Sec. 135. Sanhedrin Special Conservation Management Area
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Subject to valid existing rights, there is established the Sanhedrin Special Conservation Management Area (referred to in this section as the conservation management area ), comprising approximately 12,254 acres of Federal land administered by the Forest Service in Mendocino County, California, as generally depicted on the map entitled Sanhedrin Conservation Management Area and dated May 15, 2020. The purposes of the conservation management area are— to conserve, protect, and enhance for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations the ecological, scenic, wildlife, recreational, roadless, cultural, historical, natural, educational, and scientific resources of the conservation management area; to protect and restore late-successional forest structure, oak woodlands and grasslands, aquatic habitat, and anadromous fisheries within the conservation management area; to protect and restore the wilderness character of the conservation management area; and to allow visitors to enjoy the scenic, natural, cultural, and wildlife values of the conservation management area.
The Secretary shall manage the conservation management area— in a manner consistent with the purposes described in subsection (b); and in accordance with— the laws (including regulations) generally applicable to the National Forest System; this section; and any other applicable law (including regulations). The Secretary shall only allow uses of the conservation management area that the Secretary determines would further the purposes described in subsection (b). Except as provided in paragraph (3), the use of motorized vehicles in the conservation management area shall be permitted only on existing roads, trails, and areas designated for use by such vehicles as of the date of enactment of this Act.
Except as provided in paragraph (3), no new or temporary roads shall be constructed within the conservation management area. Nothing in paragraph
(1)or
(2)prevents the Secretary from— rerouting or closing an existing road or trail to protect natural resources from degradation, or to protect public safety, as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary; designating routes of travel on land acquired by the Secretary and incorporated into the conservation management area if the designations are— consistent with the purposes described in subsection (b); and completed, to the maximum extent practicable, not later than 3 years after the date of acquisition; constructing a temporary road on which motorized vehicles are permitted as part of a vegetation management project carried out in accordance with paragraph (4); authorizing the use of motorized vehicles for administrative purposes; or responding to an emergency. In this paragraph, the term decommission means, with respect to a road— to reestablish vegetation on the road; and to restore any natural drainage, watershed function, or other ecological processes that are disrupted or adversely impacted by the road by removing or hydrologically disconnecting the road prism. Not later than 3 years after the date on which the applicable vegetation management project is completed, the Secretary shall decommission any temporary road constructed under paragraph (3)(C). Except as provided in paragraph (2), no harvesting of timber shall be allowed within the conservation management area. The Secretary may authorize harvesting of timber in the conservation management area— if the Secretary determines that the harvesting is necessary to further the purposes of the conservation management area; in a manner consistent with the purposes described in subsection (b); and subject to— such reasonable regulations, policies, and practices as the Secretary determines to be appropriate; and all applicable laws (including regulations). The grazing of livestock in the conservation management area, where established before the date of enactment of this Act, shall be permitted to continue— subject to— such reasonable regulations, policies, and practices as the Secretary considers necessary; and applicable law (including regulations); and in a manner consistent with the purposes described in subsection (b). Consistent with this section, the Secretary may carry out any activities within the conservation management area that the Secretary determines to be necessary to control fire, insects, or diseases, including the coordination of those activities with a State or local agency. In accordance with applicable laws (including regulations), the Secretary may acquire any land or interest in land within or adjacent to the boundaries of the conservation management area by purchase from a willing seller, donation, or exchange. Any land or interest in land acquired by the Secretary under paragraph
(1)shall be— incorporated into, and administered as part of, the conservation management area; and withdrawn in accordance with subsection (i). Subject to valid existing rights, all Federal land located in the conservation management area is withdrawn from— all forms of entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws; location, entry, and patenting under the mining laws; and operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws.