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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10533 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10533

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to administratively transfer 
covered parcels of National Forest System land to the Secretary of the 
     Interior to be held in trust for the benefit of Indian Tribes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 19, 2024

  Mr. Kilmer (for himself, Ms. Salinas, and Mr. Guest) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
   Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to administratively transfer 
covered parcels of National Forest System land to the Secretary of the 
     Interior to be held in trust for the benefit of Indian Tribes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Tribal Forest Restoration Act 
of 2024''.

SEC. 2. ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSFER OF COVERED PARCELS TO BE HELD IN TRUST.

    (a) Transfers Authorized.--The Secretary is authorized to 
administratively transfer a covered parcel described in subsection (b) 
to the Secretary of the Interior to be held in trust for the benefit of 
an Indian Tribe in accordance with this section.
    (b) Covered Parcels.--A covered parcel that may transferred under 
subsection (a) is a parcel of National Forest System land--
            (1) for which an Indian Tribe submits to the Secretary a 
        request for an administrative transfer to the Secretary of the 
        Interior;
            (2) that is less than or equal to 640 acres; and
            (3) that the Secretary determines--
                    (A) the transfer of which under subsection (a) 
                would be in the public interest; and
                    (B) to--
                            (i) be physically isolated from other 
                        Federal land;
                            (ii) be inaccessible;
                            (iii) have lost natural character; or
                            (iv) be in need of restoration.
    (c) Placement of Land.--
            (1) Land held in trust.--Subject to all valid existing 
        rights of the United States, a covered parcel transferred to 
        the Secretary of the Interior under subsection (a) shall--
                    (A) be accepted by the Secretary of the Interior; 
                and
                    (B) be held in trust for the benefit of the 
                requesting Indian Tribe and administered by the 
                Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the laws 
                and regulations generally applicable to land held in 
                trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe.
            (2) Inclusion in reservation.--If the Indian Tribe 
        submitting a request under subsection (b)(1) exercises 
        jurisdiction over a reservation, the covered parcel placed in 
        trust under paragraph (1)(B) may be declared part of the 
        reservation at the request of the Indian Tribe.
    (d) Notification of Use of Authority.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish a 
        process to make administrative transfers under subsection (a).
            (2) Elements.--The process required under paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    (A) a 30-day public notice period that a request 
                for a transfer submitted to the Secretary by an Indian 
                Tribe pursuant to subsection (b)(1) has been received;
                    (B) notification of such a request to relevant 
                State and local governments; and
                    (C) notification of such a request to each Indian 
                Tribe--
                            (i) with land in trust that is located 
                        within 100 miles of the covered parcel for 
                        which such request was submitted;
                            (ii) that has treaty rights or interests 
                        with respect to such covered parcel;
                            (iii) for which such covered parcel may 
                        have important cultural or historical 
                        significance; or
                            (iv) that is served by a care service area 
                        of the Indian Health Service in which all or 
                        part of the covered parcel is located.
    (e) Factors in Determination to Transfer.--When determining whether 
to transfer a covered parcel under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
consider the following:
            (1) Whether the covered parcel involves a factor of direct 
        relevance unique to the requesting Indian Tribe, including--
                    (A) treaty rights or interests;
                    (B) the exercise of hunting, fishing, or gathering 
                privileges;
                    (C) biological, archaeological, historical, or 
                cultural circumstances; or
                    (D) public safety and emergency management 
                responsibilities.
            (2) With respect to the Indian Tribe that submits a request 
        pursuant to subsection (b)(1) with respect to such parcel--
                    (A) whether the covered parcel is contiguous to, or 
                within 100 miles of, the reservation or trust lands of 
                such Indian Tribe; and
                    (B) if the parcel is non-contiguous with the 
                reservation or trust lands of such Indian Tribe, the 
                anticipated benefits for the Indian Tribe from the 
                transfer of the covered parcel.
    (f) Multiple Claims.--
            (1) Dispute resolution.--If two or more Indian Tribes 
        request the same covered parcel during the 90-day period 
        beginning on the date public notice is first made available 
        pursuant to subsection (d)(2)(A) with respect to such covered 
        parcel, the Secretary may use mediation, conciliation, 
        arbitration, and other dispute resolutions methods to establish 
        an agreement with respect to the transfer of such parcel.
            (2) Transfer contingent on agreement.--The Secretary may 
        not transfer under subsection (a) a covered parcel described in 
        paragraph (1) unless all Indian Tribes described in such 
        paragraph agree to the transfer.
    (g) Treaty Rights of Federally Recognized Tribes.--Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to affect any treaty right of an Indian 
Tribe.
    (h) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' means an 
        Indian Tribe recognized by the Secretary of the Interior on the 
        most recent list, as of the date of an applicable request 
        submitted under subsection (b)(1), published in the Federal 
        Register pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized 
        Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
                                 <all>
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