[106th Congress Public Law 145]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
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[DOCID: f:publ145.106]
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Public Law 106-145
106th Congress
An Act
To designate a portion of the Otay Mountain region of California as
wilderness. <<NOTE: Dec. 9, 1999 - [H.R. 15]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Otay Mountain
Wilderness Act of 1999.>>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Otay Mountain Wilderness Act of
1999''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds and declares the following:
(1) The public lands within the Otay Mountain region of
California are one of the last remaining pristine locations in
western San Diego County, California.
(2) This rugged mountain adjacent to the United States-
Mexico border is internationally known for its diversity of
unique and sensitive plants.
(3) This area plays a critical role in San Diego's multi-
species conservation plan, a national model made for maintaining
biodiversity.
(4) Due to its proximity to the international border, this
area is the focus of important law enforcement and border
interdiction efforts necessary to curtail illegal immigration
and protect the area's wilderness values.
(5) The illegal immigration traffic, combined with the
rugged topography, also presents unique fire management
challenges for protecting lives and resources.
SEC. 3. <<NOTE: 16 USC 1132 note.>> DESIGNATION.
In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131
et seq.), certain public lands in the California Desert District of the
Bureau of Land Management, California, comprising approximately 18,500
acres as generally depicted on a map entitled ``Otay Mountain
Wilderness'' and dated May 7, 1998, are hereby designated as wilderness
and therefore as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation
System, which shall be known as the Otay Mountain Wilderness.
SEC. 4. MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.
(a) In General.--As soon as practicable after the date of the
enactment of this Act, a map and a legal description for the Wilderness
Area shall be filed by the Secretary with the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the
House of Representatives. Such map and legal description shall have the
same force and effect as if included
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in this Act, except that the Secretary, as appropriate, may correct
clerical and typographical errors in such legal description and map.
Such map and legal description for the Wilderness Area shall be on file
and available for public inspection in the offices of the Director and
California State Director, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the
Interior.
(b) United States-Mexico Border.--In carrying out this section, the
Secretary shall ensure that the southern boundary of the Wilderness Area
is 100 feet north of the trail depicted on the map referred to in
subsection (a) and is at least 100 feet from the United States-Mexico
international border.
SEC. 5. WILDERNESS REVIEW.
The Congress hereby finds and directs that all the public lands not
designated wilderness within the boundaries of the Southern Otay
Mountain Wilderness Study Area (CA-060-029) and the Western Otay
Mountain Wilderness Study Area (CA-060-028) managed by the Bureau of
Land Management and reported to the Congress in 1991, have been
adequately studied for wilderness designation pursuant to section 603 of
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782), and
are no longer subject to the requirements contained in section 603(c) of
that Act pertaining to the management of wilderness study areas in a
manner that does not impair the suitability of such areas for
preservation as wilderness.
SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION OF WILDERNESS AREA.
(a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights and to subsection
(b), the Wilderness Area shall be administered by the Secretary in
accordance with the provisions of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et
seq.), except that--
(1) any reference in such provisions to the effective date
of the Wilderness Act is deemed to be a reference to the
effective date of this Act; and
(2) any reference in such provisions to the Secretary of
Agriculture is deemed to be a reference to the Secretary of the
Interior.
(b) Border Enforcement, Drug Interdiction, and Wildland Fire
Protection.--Because of the proximity of the Wilderness Area to the
United States-Mexico international border, drug interdiction, border
operations, and wildland fire management operations are common
management actions throughout the area encompassing the Wilderness Area.
This Act recognizes the need to continue such management actions so long
as such management actions are conducted in accordance with the
Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) and are subject to such
conditions as the Secretary considers appropriate.
SEC. 7. FURTHER ACQUISITIONS.
Any lands within the boundaries of the Wilderness Area that are
acquired by the United States after the date of the enactment of this
Act shall become part of the Wilderness Area and shall be managed in
accordance with all the provisions of this Act and other laws applicable
to such a wilderness.
SEC. 8. NO BUFFER ZONES.
The Congress does not intend for the designation of the Wilderness
Area by this Act to lead to the creation of protective perimeters
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or buffer zones around the Wilderness Area. The fact that nonwilderness
activities or uses can be seen or heard from areas within the Wilderness
Area shall not, of itself, preclude such activities or uses up to the
boundary of the Wilderness Area.
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act:
(1) Public lands.--The term ``public lands'' has the same
meaning as that term has in section 103(e) of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(3) Wilderness area.--The term ``Wilderness Area'' means the
Otay Mountain Wilderness designated by section 3.
Approved December 9, 1999.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 15:
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HOUSE REPORTS: No. 106-65 (Comm. on Resources).
SENATE REPORTS: No. 106-116 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 145 (1999):
Apr. 12, considered and passed House.
Nov. 19, considered and passed Senate.
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