89–010 

Calendar No. 708 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 115–409 

PERSHING COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND 

CONSERVATION ACT 

DECEMBER 4, 2018.—Ordered to be printed 

Ms. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 414] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 414) to promote conservation, improve public 

land management, and provide for sensible development in Pershing County, Nevada, and for other purposes, having considered 

the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 414 is to promote conservation, improve public 

land management, and provide for sensible development in Pershing County, Nevada. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

When work began on the transcontinental railroad in 1863, the 

Federal government granted railroad companies with ownership of 

every other square mile of land across the West, while retaining 

ownership of the squares of land in between. The land grants allowed railroad companies to pay for construction of the transcontinental railroad by selling their sections. The resulting checkerboard land ownership pattern still stretches across the northern 

portion of the State of Nevada in a broad band along the I-80 west 

corridor within Pershing County (County). 

In Pershing County more than 75 percent (nearly 2.9 million 

acres) of the land is owned by the United States and administered 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with HEARING
2 

by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). BLM manages the 

public land for multiples uses, including mineral development, livestock grazing, recreation, and conservation. The checkerboard ownership pattern that persists today presents significant land management challenges for the County and BLM. For more than a decade, Pershing County has sought to resolve the status of checkerboard lands, wilderness study areas, and other public land management challenges. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 414 was introduced on February 16, 2017, by Senators Heller 

and Cortez Masto. The Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, 

and Mining, held a hearing on S. 414 on February 7, 2018. 

Similar legislation, H.R. 1107, was introduced in the House of 

Representatives by Representative Amodei on February 16, 2017, 

and referred Natural Resources Committee. The Natural Resources 

Committee reported H.R. 1107 on September 28, 2017 (H. Rept. 

115–336), and the legislation was agreed to, as amended, by voice 

vote, in the House of Representatives, on January 16, 2018. The 

Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a hearing 

on H.R. 1107 on February 7, 2018. 

In the 114th Congress, similar legislation, S. 3102, was introduced on June 28, 2016, by Senators Heller and Reid. The Energy 

and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on S. 3102 on 

September 22, 2016. 

Similar legislation, H.R. 5752, was introduced by Representatives 

Amodei, Hardy, Heck, and Titus on July 13, 2016, and referred to 

the Natural Resources Committee. 

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in 

open business session on October 2, 2018, and ordered S. 414 favorably reported. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on October 2, 2018, by a majority voice vote 

of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 414. 

Senator Cantwell asked to be recorded as voting no. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title; Table of contents 

Section 1 provides the short title and a table of contents. 

Section 2. Definitions 

Section 2 provides key definitions. 

TITLE I—CHECKERBOARD LAND RESOLUTION 

Section 101. Findings 

Section 101 declares that Congress finds that since the passage 

of the Pacific Railway Act, a checkerboard land pattern of public 

and private land exists in Pershing County that is expensive to 

manage and frustrating for both private landowners and the Federal Government. This section further finds that appraisal values 

of the parcels will be similar, and that consolidation of the parcels 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with HEARING
3 

will help the County’s tax base and simplify Federal land management. 

Section 102. Definitions 

Section 102 provides key definitions for title I. 

Section 103. Sale or exchange of eligible land 

Subsection (a) directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), in 

cooperation with the County, to sell or exchange eligible land. 

Subsection (b) requires the Secretary and County to jointly select 

the eligible land. 

Subsection (c) requires the County to certify to the Secretary that 

qualified bidders will comply with local planning and zoning laws. 

Subsection (d)(1) requires the sale of exchange or eligible land to 

be consistent with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1713, 1716(a)(1)) and conducted 

through either a competitive sale, for at least fair market value, or 

an exchange for private land. 

Subsection (d)(2) requires the Secretary to conduct a mass appraisal of the eligible land to determine whether the likely value 

of any parcel exceeds $500 per acre and make the results public. 

Such mass appraisal is to occur within one year of the Act’s enactment and every five years thereafter. 

Subsection (d)(3) directs the Secretary to exclude any parcel that is likely valued at more than $500 per acre from the acre-for-acre 

exchange. This subsection also authorizes the Secretary to finalize 

acre-for-acre exchanges for parcels that exceed the valuation 

threshold under certain circumstances. 

Subsection (d)(4) requires the Secretary, within one year of the 

Act’s enactment, to identify Management Priority Areas, that include greater sage-grouse habitat; are part of a wildlife corridor or 

critical habitat; have outdoor recreation value, public access for 

hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes; have significant 

cultural, historical, ecological, or scenic value; or has value for improving Federal land management. This subsection further clarifies 

that Federal management of those lands cannot be changed based 

solely on that designation. 

Subsection (e) withdraws eligible land from entry and appropriation under public land and mining laws; location, entry, and patent 

under mining laws; and mineral and geothermal leasing laws. This 

subsection also lifts the withdrawal upon sale or exchange of a parcel of eligible land or, for a parcel that is not sold or exchanged, 

two years after the parcel was offered for sale or exchange pursuant to this title. 

Subsection (f)(1) requires the Secretary to offer eligible parcels 

for sale at least once a year until the limitation is reached or the 

County requests a postponement. This subsection also limits the 

total acreage of eligible land sold to 150,000 acres. 

Subsection (f)(2) requires the Secretary to offer eligible parcels 

for exchange, within one year of the identification of the Management Priority Areas and at least once a year until the limitation 

is reached or the County requests a postponement. 

Subsection (f)(3) requires the Secretary, at the County’s request, 

to postpone or exclude from a sale or exchange all or a portion of 

the eligible land. 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with HEARING
4 

Section 104. Disposition of proceeds 

Subsection (a) requires the proceeds from a land sale under section 103 or 201 to be disbursed as follows: five percent to the State 

for education purposes; 10 percent to the County; and the remaining 85 percent to the ‘‘Pershing County Special Account’’ in the 

U.S. Treasury to be used by the Secretary, in consultation with the 

County, for specified land management activities. 

Subsection (b) requires the special account established under 

subsection (a)(3) to be invested and earn interest. 

Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to submit a report to the 

County and Committees of jurisdiction every five years on the operation and use of the special account. 

TITLE II—LAND CONVEYANCES AND TRANSFERS 

Section 201. Conveyances of covered land 

Subsection (a) provides key definitions for this section. 

Subsection (b)(1) requires the Secretary, within 180 days of enactment of this legislation, to offer for sale at the fair market 

value, the remaining right, title, and interest in and to covered 

land to qualified entities. 

Subsection (b)(2) requires the Secretary, within one year of acceptance of an offer to purchase a parcel of land, to convey the land 

to the qualified entity. 

Subsection (b)(3) merges any prior interest in the locatable minerals and the right to use the surface held by a qualified entity 

with all right, title, and interest conveyed by the United States to 

ensure that the qualified entity receives fee simple title to the purchased covered land. 

Subsection (b)(4) requires the Secretary to determine the fair 

market value of the land in accordance with applicable law and appraisal standards. 

Subsection (b)(5) requires the qualified entity to pay all conveyance-related costs as a condition of the conveyance. 

Subsection (b)(6) requires the map to be on file and publicly 

available with the BLM. 

Subsection (b)(7) authorizes the Secretary, in consultation with 

the County, to make minor corrections to the map or description 

of covered land. 

Subsection (c) requires any proceeds collected under this section 

to be disposed of pursuant to section 104. 

Subsection (d) terminates the Secretary’s authority to convey covered land 10 years after the Act’s enactment. 

Section 202. Conveyances of land for use as a public cemetery 

Section 202 requires the Secretary to convey, without consideration, approximately 10 acres of Federal land depicted on the map 

as ‘‘Unionville Cemetery’’ to the County to be used as a public cemetery. 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with HEARING
5 

TITLE III—WILDERNESS AREAS 

Section 301. Additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System 

Subsection (a) designates 12,339 acres of BLM land as the Cain 

Mountain Wilderness; 24,900 acres of BLM land as the Bluewing 

Wilderness; 22,822 acres of BLM land as the Selenite Peak Wilderness; 11,855 acres of BLM land as the Mount Limbo Wilderness; 

13,875 acres of BLM land as the North Sahwave Wilderness; 

35,339 acres of BLM land as the Grandfathers’ Wilderness; and 

14,942 acres of BLM land as the Fencemaker Wilderness. All land 

acreage is approximate and depicted on specified maps. 

Subsection (b) requires the boundary of any portion of a wilderness area to be 100 feet from the centerline of a road, if bordered 

by a road. 

Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to produce a map of each 

new wilderness area and make it publicly available in the appropriate BLM office. This subsection also authorizes the Secretary to 

make technical corrections to the map or legal description. This 

subsection further withdraws the designated wilderness areas from 

all forms of entry, appropriation, and disposal under public land 

laws; location, entry, and patent under mining laws; and mineral 

and geothermal leasing or mineral materials laws. 

Section 302. Administration 

Subsection (a) requires the Secretaries to manage the new wilderness areas in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 

1131 et seq.). 

Subsection (b) allows any grazing in the wilderness areas that 

exists prior to the Act’s enactment, to continue, subject to certain 

regulations, policies, and practices. 

Subsection (c) makes clear that any land within the boundaries 

of the new wilderness areas, if acquired by the Federal government 

after the Act’s enactment, will be added to the wilderness area. 

Subsection (d) states that Congress does not intend for a wilderness area designation to create protective perimeters or buffer 

zones around the wilderness area. The subsection also specifies 

that nonwilderness activities or uses that can be seen or heard 

from within the wilderness area are not precluded. 

Subsection (e) makes clear that nothing in this legislation restricts or precludes military activities in the airspace over the wilderness areas. 

Subsection (f) authorizes the Secretary to take appropriate action 

to control fire, insects, and disease in the wilderness areas. 

Subsection (g) authorizes the Secretary to install and maintain 

hydrologic, meteorological, and climatological data collection devices in the wilderness areas. 

Subsection (h)(1) finds that wilderness areas are generally not 

suitable for the use of development of new water resource facilities. 

Subsection (h)(2) specifies the section’s purpose. 

Subsection (h)(3) states that nothing in this Act creates an express or implied reservation of a water rights by the United States 

in a wilderness area; affects any State water rights in existence as 

of the date of the Act’s enactment; establishes a precedent for future wilderness designations; affects the interpretation or designaVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:37 Dec 08, 2018 Jkt 089010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR409.XXX SR409

dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with HEARING
6 

tion made under any other Act; or affects an interstate compact of 

other water apportionment decree between the State and other 

States. 

Subsection (h)(4) directs the Secretary to proceed pursuant to Nevada water law to obtain and hold any water rights. 

Subsection (h)(5) defines the term ‘‘Water Resource Facility’’ and 

prohibits the Secretary from developing a new water resource facility within the wilderness areas. 

Subsection (i) authorizes the placement of temporary telecommunications facilities in the Selenite Peak Wilderness. 

Section 303. Wildlife management 

Subsection (a) makes clear that the authority of the State to 

manage fish and wildlife in the wilderness areas is neither affected 

nor diminished. 

Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretary to conduct any necessary 

management activities to maintain or restore fish and wildlife populations and their habitat. 

Subsection (c) authorizes the State of Nevada to continue using 

aircraft to manage sage-grouse and other wildlife in the wilderness 

areas. 

Subsection (d) directs the Secretary to authorize structures and 

facilities for wildlife water development projects, including wildlife 

guzzlers, under certain conditions. 

Subsection (e) authorizes the Secretary, if necessary for public 

safety, administration, or compliance with certain laws, to prohibit 

hunting, trapping, and fishing in the wilderness areas. The Secretary is required to consult with the appropriate State agency before taking such action, except in emergency situations. 

Subsection (f) authorizes the State to conduct wildlife management activities in the wilderness areas in accordance with the 2003 

‘‘Memorandum of Understanding between the Bureau of Land 

Management and the Nevada Department of Wildlife Supplement 

No. 9’’ and all applicable laws and regulations. 

Section 304. Release of wilderness study areas 

Section 304 releases from section 603(c) of FLPMA approximately 

48,600 acres of public land in the China Mountain, Mt. Limbo, Selenite Mountains, Tobin Range, and Augusta Mountains wilderness 

study areas that have been adequately studied and not designated 

as wilderness. This section further requires the land to be managed 

in accordance with section 202 of FLPMA. 

Section 305. Native American cultural and religious areas 

Subsection (a) makes clear that nothing in this title alters or diminishes treaty rights of any Indian Tribe. 

Subsection (b) makes clear that the traditional collection of pine 

nuts in a wilderness area for personal, noncommercial use, can continue. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of the costs of this measure has been provided by the Congressional Budget Office: 

S. 414 would establish a process to sell or exchange up to 

400,000 acres of federal land administered by the Bureau of Land 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with HEARING
7 

Management (BLM) in Pershing County, Nevada, and also would 

designate 136,000 acres of other federal lands as wilderness. 

The bill would require BLM to conduct a mass appraisal of the 

affected lands. Using information from the Department of the Interior’s Office of Valuation Services, CBO estimates that conducting 

the appraisal would cost roughly $1 million; such spending would 

be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

Title I would direct BLM to work with Pershing County to jointly 

select parcels from roughly 300,000 acres of federal land that would 

be conveyed to the county through sale or exchange. Because BLM 

has already identified those lands for disposal, CBO expects that 

any lands conveyed in this region eventually will be conveyed 

under current law. Under the bill, the agency would only be required to sell lands valued at more than $500 an acre. CBO expects 

that lands valued at less than $500 an acre would be exchanged. 

The bill would authorize the agency to spend any proceeds from the 

sale of land, which would increase direct spending; however, using 

information from BLM regarding the amount of similar lands sold 

state-wide in Nevada over the last five years (between 1,000 and 

3,000 acres) and the value of those lands (between $100 and $300 

an acre), CBO estimates that any proceeds generated by the sale 

of the affected lands and the associated direct spending would be 

insignificant over the 2019–2028 period. 

Title II would require BLM to offer mining claims covering 

roughly 100,000 acres in Pershing County for sale at fair market 

value. However, CBO expects that few individuals or firms would 

elect to purchase those lands because under current law they would 

have the option to patent their mining claims after December 7, 

2018. Mineral patents allow individuals and firms to acquire title 

to hardrock minerals and the associated surface rights under a federal mining claim at below-market rates. Each year since 1994, the 

Congress has included provisions in annual appropriations acts 

that prohibit BLM from accepting or processing applications for 

mineral patents. Because patents are prohibited only in the year 

the appropriations acts are enacted, or the timeframe in which continuing resolutions are in effect, BLM will be authorized to issue 

mineral patents after December 7, 2018; the Congress would have 

to extend that prohibition in subsequent legislation. CBO expects 

that individuals or firms seeking to acquire title to federal mining 

claims generally would opt for a patent rather than purchase the 

claims using the process established under the bill. Thus, CBO estimates that enacting that provision would have no significant 

budgetary effect. 

Title III would designate 136,000 acres of federal land as wilderness. Designating federal land as wilderness could have an effect 

on the budget if the property generates receipts for the government 

and collection of those receipts would end under the wilderness 

designation. Because the bill would preserve existing grazing rights 

on the affected lands and CBO does not expect those lands to generate any other proceeds over the next 10 years, we estimate that 

enacting that provision would have no effect on the federal budget. 

Because enacting S. 414 would affect direct spending, pay-as-yougo procedures apply; however, CBO estimates that the net effect on 

direct spending would not be significant. Enacting the bill would 

not affect revenues. 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with HEARING
8 

CBO estimates that enacting S. 414 would not increase net direct 

spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10- 

year periods beginning in 2029. 

S. 414 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

On September 27, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 

H.R. 1107, the Pershing County Economic Development and Conservation Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on June 27, 2017. The two pieces of legislation are 

similar, and CBO’s estimates of their budgetary effects are the 

same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani Shankaran. 

The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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. 414. 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. 414, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

S. 414, as ordered 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 testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at the 

February 7, 2018, hearing on S. 414 follows: 

STATEMENT OF BRIAN STEED, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR POLICY & PROGRAMS, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, U.S. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Thank you for inviting the Department of the Interior 

(Department) to testify on S. 414, the Pershing County 

Economic Development and Conservation Act. This bill authorizes public land sales, exchanges, and conveyances in 

Pershing County, Nevada, and designates approximately 

136,600 acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) as seven new wilderness areas. 

Pershing County, located in northwestern Nevada, is 

home to nearly 7,000 people and encompasses just over 

6,000 square miles. BLM-managed public lands in this 

part of Nevada provide opportunities for economic development and jobs, hunting and other forms of outdoor recreation, mineral development, livestock grazing, and conservation. 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with HEARING
9 

In 1976, with the passage of the Federal Land Policy 

and Management Act (FLPMA), Congress directed the 

BLM to retain management of most public lands, thereby 

reducing the acreage that had been available for disposal 

in earlier years. Under FLPMA, the BLM is directed to 

sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public 

lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The FLPMA also sets forth the BLM’s multipleuse mission, directing that public lands be managed for a 

variety of uses, such as energy development, livestock 

grazing, conservation, mining, and recreation. 

S. 414 directs Federal land sales, exchanges, and conveyances in Pershing County, Nevada. The legislation also 

designates approximately 136,600 acres of public lands as 

seven wilderness areas and releases approximately 48,600 

acres of BLM-managed WSAs from further study. 

Title I of S. 414 directs the sale, at fair market value, 

or exchange of up to approximately 334,000 acres of BLMmanaged public lands as specified on the legislative map 

and that have been identified as potentially suitable for 

disposal as part of the land use planning process. Title I 

requires that all lands authorized for sale or exchange be 

appraised en masse within one year of enactment and 

every five years thereafter. Any of these lands with an appraised value of less than $500 per acre may be exchanged 

on an acre-for-acre basis with private land in a Management Priority Area, as identified by the Secretary, within 

the area depicted on the legislative map. Land sales under 

Title I may not exceed 150,000 acres; exchanges are exempted from this limitation. The first land sale must be 

completed within one year of enactment, with at least one 

sale conducted every year thereafter, until the acreage 

limit for sales has been reached, or a sale postponement 

period requested by the county. 

Title II of the bill directs the sale, at fair market value 

as determined by an appraisal, of up to approximately 

102,000 acres of BLM-managed public lands identified on 

the legislative map to a ‘‘qualified entity,’’ which is defined 

in the bill as the owner or authorized leaseholder of the 

mining claims, mill sites, or tunnel sites currently existing 

on any portion of the lands to be sold. The qualified entity 

would assume all costs of the sales, including survey and 

administrative costs. 

Proceeds from the sales directed by Titles I and II of the 

bill would be disbursed to the State of Nevada, Pershing 

County, and a special account in the U.S. Treasury for a 

number of specific purposes, including reimbursing costs 

associated with preparing sales, habitat conservation and 

restoration, and securing public access to Federal lands, 

among others. 

Title III of S. 414 designates seven wilderness areas totaling approximately 136,600 acres. Of these lands, approximately 55,100 acres are within existing wilderness 

study areas (WSAs) and approximately 81,500 acres have 

not previously been identified as suitable for wilderness by 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with HEARING
10 

the BLM. Title III also releases approximately 48,600 

acres from WSA status, allowing these areas to be managed according to the existing BLM land use plans. The 

Department notes that the lands proposed for wilderness 

designation by S. 414 generally serve as habitat for a diversity of plant and animal life and provide important opportunities for hiking, hunting, rock climbing, camping, 

horse packing, and other forms of outdoor recreation in the 

Nevada desert. 

Only Congress can determine whether to designate 

WSAs as wilderness or to release them for other multiple 

uses. The WSAs included in the proposed wilderness designations have been pending final resolution by Congress 

since 1991. 

As a matter of policy, the Department supports the completion of land exchanges and transfers that further the 

public interest, consolidate ownership of scattered tracts of 

land to make them more manageable, and advance public 

policy objectives. The Department strongly supports restoring full collaboration and coordination with local communities and making the Department a better neighbor. 

In his confirmation hearing, Secretary Zinke stated to 

the Committee that he does not support the wide-scale 

sale or transfer of Federal lands. The Department has substantive as well as minor technical modifications to recommend, and we look forward to working with the sponsor 

and the Committee to resolve these issues. The Department appreciates the work of Senator Heller on S. 414 and 

his efforts to promote multiple uses and foster economic 

development on BLM lands in Nevada. 

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. 414 as ordered reported. 

Æ 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with HEARING