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Union Calendar No. 196

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2766

[Report No. 108–329] 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange certain lands in the 

Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in the State of Colorado. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 17, 2003

Mr. BEAUPREZ (for himself, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, and Mr. TANCREDO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

OCTOBER 28, 2003

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 17, 2003] 

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange certain 

lands in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests 

in the State of Colorado.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Arapaho and Roosevelt 

3 National Forests Land Exchange Act of 2003’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Certain National Forest System lands near 

7 Empire, Colorado, are needed by the city of Golden, 

8 Colorado, to facilitate the construction of a water 

9 pipeline to transport domestic water supplies into 

10 storage for the city and its residents. 

11 (2) Such National Forest System lands, com12 prising approximately 9.84 acres in total, are of lim13 ited utility for public administration or recreation 

14 and other use by virtue of their largely steep terrain, 

15 irregular boundary, and lack of easy public access. 

16 (3) The city of Golden owns, or has an option 

17 to purchase, several parcels of non-Federal land com18 prising a total of approximately 141 acres near Ever19 green and Argentine Pass, Colorado, which it is will20 ing to convey to the United States for addition to the 

21 Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests. 

22 (4) The non-Federal lands owned or optioned by 

23 the city of Golden, if conveyed to the United States, 

24 will eliminate inholdings in the National Forest Sys25 tem, result in administrative cost savings to the 

26 United States by reducing costs of forest boundary 
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1 administration, and provide the United States with 

2 environmental and public recreational use benefits 

3 (including enhanced Federal land ownership along 

4 the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail) that 

5 greatly exceed the benefits of the Federal land the 

6 United States will convey in exchange. 

7 (5) It is in the public interest to authorize, di8 rect, expedite, and facilitate completion of a land ex9 change involving these Federal and non-Federal lands 

10 to assist the city of Golden in providing additional 

11 water to its residents and to acquire valuable non12 Federal lands for permanent public use and enjoy13 ment. 

14 SEC. 3. LAND EXCHANGE, ARAPAHO AND ROOSEVELT NA15 TIONAL FORESTS, COLORADO. 

16 (a) CONVEYANCE BY THE CITY OF GOLDEN.—

17 (1) LANDS DESCRIBED.—The land exchange di18 rected by this section shall proceed if, within 30 days 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the city 

20 of Golden, Colorado (in the section referred to as the 

21 ‘‘City’’), offers to convey title acceptable to the United 

22 States to the following non-Federal lands: 

23 (A) Certain lands located near the commu24 nity of Evergreen in Park County, Colorado, 

25 comprising approximately 80 acres, as generally 
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1 depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Non-Federal 

2 Lands—Cub Creek Parcel’’, dated June, 2003. 

3 (B) Certain lands located near Argentine 

4 Pass in Clear Creek and Summit Counties, Colo5 rado, comprising approximately 55.909 acres in 

6 14 patented mining claims, as generally depicted 

7 on a map entitled ‘‘Argentine Pass/Continental 

8 Divide Trail Lands’’, dated September 2003. 

9 (2) CONDITIONS OF CONVEYANCE.—The convey10 ance of lands under paragraph (1) to the United 

11 States shall be subject to the absolute right of the City 

12 to permanently enter upon, utilize, and occupy so 

13 much of the surface and subsurface of the lands as 

14 may be reasonably necessary to access, maintain, re15 pair, modify, make improvements in, or otherwise 

16 utilize the Vidler Tunnel to the same extent that the 

17 City would have had such right if the lands had not 

18 been conveyed to the United States and remained in 

19 City ownership. The exercise of such right shall not 

20 require the City to secure any permit or other ad21 vance approval from the United States. Upon acquisi22 tion by the United States, such lands are hereby per23 manently withdrawn from all forms of entry and ap24 propriation under the public land laws, including the 
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1 mining and mineral leasing laws, and the Geothermal 

2 Steam Act of l970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 

3 (b) CONVEYANCE BY UNITED STATES.—Upon receipt 

4 of acceptable title to the non-Federal lands identified in 

5 subsection (a), the Secretary of Agriculture shall simulta6 neously convey to the City all right, title and interest of 

7 the United States in and to certain Federal lands, com8 prising approximately 9.84 acres, as generally depicted on 

9 a map entitled ‘‘Empire Federal Lands—Parcel 12’’, dated 

10 June 2003. 

11 (c) EQUAL VALUE EXCHANGE.—

12 (1) APPRAISAL.—The values of the Federal lands 

13 identified in subsection (b) and the non-Federal lands 

14 identified in subsection (a)(1)(A) shall be determined 

15 by the Secretary through appraisals performed in ac16 cordance with the Uniform Appraisal Standards for 

17 Federal Land Acquisitions (December 20, 2000) and 

18 the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal 

19 Practice. Except as provided in paragraph (3), the 

20 conveyance of the non-Federal lands identified in sub21 section (a)(1)(B) shall be considered a donation for 

22 all purposes of law. 

23 (2) SURPLUS OF NON-FEDERAL VALUE.—If the 

24 final appraised value, as approved by the Secretary, 

25 of the non-Federal lands identified in subsection
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1 (a)(1)(A) exceeds the final appraised value, as ap2 proved by the Secretary, of the Federal land identified 

3 in subsection (b), the values may be equalized—

4 (A) by reducing the acreage of the non-Fed5 eral lands identified in subsection (a) to be con6 veyed, as determined appropriate and acceptable 

7 by the Secretary and the City; 

8 (B) the making of a cash equalization pay9 ment to the City, including a cash equalization 

10 payment in excess of the amount authorized by 

11 section 206(b) of the Federal Land Policy and 

12 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(b)); or 

13 (C) a combination of acreage reduction and 

14 cash equalization. 

15 (3) SURPLUS OF FEDERAL VALUE.—If the final 

16 appraised value, as approved by the Secretary, of the 

17 Federal land identified in subsection (b) exceeds the 

18 final appraised value, as approved by the Secretary, 

19 of the non-Federal lands identified in subsection 

20 (a)(1)(A), the Secretary shall prepare a statement of 

21 value for the non-Federal lands identified in sub22 section (a)(1)(B) and utilize such value to the extent 

23 necessary to equalize the values of the non-Federal 

24 lands identified in subsection (a)(1)(A) and the Fed25 eral land identified in subsection (b). If the Secretary 
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1 declines to accept the non-Federal lands identified in 

2 subsection (a)(1)(B) for any reason, the City shall 

3 make a cash equalization payment to the Secretary as 

4 necessary to equalize the values of the non-Federal 

5 lands identified in subsection (a)(1)(A) and the Fed6 eral land identified in subsection (b). 

7 (d) EXCHANGE COSTS.—To expedite the land exchange 

8 under this section and save administrative costs to the 

9 United States, the City shall be required to pay for—

10 (1) any necessary land surveys; and 

11 (2) the costs of the appraisals, which shall be 

12 performed in accordance with Forest Service policy 

13 on approval of the appraiser and the issuance of ap14 praisal instructions. 

15 (e) TIMING AND INTERIM AUTHORIZATION.—It is the 

16 intent of Congress that the land exchange directed by this 

17 Act should be completed no later than 120 days after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act. Pending completion of 

19 the land exchange, the City is authorized, effective on the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act, to construct a water pipe21 line on or near the existing course of the Lindstrom ditch 

22 through the Federal land identified in subsection (b) with23 out further action or authorization by the Secretary, except 

24 that, prior to initiating any such construction, the City 

25 shall execute and convey to the Secretary a legal document 
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1 that permanently holds the United States harmless for any 

2 and all liability arising from the construction of such water 

3 pipeline and indemnifies the United States against all costs 

4 arising from the United States’ ownership of the Federal 

5 land, and any actions, operations or other acts of the City 

6 or its licensees, employees, or agents in constructing such 

7 water pipeline or engaging in other acts on the Federal land 

8 prior to its transfer to the City. Such encumbrance on the 

9 Federal land prior to conveyance shall not be considered 

10 for purposes of the appraisal. 

11 (f) ALTERNATIVE SALE AUTHORITY.—If the land ex12 change is not completed for any reason, the Secretary is 

13 hereby authorized and directed to sell the Federal land iden14 tified in subsection (b) to the City at its final appraised 

15 value, as approved by the Secretary. Any money received 

16 by the United States in such sale shall be considered money 

17 received and deposited pursuant to Public Law 90–171 (16 

18 U.S.C. 484(a); commonly known as the ‘‘Sisk Act’’, and 

19 may be used, without further appropriation, for the acquisi20 tion of lands for addition to the National Forest System 

21 in the State of Colorado. 

22 (g) INCORPORATION, MANAGEMENT, AND STATUS OF

23 ACQUIRED LANDS.—Land acquired by the United States 

24 under the land exchange shall become part of the Arapaho 

25 and Roosevelt National Forests, and the exterior boundary 
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1 of such forest is hereby modified, without further action by 

2 the Secretary, as necessary to incorporate the non-Federal 

3 lands identified in subsection (a) and an additional 40 

4 acres as depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Arapaho and Roosevelt 

5 National Forest Boundary Adjustment—Cub Creek’’, dated 

6 June 2003. Upon their acquisition, lands or interests in 

7 land acquired under the authority of this Act shall be ad8 ministered in accordance with the laws, rules and regula9 tions generally applicable to the National Forest System. 

10 For purposes of Section 7 of the of the Land and Water 

11 Conservation Fund Act of l965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–9), the 

12 boundaries of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, 

13 as adjusted by this subsection shall be deemed to be the 

14 boundaries of such forest as of January 1, 1965. 

15 (h) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—The Secretary, with 

16 the agreement of the City, may make technical corrections 

17 or correct clerical errors in the maps referred to in this sec18 tion or adjust the boundaries of the Federal lands to leave 

19 the United States with a manageable post-exchange or sale 

20 boundary. In the event of any discrepancy between a map, 

21 acreage estimate, or legal description, the map shall prevail 

22 unless the Secretary and the City agree otherwise. 

23 (i) REVOCATION OF ORDERS AND WITHDRAWAL.—Any 

24 public orders withdrawing any of the Federal lands identi25 fied in subsection (b) from appropriation or disposal under 
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1 the public land laws are hereby revoked to the extent nec2 essary to permit disposal of the Federal lands. Upon the 

3 enactment of this Act, if not already withdrawn or seg4 regated from the entry and appropriation under the public 

5 land laws, including the mining and mineral leasing laws 

6 and the Geothermal Steam Act of l970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et 

7 seq.), the Federal lands are hereby withdrawn until the date 

8 of their conveyance to the City.

Union Calendar No. 196

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2766

[Report No. 108–329] 

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange 

certain lands in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in the State of Colorado. 

OCTOBER 28, 2003

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 

and ordered to be printed