A bill to establish the El Malpais National Monument, the Masau Trail, and the Grants National Conservation Area in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes.
Public Law 100-225 · H.R. 403 · 100th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Ronald Reagan (R) on Dec 31, 1987 · Public Lands and Natural Resources
Sponsor: Rep. William Richardson (D-NM-3)
Cosponsors (2): Rep. Manuel Luján, Rep. Ronald Marlenee
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateVoice vote
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Title I: El Malpais National Monument - Establishes the El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, through the Director of the National Park Service, to administer such Monument. Permits the continuation of existing grazing privileges through 1997.
Title II: Masau Trail - Authorizes the Secretary to designate a vehicular tour route along existing public roads linking prehistoric and historic cultural sites in New Mexico and eastern Arizona, to be known as the Masau Trail. Permits the erection of informational devices.
Title III: El Malpais National Conservation Area - Establishes the El Malpais National Conservation Area, to be administered by the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. Permits hunting and trapping except in designated zones. Prohibits the commercial collection of wood. Permits the grazing of livestock.
Title IV: Wilderness - Designates the Cebolla Wilderness and the West Malpais Wilderness located within the El Malpais National Monument and National Conservation Area as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Permits the grazing of livestock as specified.
Title V: General Provisions - Directs the Secretary to develop and report within three years to the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on separate general management plans for the Monument and the Conservation Area. Requires such plans to include interpretation and education programs, public facility proposals, and natural, cultural, and wildlife resources management. Requires such plans to evaluate specified lands for their suitability for preservation as wilderness.
Authorizes the Secretary to acquire lands within the Monument or Conservation Area by donation, exchange, purchase, or transfer. Requires the Secretary to notify the New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands of State lands or interests within the Monument or Conservation Area and of the opportunity to exchange such lands for Federal public lands. Sets forth procedures for such exchange.
Authorizes the Secretary to exchange Federal mineral interests in specified lands for private mineral interests in other lands.
Directs the Secretary to exchange specified lands with the Pueblo of Acoma, upon their request, to acquire lands within the Conservation Area.
Withdraws all Federal lands within the Monument and Conservation Area from entry under the public land, mining, or mineral and geothermal leasing laws.
Redesignates the Capulin Mountain National Monument as the Capulin Volcano National Monument.
Requires that such Monument and Conservation Area be open to Indians for traditional cultural and religious purposes. Directs the Secretary to request that the Governor of the Pueblo of Acoma and other Indian tribal executives make recommendations on controlling access to protect the privacy of religious activities. Requires the Secretary to provide written notice of any closures to the appropriate congressional committees.
Authorizes the Secretary to establish an advisory committee.
Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements for the interpretation of the prehistoric and historic civilizations in New Mexico and eastern Arizona.
Reserves to the United States sufficient water to carry out the purpose of this Act.
Authorizes appropriations.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Natural Resources Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 18 actions.
- Dec 31, 1987Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 100-225.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Dec 22, 1987PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Dec 18, 1987Resolving differencesResolving differences · House Agreed to Senate Amendments by Voice Vote.
- Dec 17, 1987FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.
- FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
- Jul 6, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Jun 25, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Jun 3, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Jun 1, 1987FloorFloor · Passed House (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Natural Resources Committee
- May 20, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Natural Resources Committee
- May 12, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Reported by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Markup by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Apr 28, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Feb 5, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Referred to National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee
- Jan 6, 1987CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Natural Resources Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.