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[House Report 107-678]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

107th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     107-678

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 LAND CONVEYANCE, FARAWAY RANCH, MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA

                                _______
                                

 September 24, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 5032]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 5032) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to convey 
certain National Forest System lands in the Mendocino National 
Forest, California, to authorize the use of the proceeds from 
such conveyances for National Forest purposes, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 
with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do 
pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. LAND CONVEYANCE, FARAWAY RANCH, MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, 
                    CALIFORNIA.

  (a) Conveyance Required.--Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall convey to the owner of the property known as the 
Faraway Ranch in Lake County, California (in this section referred to 
as the ``recipient''), by quitclaim deed, all right, title, and 
interest of the United States in and to the following National Forest 
System lands in Mendocino National Forest in Lake County, California:
          (1) ``Faraway Ranch, Tract 39'' (approximately 15.8 acres) 
        consisting of a portion of lot 6 of section 4, township 18 
        north, range 10 west, Mount Diablo base and meridian, as 
        generally depicted on the map entitled ``Faraway Ranch, Tracts 
        39 and 40'' and dated June 30, 2002.
          (2) ``Faraway Ranch, Tract 40'' (approximately 105.1 acres) 
        consisting of a portion of the N\1/2\SW\1/4\ and lot 7 of 
        section 4, and a portion of lots 15 and 16 of section 5, 
        township 18 north, range 10 west, Mount Diablo base and 
        meridian, as generally depicted on the map entitled ``Faraway 
        Ranch, Tracts 39 and 40'' and dated June 30, 2002.
  (b) Time for Conveyance.--The Secretary shall make the conveyance 
under subsection (a) not later than 120 days after the date on which 
the recipient deposits sufficient funds with the Bureau of Land 
Management, California State Office, Branch of Geographic Services, to 
cover survey work costs and with the Forest Service, Mendocino National 
Forest, to cover Forest Service direct transaction costs described in 
subsection (e).
  (c) Corrections.--With the agreement of the recipient, the Secretary 
may make minor corrections to the legal descriptions and map of the 
lands to be conveyed pursuant to this Act.
  (d) Consideration.--As consideration for the conveyance under 
subsection (a), the recipient shall pay to the Secretary an amount 
equal to the fair market value of the National Forest System lands 
conveyed under such subsection. The fair market value of such lands 
shall be determined by an appraisal that is acceptable to the Secretary 
and conforms with the Federal appraisal standards, as defined in the 
Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions developed by 
the Interagency Land Acquisition Conference.
  (e) Payment of Costs.--All direct transaction costs associated with 
the conveyance under section (a), including the costs of appraisal, 
title, and survey work, shall be paid by the recipient.
  (f) Use of Proceeds.--
          (1) Deposit.--The Secretary shall deposit the amounts 
        received by the Secretary as consideration under subsection (d) 
        in the fund established by Public Law 90-171 (commonly known as 
        the Sisk Act; 16 U.S.C. 484a).
          (2) Use.--Funds deposited under paragraph (1) shall be 
        available to the Secretary until expended, without further 
        appropriation--
                  (A) for the acquisition of land and interests in land 
                for National Forest System purposes in the State of 
                California; and
                  (B) for reimbursement of costs incurred by the Forest 
                Service in making the conveyance under subsection (a).
          (3) Status of acquired land.--Notwithstanding Public Law 85-
        862 (16 U.S.C. 521a), any lands acquired under paragraph (2)(A) 
        shall be managed as lands acquired under the March 1, 1911 
        (commonly known as the Weeks Act; 16 U.S.C. 480, 500, 515 et 
        seq.), regardless of whether any of the lands conveyed under 
        subsection (a) were reserved from the public domain.
  (g) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, the lands to be 
conveyed under subsection (a) are hereby withdrawn from all forms of 
location, entry, and patent under the public land laws and the mining 
and mineral leasing laws of the United States.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 5032 is to authorize the Secretary of 
Agriculture to convey certain National Forest System lands in 
the Mendocino National Forest, California, to authorize the use 
of the proceeds from such conveyances for National Forest 
purposes, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 5032 resolves a long-standing problem regarding the 
property boundary between the Mendocino National Forest and the 
Faraway Ranch in rural northern California. Faraway Ranch is a 
tract of several hundred acres of private land in Lake County, 
California, surrounded by Mendocino National Forest lands. The 
original ranch was settled and patented as private land in 
1884, prior to establishment of the National Forest. Various 
dwellings, roads, fences, water impoundments, and other 
improvements were constructed on the ranch over the years. The 
current owner purchased the main portion of the ranch in 1989 
from the prior ranch resident.
    An updated survey of the area conducted in the 1990s 
revealed substantial errors in the official historical survey. 
However, because the private owners had relied on the 
historical survey for the last century, they had constructed 
buildings that had unintentionally encroached onto federal 
lands.
    The corrected property boundary lines are in an untenable 
location for the ranch owner and for the public use and 
management of the adjacent Mendocino National Forest lands. 
This bill adjusts the property boundaries to eliminate the 
encroachments, and provides a buffer around the ranch dwelling 
area. A buffer will enhance safety and provide reasonable 
privacy for public hunting, camping, and motorized vehicle use 
on national forest lands in the area. Besides eliminating the 
encroachments, more logical boundary corners and lines will 
simplify and reduce the expense of administration of the area 
for the Forest Service.
    The ranch owner and Forest Service have been working 
cooperatively for several years on land exchange proposals to 
provide adjusted boundaries between the ranch and the Mendocino 
National Forest. In 1999, the parties reached a basic agreement 
regarding the configuration of bordering lands that should be 
transferred to the ranch to resolve the encroachment and 
property boundary management issues. These parcels total 
approximately 120 acres.
    Since that time, the ranch owner and the Forest Service 
have pursued a series of proposed exchanges involving these 120 
acres and non-federal lands of equal value located adjacent to 
Mendocino National Forest lands. However, these particular 
exchanges have not gone forward because the owners of the lands 
sought by the Forest Service in these transactions turned down 
purchase option proposals tendered by the agency. Thus, the 
encroachment and boundary management issues at Faraway Ranch 
remain unresolved.
    This bill provides for prompt transfer of the 120 acres of 
national forest lands to the current ranch owner, in exchange 
for a payment equal to the fair market value of these lands 
according to federal appraisal standards. The ranch owner will 
pay the direct costs of the transfer, including the title work, 
survey, and appraisal. The payments will be deposited in the 
Treasury fund established by Public Law 90-171, known as the 
Sisk Act. This bill designates these funds for use by the 
Forest Service to purchase priority non-federal lands adjacent 
to other national forest lands in California.
    No significant environmental or other issues have been 
identified regarding transfer of the specified 120 acres to the 
Faraway Ranch. These parcels are not considered of particular 
value for retention in the Mendocino National Forest. National 
forest boundary maintenance costs, use conflicts, and safety 
risks will be reduced at the ranch location. The priority lands 
to be acquired by the Forest Service will be identified based 
on their adjacency and contribution to national forest lands, 
wildlife habitat, and for other uses. These lands will be 
purchased from willing sellers. Boundaries will be simplified 
and national forest values will be enhanced at the locations 
where the Forest Service acquires these lands.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 5032 was introduced on June 27, 2002, by Congressman 
Mike Thompson (D-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
Forests and Forest Health. On July 25, 2002, the Subcommittee 
held a hearing on the bill. On September 12, 2002, the Full 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee 
was discharged from further consideration by unanimous consent. 
Congressman Scott McInnis (R-CO) offered an amendment to change 
the time for the conveyance to 120 days after the private party 
deposits sufficient funds to cover the survey costs and the 
direct costs of the transaction, and to make some technical 
corrections. It was adopted by unanimous consent. The bill as 
amended was then ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the 
Constitution of the United States grants Congress the authority 
to enact this bill.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that Rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in tax expenditures. 
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Secretary of 
Agriculture would receive up to $200,000 in 2003 and then spend 
those proceeds over the 2003-2004 time period. The net change 
in direct spending over that time frame would be 
``negligible''.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                Washington, DC, September 23, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5032, a bill to 
authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain 
National Forest System lands in the Mendocino National Forest, 
California, to authorize the use of the proceeds from such 
conveyances for National Forest purposes, and for other 
purposes.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 5032--A bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to convey 
        certain National Forest System lands in the Mendocino National 
        Forest, California, to authorize the use of the proceeds from 
        such conveyances for National Forest purposes, and for other 
        purposes

    CBO estimates that H.R. 5032 would not significantly affect 
the federal budget. The bill would affect direct spending 
(including offsetting receipts); therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would apply, but we estimate that any such effects 
would be negligible. H.R. 5032 contains no intergovernmental or 
private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act and would have no significant impact on the budgets 
of state, local, or tribal governments.
    H.R. 5032 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to 
convey to a private landowner about 120 acres of federal lands 
within the Mendocino National Forest in California. The private 
landowner would pay fair market value for those lands. The bill 
would authorize the Secretary to use proceeds from the 
conveyance to cover certain administrative costs and to acquire 
other lands and interests in California.
    According to the Forest Service, the lands to be sold 
currently generate no significant receipts and are not excepted 
to do so over the next 10 years. Based on information from the 
agency, CBO estimates that proceeds from the proposed sale 
would total up to $200,000 in 2003, and that the agency would 
spend those proceeds over the 2003-2004 period. Hence, we 
estimate that, under H.R. 5032, the net change in direct 
spending in those years would be negligible.
    CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. This 
estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                
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