106th Congress > House > Vote 994
Clerk session vote number: 388
Description: Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act
Bill summary: Title I: Valles Caldera National Preserve and Trust
- Valles Caldera Preservation Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire all or part of the Baca ranch in New Mexico.
Requires the Secretary of the Interior, upon acquisition of the Baca ranch, to assume administrative jurisdiction over those lands within the boundaries of the Bandelier National Monument.
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Forest Service, to: (1) prepare a report of management alternatives
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which may provide more coordinated land management within the upper watersheds of Alamo, Capulin, Medio, and Sanchez Canyons, allow for improved management of elk and other wildlife populations ranging between the Santa Fe National Forest and the Bandelier National Monument, and include proposed boundary adjustments between such Forest and Monument to facilitate those objectives; and (2) submit the report to specified congressional committees.
Makes the acquisition of the ranch subject to all outstanding valid existing mineral interests. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to negotiate the acquisition of any fractional interest in the subsurface estate on a willing seller basis for up to the appraised fair market value.
Authorizes the Secretary to assign to the Pueblo of Santa Clara rights to acquire for fair market value portions of the Baca ranch. Deems fee title lands and any mineral estate underlying such lands acquired by the Pueblo to be transferred into trust in the name of the United States for the benefit of the Pueblo and to be part of the Santa Clara Indian Reservation. Bars any mineral estate underlying fee title lands acquired by the Pueblo from being developed without the consent of the Secretary of the Interior and the Pueblo.
(Sec. 105) Establishes: (1) upon the date of acquisition of the Baca ranch, the Valles Caldera National Preserve as a unit of the National Forest System; and (2) the Valles Caldera Trust, as a wholly owned Government corporation, to provide management and administrative services for the Preserve and for other specified purposes.
Establishes limitations on the construction of roads and facilities and motorized access on Redondo Peak for purposes of preserving natural, cultural, religious, and historic resources.
(Sec. 107) Requires the Trust: (1) to be governed by a nine member Board of Trustees; and (2) to manage the land and resources of the Preserve, subject to specified requirements, including development of a comprehensive program for the management of lands, resources, and facilities within the Preserve.
Authorizes the Trust to construct and upgrade roads and bridges and provide other facilities for recreational activities. Directs that the public be given reasonable access to the Preserve for recreation purposes.
(Sec. 109) Sets forth provisions regarding authorities of the Secretary, termination of the Trust, and funding limitations.
(Sec. 111) Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 112) Requires the General Accounting Office to conduct an interim study, and a subsequent study, of the activities of the Trust. Provides for a report to Congress of study results.
Title II: Federal Land Transaction Facilitation
- Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act - Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to: (1) establish a procedure to identify, by State, inholdings within federally designated areas in Alaska and the 11 contiguous western States for which the landowner has indicated a desire to sell the land or an interest in land to the United States and to prioritize the acquisition of inholdings; and (2) provide in the Federal Register and through other means as deemed appropriate periodic notice to the public of such procedure. Provides that an inholding shall be considered for identification only if the appropriate Secretary receives notification of a desire to sell from the owner in response to such a notice and shall be deemed to have been established as of the later of the earlier of the date on which the land was withdrawn from the public domain or established or designated for special management, or the date on which the inholding was acquired by the current owner.
(Sec. 205) Directs the Secretary to establish a program, using funds from a Federal Land Disposal Account of the Treasury established by this Act, to complete appraisals and satisfy other legal requirements for the sale or exchange of public land identified for disposal under approved land use plans. Sets forth reporting and program termination requirements.
(Sec. 206) Requires that gross proceeds generated by the sale or exchange of public land under this Act be deposited in the Federal Land Disposal Account.
Sets forth provisions regarding use of the Account, contaminated sites and sites difficult and uneconomic to manage, and program termination.
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Bill titles: A bill to authorize the acquisition of the Valles Caldera, to provide for an effective land and wildlife management program for this resource within the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes.; Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act; Valles Caldera Preservation Act
Links for more info on the vote: congress.gov
