant Creek Bench (approximately 1,000 acres); (10) Red Rock Plateau (approximately 185,500 acres); (11) The Needle (approximately 10,750 acres); (12) Tuwa Canyon (approximately 9,750 acres); (13) Upper Red Canyon (approximately 25,000 acres); and (14) White Canyon (approximately 78,000 acres).

This section designates 15 areas in the San Juan region of southeastern Utah, totaling approximately 540,000 acres, as wilderness areas and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System in accordance with the Wilderness Act. The areas are (1) Allen Canyon (approximately 6,500 acres), (2) Arch Canyon (approximately 30,500 acres), (3) Comb Ridge (approximately 16,000 acres), (4) Cross Canyon (approximately 2,500 acres), (5) Fish and Owl Creek Canyons (approximately 74,000 acres), (6) Grand Gulch (approximately 161,250 acres), (7) Hammond Canyon (approximately 4,750 acres), (8) Lime Creek (approximately 5,500 acres), (9) Monument Canyon (approximately 18,000 acres), (10) Nokai Dome (approximately 94,250 acres), (11) Road Canyon (approximately 64,000 acres), (12) San Juan River (approximately 14,750 acres), (13) The Tabernacle (approximately 7,250 acres), (14) Tin Cup Mesa (approximately 26,000 acres), and (15) Valley of the Gods (approximately 14,500 acres). (Most areas other than Cross Canyon, Monument Canyon, Tin Cup Mesa, and most of Nokai Dome and San Juan River lie within Bears Ears National Monument; wilderness designation generally prohibits roads, structures, and motorized use to protect natural, scenic, ecological, and cultural resources.)

This section designates 12 areas in Utah totaling approximately 647,000 acres as wilderness areas and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.): (1) Bridger Jack Mesa (approximately 33,500 acres); (2) Butler Wash (approximately 27,000 acres); (3) Dead Horse Cliffs (approximately 5,250 acres); (4) Demon’s Playground (approximately 36,500 acres); (5) Gooseneck (approximately 9,500 acres); (6) Hatch Point/Lockhart Basin/Harts Point (approximately 150,500 acres); (7) Horsethief Point (approximately 15,500 acres); (8) Indian Creek (approximately 28,500 acres); (9) Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness Expansion (approximately 158,750 acres); (10) San Rafael River (approximately 97,250 acres); (11) Shay Mountain (approximately 15,500 acres); and (12) Sweetwater Reef (approximately 69,250 acres). (Wilderness designation prohibits permanent roads, motorized vehicles, structures, and commercial enterprises to preserve the areas' natural conditions and outstanding opportunities for solitude.)

This section designates 21 areas in the San Rafael Swell region of Utah, totaling approximately 703,000 acres, as wilderness areas and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System pursuant to the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.). Seven of the areas expand existing wilderness designations (Devils Canyon Wilderness, Hondu Country Wilderness, Mexican Mountain Wilderness, Muddy Creek Wilderness, San Rafael Reef Wilderness, Sids Mountain Wilderness, and Wild Horse Mesa Wilderness).

This section designates 25 areas totaling approximately 670,000 acres in the Book Cliffs–Greater Dinosaur region of Utah as wilderness areas and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, including expansions to Desolation Canyon Wilderness (approximately 293,500 acres) and Turtle Canyon Wilderness (approximately 7,500 acres).

This section establishes general provisions for wilderness areas designated by title I, specifying that each such area consists of the acreage generally depicted on the map entitled “America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, 118th Congress” and shall be known by the name provided in title I. It further directs the Secretary, as soon as practicable after enactment, to file a map and legal description of each area with the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources—documents that shall have the force of law (subject to correction of clerical and typographical errors by the Secretary) and be made publicly available at the Office of the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.

This section directs the Secretary to administer each wilderness area designated under this Act in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Wilderness Act, subject to valid rights in existence on the date of enactment.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture, for state-owned land included in areas designated as wilderness by this Act, to offer an exchange for federally owned land in the same state of approximately equal value under section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and section 5(a) of the Wilderness Act. The Secretary may not transfer mineral interests in such an exchange unless the state transfers its mineral interests in the designated wilderness land to the Secretary.

This section reserves a quantity of water, as determined by the Secretary, sufficient for the preservation and protection of each wilderness area designated by this Act, with a priority date of the date of enactment. It directs the Secretary to protect these rights, including by filing claims in any present or future state stream adjudication in which the United States is or may be joined and that is conducted in accordance with section 208 of the Department of Justice Appropriation Act, 1953 (66 Stat. 560, chapter 651); clarifies that the Act does not relinquish or reduce any water rights reserved or appropriated by the United States in the state on or before the date of enactment; and specifies that the reservations are specific to areas designated by this Act and do not establish precedent for any future designations or affect the interpretation of any other Act.

This section establishes setbacks for wilderness boundaries from the centerline of adjacent roads. For roads with wilderness on one side, it requires a 300-foot setback from paved federal or state highways, 100 feet from other paved roads or high-standard dirt or gravel roads, and 30 feet from other roads; for roads with wilderness on both sides (including cherry-stems or those separating wilderness units), it requires 200 feet, 40 feet, and 10 feet, respectively. It authorizes the Secretary to (1) use well-defined topographical barriers (e.g., cliff edges or stream banks), parallel fences, or minimum deviations to exclude disturbances within 100 feet of a road (e.g., livestock developments, dispersed camping areas, or borrow pits) as the boundary if consistent with wilderness management goals; and (2) delineate boundaries within a setback area to enhance such goals.

This section permits the continuation of livestock grazing authorized as of the date of enactment within wilderness areas designated under title I, subject to reasonable regulations consistent with the Wilderness Act and section 101(f) of the Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 1990.

This section requires that any land within the boundaries of a wilderness area designated under this Act and acquired by the federal government (1) become part of that wilderness area and (2) be managed in accordance with this Act and other laws applicable to such areas.

This section withdraws the Federal land referred to in title I, subject to valid existing rights on the date of enactment, from all forms of (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and (3) disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials. (Thus, the land is unavailable for new mining claims, public land sales, or mineral/geothermal leases.)