89–010 

Calendar No. 281 

111TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 111–131 

SUGAR LOAF FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT LAND 

EXCHANGE ACT 

MARCH 2, 2010.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 555] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 555) to provide for the exchange of certain land 

located in the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests in the State of 

Colorado, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that 

the bill, as amended, do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sugar Loaf Fire Protection District Land Exchange 

Act of 2009’’. 

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘District’’ means the Sugar Loaf Fire Protection District of Boulder, Colorado. 

(2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ means— 

(A) the parcel of approximately 1.52 acres of land in the National Forest 

that is generally depicted on the map numbered 1, entitled ‘‘Sugarloaf Fire 

Protection District Proposed Land Exchange’’, and dated November 12, 

2009; and 

(B) the parcel of approximately 3.56 acres of land in the National Forest 

that is generally depicted on the map numbered 2, entitled ‘‘Sugarloaf Fire 

Protection District Proposed Land Exchange’’, and dated November 12, 

2009. 

(3) NATIONAL FOREST.—The term ‘‘National Forest’’ means the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests located in the State of Colorado. 

(4) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘non-Federal land’’ means the parcel of approximately 5.17 acres of non-Federal land in unincorporated Boulder County, 

Colorado, that is generally depicted on the map numbered 3, entitled ‘‘Sugarloaf 


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Fire Protection District Proposed Land Exchange’’, and dated November 12, 

2009. 

(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Agriculture. 

SEC. 3. LAND EXCHANGE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provisions of this Act, if the District offers to convey to the Secretary all right, title, and interest of the District in and to the nonFederal land, and the offer is acceptable to the Secretary— 

(1) the Secretary shall accept the offer; and 

(2) on receipt of acceptable title to the non-Federal land, the Secretary shall 

convey to the District all right, title, and interest of the United States in and 

to the Federal land. 

(b) APPLICABLE LAW.—Section 206 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716) shall apply to the land exchange authorized under subsection (a), except that— 

(1) the Secretary may accept a cash equalization payment in excess of 25 percent of the value of the Federal land; and 

(2) as a condition of the land exchange under subsection (a), the District 

shall— 

(A) pay each cost relating to any land surveys and appraisals of the Federal land and non-Federal land; and 

(B) enter into an agreement with the Secretary that allocates any other 

administrative costs between the Secretary and the District. 

(c) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The land exchange under subsection (a) 

shall be subject to— 

(1) valid existing rights; and 

(2) any terms and conditions that the Secretary may require. 

(d) TIME FOR COMPLETION OF LAND EXCHANGE.—It is the intent of Congress that 

the land exchange under subsection (a) shall be completed not later than 1 year 

after the date of enactment of this Act. 

(e) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO CONDUCT SALE OF FEDERAL LAND.— (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with paragraph (2), if the land exchange 

under subsection (a) is not completed by the date that is 1 year after the date 

of enactment of this Act, the Secretary may offer to sell to the District the Federal land. 

(2) VALUE OF FEDERAL LAND.—The Secretary may offer to sell to the District 

the Federal land for the fair market value of the Federal land. 

(f) DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall deposit in the fund established under 

Public Law 90–171 (commonly known as the ‘‘Sisk Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 484a) any 

amount received by the Secretary as the result of— 

(A) any cash equalization payment made under subsection (b); and 

(B) any sale carried out under subsection (e). 

(2) USE OF PROCEEDS.—Amounts deposited under paragraph (1) shall be available to the Secretary, without further appropriation and until expended, for the 

acquisition of land or interests in land in the National Forest. 

(g) MANAGEMENT AND STATUS OF ACQUIRED LAND.—The non-Federal land acquired by the Secretary under this section shall be— 

(1) added to, and administered as part of, the National Forest; and 

(2) managed by the Secretary in accordance with— 

(A) the Act of March 1, 1911 (commonly known as the ‘‘Weeks Law’’) (16 

U.S.C. 480 et seq.); and 

(B) any laws (including regulations) applicable to the National Forest. 

(h) REVOCATION OF ORDERS; WITHDRAWAL.— 

(1) REVOCATION OF ORDERS.—Any public order withdrawing the Federal land 

from entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws is revoked to 

the extent necessary to permit the conveyance of the Federal land to the District. 

(2) WITHDRAWAL.—On the date of enactment of this Act, if not already withdrawn or segregated from entry and appropriation under the public land laws 

(including the mining and mineral leasing laws) and the Geothermal Steam Act 

of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), the Federal land is withdrawn until the date 

of the conveyance of the Federal land to the District. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 555 is to provide for the exchange or sale of 

certain land located in the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests in 

the State of Colorado. 


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BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Sugar Loaf Fire Protection District (‘‘District’’) owns two fire 

stations located on separate parcels totaling approximately 5 acres 

of Federal land in the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest. The stations were constructed pursuant to special use permits originally 

issued decades ago, but they are not presently in compliance with 

those permits. The District would like to acquire the Federal land 

to facilitate an expansion of its facilities and increase the flexibility 

in its training and other operations on the property. The District 

has proposed exchanging an approximately 5-acre inholding that it 

owns in the national forest for the approximately 5 acres of land 

on which its fire stations are located. S. 555 would facilitate that 

exchange and, as an alternative, authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to sell the Federal land to the District for fair market 

value. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 555 was introduced by Senators Udall and Bennet of Colorado 

on March 10, 2009. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests 

held a hearing on the bill on October 29, 2009. At its business 

meeting on December 16, 2009, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 555 favorably reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on December 16, 2009, by a voice vote of a quorum 

present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 555, if amended as 

described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During its consideration of S. 555, the Committee adopted an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute. The substitute includes 

a number of clarifying and simplifying amendments and addresses 

a number of concerns raised by the Administration. The substitute 

amendment is explained in detail in the section-by-section analysis, 

below. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Sections 1 and 2 provide the short title and definitions for the 

bill. 

Section 3(a)–(d) provides for the conveyance of approximately 

5.08 acres of National Forest land to the District in exchange for 

approximately 5.17 acres of non-Federal land within the National 

Forests that currently are owned by the District. The exchange 

shall be carried out in accordance with section 206 of the Federal 

Land Policy and Management Act, except that the Secretary may 

accept a cash equalization payment in excess of 25 percent of the 

value of the Federal land. 

Subsection (e) authorizes the Secretary to sell the Federal land 

to the District for fair market value if an exchange is not completed 

within 1 year after the date of enactment of the bill. 

Subsections (f), (g) and (h) provide for the disposition of any proceeds by the Secretary resulting from the exchange or sale of the 


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Federal land, the incorporation and management of any land received by the Secretary, and the revocation and imposition of withdrawals for the Federal land and non-Federal land, respectively. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

S. 555—Sugar Loaf Fire Protection District Land Exchange Act of 

2009 

S. 555 would authorize the exchange of about five acres of federal 

land for a similar amount of acreage owned by the Sugar Loaf Fire 

Protection District of Boulder, Colorado. If the land exchange does 

not occur within one year, the federal land could be sold to the district and the proceeds could be spent without further appropriation. 

Based on information provided by the Forest Service, which administers the federal land to be conveyed, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have no effect on the federal budget. The 

federal land that would be affected by the bill could be disposed of 

(by either of the methods authorized by S. 555) under existing law. 

Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues. 

The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. The land 

conveyance authorized in the bill would benefit the fire protection 

district. Any costs to the district would be incurred voluntarily. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

S. 555. 

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 555, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

S. 555, as reported, does not contain any congressionally directed 

spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The views of the Administration were included in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on S. 555 on October 29, 

2009, which is printed below. 


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STATEMENT OF JOEL HOLTROP, DEPUTY CHIEF, NATIONAL

FOREST SYSTEM, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Barrasso, and Members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to 

appear before you today to provide the Department’s views 

on S. 555, regarding the exchange of certain lands in the 

Arapaho National Forest. 

S. 555 would provide for the exchange or sale of two federal parcels within the boundaries of the Arapaho National 

Forest in Colorado to the Sugar Loaf Fire Protection District (SLFPD). A portion of one parcel is under special-use 

permit for a fire station. The other was under a similar 

permit that has expired. The bill allows the SLFPD to 

make modifications to the permitted area in the interim 

period between enactment and conveyance without further 

authorization by the Secretary of Agriculture. 

The Department supports S. 555, but would like to work 

with bill sponsors and the Committee on some minor modifications to the bill. The Department supports the work of 

the SLFPD and its efforts to improve facilities to more effectively deliver services. The federal lands proposed for 

conveyance have lost their national forest character due to 

past permitted activities and are better suited to private 

ownership. The lands proposed for conveyance to the 

United States have suitable national forest character and 

could contribute to increased management efficiency. 

However, we are concerned that the 120–day timeline is 

not adequate to ensure compliance with all statutory requirements, including National Environmental Policy Act, 

the Endangered Species Act, the Antiquities Act of 1906, 

and myriad other laws requiring compliance prior to conveyance of federal lands. We suggest that a year is a realistic timeframe to complete all requirements. 

The Department does not support the provisions of Sec. 

4(e), which allow the SLFPD to modify the fire stations located on federal lands during the period between enactment of the Act and completion of the land exchange without any additional authorization from the Department. We 

are confident that given a reasonable timeframe for completion of a 131 conveyance, the Forest Service can work 

with the SLFPD to accommodate any confirmed construction plans, negating the need for this provision. 

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, this 

concludes my prepared statement. I am happy to answer 

any questions that you or Members of the Committee may 

have. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by S. 555, as ordered reported. 

Æ 


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