16 U.S.C. § 460sss — Cow Mountain Recreation Area, Lake and Mendocino Counties, California

(a) Establishment: To improve the Cow Mountain area's recreational and scenic value in Lake and Mendocino Counties, California, while protecting its wildlife and other natural resources, the law creates the Cow Mountain Recreation Area -- about 51,513 acres, shown on a map dated July 22, 2006. This includes the "South Cow Mountain OHV Management Area" and the "North Cow Mountain Recreation Area," both shown on the map. (b) Legal descriptions; correction of errors: (1) As soon as practical after October 17, 2006, the Secretary of the Interior must prepare a map and legal description of the recreation area's boundaries, and send them to the House Committee on Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (2) This map and description count as if written into the law itself, except the Secretary may fix clerical and typographical errors. The map must be kept on file and open to the public at Bureau of Land Management offices. (c) Administration: (1) The Secretary of the Interior manages the recreation area under this section and the laws and rules generally applying to public lands, including the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. (2) The recreation area is created subject to all existing valid rights. (d) Recreational activities: (1) The Secretary must keep allowing, maintaining, and improving recreational use of the land -- including motorized recreation, hiking, camping, mountain biking, sightseeing, and horseback riding -- as long as it fits this section and other laws. (2) Off-road and motorized recreation: Motorized recreation is an approved use within the South Cow Mountain OHV Management Area, but only on roads and trails the Secretary designates for it -- except for administrative needs or emergencies. The Secretary can still close any trail or route to protect resources or public safety. (3) Mountain biking: Mountain biking is an approved use in the recreation area, but only on roads and trails the Secretary designates for it. The Secretary can still close any trail or route to protect resources or public safety. (e) Access to private property: The Secretary must give owners of private property inside the recreation area's boundaries reasonable access to their land. (f) Land acquisition: (1) The Secretary may only acquire land or land interests in the recreation area from willing parties -- by donation, by exchange under a written agreement, or by purchase under a written agreement from a willing seller. (2) Land bought this way, that the Bureau of Land Management owns, and that the United States gained title or possession of after October 17, 2006, becomes part of the recreation area, managed by the Secretary. (g) Adjacent management: This section does not create any buffer zones or protective perimeters around the recreation area.