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S. 841: Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2014

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S. 841: Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2014

113th Congress · introduced 2013-04-25 · Public Lands and Natural Resources · Latest: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 632.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2013-04-25 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 632. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2014

Plain summary

Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2014 - (Sec. 3) Designates 70,650 acres of federal lands in San Juan National Forest in Colorado as the Hermosa Creek Special Management Area. Requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conserve, protect, and manage the resources of the Special Management Area in accordance with the National Forest Management Act of 1976. Permits motorized or mechanized vehicles in the Area only on road and trails designated for use by those vehicles. Directs the USDA to authorize the use of vehicles that go over snow within the Area when there is adequate snow coverage. Authorizes the USDA to permit grazing within the Area if the grazing is established before this Act's enactment. Prohibits certain road construction or renovation as well as certain commercial timber harvesting activities in the East Hermosa Area located within the Special Management Area . Provides that this Act does not affect the potential for development, operation, or maintenance of a water storage reservoir at a certain site in the Special Management Area. Requires USDA to develop within three years a management plan for the long-term protection and management of the Special Management Area that provides for recreational opportunities, including skiing, biking, hiking, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, snowmobiling, motorcycle riding, off-highway vehicle use, snowshoeing, and camping. (Sec. 4) Designates 37,236 acres of land within the Protection Area as the Hermosa Creek Wilderness. (Sec. 5) Withdraws specified federal land and mineral interests in the area surrounding Durango, Colorado. Authorizes the Department of the Interior to convey any portion of the withdrawn land that is administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to Durango, La Plata County, or Colorado pursuant to the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. (Sec. 6) Directs Interior, upon the expiration of a specified permit, to convey to La Plata County, Colorado, 82 acres of land managed by the BLM in the Tres Rios District in Colorado. Authorizes the land to be used for any public purpose in accordance with the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. (Sec. 7) Designates approximately 461 acres of land in San Juan County, Colorado, as the Molas Pass Recreation Area. Provides for the use of snowmobiles in the area. Allows USDA to authorize other recreational uses in the Area. Designates certain land as the Molas Pass Wilderness Study Area. Transfers the administration of the land from the BLM to the Forest Service. Releases the West Needles Contiguous Wilderness Study Area in San Juan County, Colorado, from further study for designation as wilderness. (Sec. 8) Provides that nothing in this Act establishes a buffer zone around Hermosa Creek Special Management Area or the Hermosa Creek Wilderness.

Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s)), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

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PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2014

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Reported to Senate with amendment(s))

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Bennet, Michael F. [D-CO] reported raising $226,248 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong113-s841 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113