IB 

Union Calendar No. 429

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2941

[Report No. 108–701] 

To correct the south boundary of the Colorado River Indian Reservation 

in Arizona, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2003

Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. RENZI, Mr. HAYWORTH, and Mr. 

PASTOR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2004

Additional sponsors: Mr. KOLBE, Mr. BACA, and Mrs. NAPOLITANO

SEPTEMBER 28, 2004 

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 25, 2003] 

A BILL

To correct the south boundary of the Colorado River Indian 

Reservation in Arizona, and for other purposes.

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, FINDINGS, PURPOSES. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Col3 orado River Indian Reservation Boundary Correction Act’’. 

4 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) The Act of March 3, 1865, created the Colo6 rado River Indian Reservation (hereinafter ‘‘Reserva7 tion’’) along the Colorado River in Arizona and Cali8 fornia for the ‘‘Indians of said river and its tribu9 taries’’. 

10 (2) In 1873 and 1874, President Grant issued 

11 Executive Orders to expand the Reservation south12 ward and to secure its southern boundary at a clearly 

13 recognizable geographic location in order to forestall 

14 non-Indian encroachment and conflicts with the Indi15 ans of the Reservation. 

16 (3) In 1875, Mr. Chandler Robbins surveyed the 

17 Reservation (hereinafter ‘‘the Robbins Survey’’) and 

18 delineated its new southern boundary, which included 

19 approximately 16,000 additional acres (hereinafter 

20 ‘‘the La Paz lands’’), as part of the Reservation. 

21 (4) On May 15, 1876, President Grant issued an 

22 Executive Order that established the Reservation’s 

23 boundaries as those delineated by the Robbins Survey. 

24 (5) In 1907, as a result of increasingly frequent 

25 trespasses by miners and cattle and at the request of 

26 the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the General Land Office 
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1 of the United States provided for a resurvey of the 

2 southern and southeastern areas of the Reservation. 

3 (6) In 1914, the General Land Office accepted 

4 and approved a resurvey of the Reservation conducted 

5 by Mr. Guy Harrington in 1912 (hereinafter the 

6 ‘‘Harrington Resurvey’’) which confirmed the bound7 aries that were delineated by the Robbins Survey and 

8 established by Executive Order in 1876. 

9 (7) On November 19, 1915, the Secretary of the 

10 Interior reversed the decision of the General Land Of11 fice to accept the Harrington Resurvey, and upon his 

12 recommendation on November 22, 1915, President 

13 Wilson issued Executive Order No. 2273 ‘‘. . . to cor14 rect the error in location said southern boundary line 

15 . . .’’—and thus effectively excluded the La Paz from 

16 the Reservation. 

17 (8) Historical evidence compiled by the Depart18 ment of the Interior supports the conclusion that the 

19 reason given by the Secretary in recommending that 

20 the President issue the 1915 Executive Order—‘‘to 

21 correct an error in locating the southern boundary’’—

22 was itself in error and that the La Paz lands should 

23 not have been excluded from the Reservation. 

24 (9) The La Paz lands continue to hold cultural 

25 and historical significance, as well as economic devel-
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1 opment potential, for the Colorado River Indian 

2 tribes, who have consistently sought to have such 

3 lands restored to their Reservation. 

4 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are: 

5 (1) To correct the south boundary of the Reserva6 tion by reestablishing such boundary as it was delin7 eated by the Robbins Survey and affirmed by the 

8 Harrington Resurvey. 

9 (2) To restore the La Paz lands to the Reserva10 tion, subject to valid existing rights under Federal 

11 law and to provide for continued reasonable public 

12 access for recreational purposes. 

13 (3) To provide for the Secretary of the Interior 

14 to review and ensure that the corrected Reservation 

15 boundary is resurveyed and marked in conformance 

16 with the public system of surveys extended over such 

17 lands. 

18 SEC. 2. BOUNDARY CORRECTION, RESTORATION, DESCRIP19 TION. 

20 (a) BOUNDARY.—The boundaries of the Colorado River 

21 Indian Reservation are hereby declared to include those 

22 boundaries as were delineated by the Robbins Survey, af23 firmed by the Harrington Survey, and described as follows: 

24 The approximately 15,375 acres of Federal land described 

25 as ‘‘Lands Identified for Transfer to Colorado River Indian 
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1 Tribes’’ on the map prepared by the Bureau of Land Man2 agement entitled ‘‘H.R. 2981, Colorado River Indian Res3 ervation Boundary Correction Act, and dated May 14, 

4 2004’’, (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Map’’). 

5 (b) MAP.—The Map shall be available for review at 

6 the Bureau of Land Management. 

7 (c) RESTORATION.—Subject to valid existing rights 

8 under Federal law, all right, title, and interest of the United 

9 States to those lands within the boundaries declared in sub10 section (a) that were excluded from the Colorado River In11 dian Reservation pursuant to Executive Order No. 2273 

12 (November 22, 1915) are hereby restored to the Reservation 

13 and shall be held in trust by the United States on behalf 

14 of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. 

15 (d) EXCLUSION.—Excluded from the lands restored to 

16 trust status on behalf of the Colorado River Indian Tribes 

17 that are described in subsection (a) are 2 parcels of Arizona 

18 State Lands identified on the Map as ‘‘State Lands’’ and 

19 totaling 320 acres and 520 acres. 

20 SEC. 3. RESURVEY AND MARKING. 

21 The Secretary of the Interior shall ensure that the 

22 boundary for the restored lands described in section 2(a) 

23 is surveyed and clearly marked in conformance with the 

24 public system of surveys extended over such lands. 
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1 SEC. 4. WATER RIGHTS. 

2 The restored lands described in section 2(a) and shown 

3 on the Map shall have no Federal reserve water rights to 

4 surface water or ground water from any source. 

5 SEC. 5. PUBLIC ACCESS. 

6 Continued access to the restored lands described in sec7 tion (2)(a) for hunting and other existing recreational pur8 poses shall remain available to the public under reasonable 

9 rules and regulations promulgated by the Colorado River 

10 Indian Tribes. 

11 SEC. 6. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The restored lands described in sec13 tion (2)(a) shall be subject to all rights-of-way, easements, 

14 leases, and mining claims existing on the date of the enact15 ment of this Act. The United States reserves the right to 

16 continue all Reclamation projects, including the right to ac17 cess and remove mineral materials for Colorado River 

18 maintenance on the restored lands described in section 

19 (2)(a). 

20 (b) ADDITIONAL RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—Notwithstanding 

21 any other provision of law, the Secretary, in consultation 

22 with the Tribe, shall grant additional rights-of-way, expan23 sions, or renewals of existing rights-of-way for roads, utili24 ties, and other accommodations to adjoining landowners or 

25 existing right-of-way holders, or their successors and as26 signs, if—
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1 (1) the proposed right-of-way is necessary to the 

2 needs of the applicant; 

3 (2) the proposed right-of-way acquisition will 

4 not cause significant and substantial harm to the Col5 orado River Indian Tribes; and 

6 (3) the proposed right-of-way complies with the 

7 procedures in part 169 of title 25, Code of Federal 

8 Regulations consistent with this subsection and other 

9 generally applicable Federal laws unrelated to the ac10 quisition of interests on trust lands, except that sec11 tion 169.3 of those regulations shall not be applicable 

12 to expansions or renewals of existing rights-of-way for 

13 roads and utilities. 

14 (c) FEES.—The fees charged for the renewal of any 

15 valid lease, easement, or right-of-way subject to this section 

16 shall not be greater than the current Federal rate for such 

17 a lease, easement, or right-of-way at the time of renewal 

18 if the holder has been in substantial compliance with all 

19 terms of the lease, easement, or right-of-way. 

20 SEC. 7. GAMING. 

21 The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 

22 et seq.) shall not apply to the restored lands described in 

23 section (2)(a). 
Union Calendar No. 429

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2941

[Report No. 108–701] 

A BILL

To correct the south boundary of the Colorado 

other purposes. River Indian Reservation in Arizona, and for 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2004

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,