II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 161 

To provide for a land exchange in the State of Arizona between the Secretary 

of Agriculture and Yavapai Ranch Limited Partnership. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25, 2005 

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself and Mr. KYL) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

A BILL

To provide for a land exchange in the State of Arizona 

between the Secretary of Agriculture and Yavapai Ranch 

Limited Partnership.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Northern Arizona Land Exchange and Verde River 

6 Basin Partnership Act of 2005’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
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TITLE I—NORTHERN ARIZONA LAND EXCHANGE 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Land exchange. 

Sec. 103. Description of non-Federal land. 

Sec. 104. Description of Federal land. 

Sec. 105. Status and management of land after exchange. 

Sec. 106. Miscellaneous provisions. 

Sec. 107. Conveyance of additional land. 

TITLE II—VERDE RIVER BASIN PARTNERSHIP 

Sec. 201. Purpose. 

Sec. 202. Definitions. 

Sec. 203. Verde River Basin Partnership. 

Sec. 204. Verde River Basin studies. 

Sec. 205. Verde River Basin Partnership final report. 

Sec. 206. Memorandum of understanding. 

Sec. 207. Effect.

1 TITLE I—NORTHERN ARIZONA 

2 LAND EXCHANGE 

3 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this title: 

5 (1) CAMP.—The term ‘‘camp’’ means Camp 

6 Pearlstein, Friendly Pines, Patterdale Pines, Pine 

7 Summit, Sky Y, and Young Life Lost Canyon camps 

8 in the State of Arizona. 

9 (2) CITIES.—The term ‘‘cities’’ means the cities 

10 of Flagstaff, Williams, and Camp Verde, Arizona. 

11 (3) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

12 means the land described in section 104. 

13 (4) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘non-Fed14 eral land’’ means the land described in section 103. 

15 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of Agriculture. 
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1 (6) YAVAPAI RANCH.—The term ‘‘Yavapai 

2 Ranch’’ means the Yavapai Ranch Limited Partner3 ship, an Arizona Limited Partnership, and the 

4 Northern Yavapai, L.L.C., an Arizona Limited Li5 ability Company. 

6 SEC. 102. LAND EXCHANGE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Upon the conveyance by 

8 Yavapai Ranch of title to the non-Federal land identified 

9 in section 103, the Secretary shall simultaneously convey 

10 to Yavapai Ranch title to the Federal land identified in 

11 section 104. 

12 (2) Title to the lands to be exchanged shall be in a 

13 form acceptable to the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch. 

14 (3) The Federal and non-Federal lands to be ex15 changed under this title may be modified prior to the ex16 change as provided in this title. 

17 (4)(A) By mutual agreement, the Secretary and 

18 Yavapai Ranch may make minor and technical corrections 

19 to the maps and legal descriptions of the lands and inter20 ests therein exchanged or retained under this title, includ21 ing changes, if necessary to conform to surveys approved 

22 by the Bureau of Land Management. 

23 (B) In the case of any discrepancy between a map 

24 and legal description, the map shall prevail unless the Sec25 retary and Yavapai Ranch agree otherwise. 
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1 (b) EXCHANGE PROCESS.—(1) Except as otherwise 

2 provided in this title, the land exchange under subsection 

3 (a) shall be undertaken in accordance with section 206 

4 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 

5 U.S.C. 1716). 

6 (2) Before completing the land exchange under this 

7 title, the Secretary shall perform any necessary land sur8 veys and pre-exchange inventories, clearances, reviews, 

9 and approvals, including those relating to hazardous mate10 rials, threatened and endangered species, cultural and his11 toric resources, and wetlands and flood plains. 

12 (c) EQUAL VALUE EXCHANGE.—(1) The value of the 

13 Federal land and the non-Federal land shall be equal, or 

14 equalized by the Secretary by adjusting the acreage of the 

15 Federal land in accordance with paragraph (2). 

16 (2) If the final appraised value of the Federal land 

17 exceeds the final appraised value of the non-Federal land, 

18 prior to making other adjustments, the Federal lands shall 

19 be adjusted by deleting all or part of the parcels or por20 tions of the parcels in the following order: 

21 (A) A portion of the Camp Verde parcel de22 scribed in section 104(a)(4), comprising approxi23 mately 316 acres, located in the Prescott National 

24 Forest, and more particularly described as lots 1, 5, 

and 6 of section 26, the NE1⁄4NE1 25 ⁄4 portion of sec-
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tion 26 and the N1⁄2N1 1 ⁄2 portion of section 27, 

2 Township 14 North, Range 4 East, Gila and Salt 

3 River Base and Meridian, Yavapai County, Arizona. 

4 (B) A portion of the Camp Verde parcel de5 scribed in section 104(a)(4), comprising approxi6 mately 314 acres, located in the Prescott National 

7 Forest, and more particularly described as lots 2, 7, 

8, and 9 of section 26, the SE1⁄4NE1 8 ⁄4 portion of 

section 26, and the S1⁄2N1 9 ⁄2 of section 27, Township 

10 14 North, Range 4 East, Gila and Salt River Base 

11 and Meridian, Yavapai County, Arizona. 

12 (C) Beginning at the south boundary of section 

13 31, Township 20 North, Range 5 West, Gila and 

14 Salt River Base and Meridian, Yavapai County, Ari15 zona, and sections 33 and 35, Township 20 North, 

16 Range 6 West, Gila and Salt River Base and Merid17 ian, Yavapai County, Arizona, by adding to the non18 Federal land to be conveyed to the United States in 

1 19 ⁄8-section increments (E–W 64th line) while delet20 ing from the conveyance to Yavapai Ranch Federal 

21 land in the same incremental portions of section 32, 

22 Township 20 North, Range 5 West, Gila and Salt 

23 River Base and Meridian, Yavapai County, Arizona, 

24 and sections 32, 34, and 36 in Township 20 North, 

25 Range 6 West, Gila and Salt River Base and Merid-
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1 ian, Yavapai County, Arizona, to establish a linear 

2 and continuous boundary that runs east-to-west 

3 across the sections. 

4 (D) Any other parcels, or portions thereof, 

5 agreed to by the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch. 

6 (3) If any parcel of Federal land or non-Federal land 

7 is not conveyed because of any reason, that parcel of land, 

8 or portion thereof, shall be excluded from the exchange 

9 and the remaining lands shall be adjusted as provided in 

10 this subsection. 

11 (4) If the value of the Federal land exceeds the value 

12 of the non-Federal land by more than $50,000, the Sec13 retary and Yavapai Ranch shall, by mutual agreement, de14 lete additional Federal land from the exchange until the 

15 value of the Federal land and non-Federal land is, to the 

16 maximum extent practicable, equal. 

17 (d) APPRAISALS.—(1) The value of the Federal land 

18 and non-Federal land shall be determined by appraisals 

19 prepared in accordance with the Uniform Appraisal 

20 Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions and the Uniform 

21 Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. 

22 (2)(A) After the Secretary has reviewed and approved 

23 the final appraised values of the Federal land and non24 Federal land to be exchanged, the Secretary shall not be 
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1 required to reappraise or update the final appraised values 

2 before the completion of the land exchange. 

3 (B) This paragraph shall apply during the three-year 

4 period following the approval by the Secretary of the final 

5 appraised values of the Federal land and non-Federal land 

6 unless the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch have entered into 

7 an agreement to implement the exchange. 

8 (3) During the appraisal process, the appraiser shall 

9 determine the value of each parcel of Federal land and 

10 non-Federal land (including the contributory value of each 

11 individual section of the intermingled Federal and non12 Federal land of the property described in sections 103(a) 

13 and 104(a)(1)) as an assembled transaction. 

14 (4)(A) To ensure the timely and full disclosure to the 

15 public of the final appraised values of the Federal land 

16 and non-Federal land, the Secretary shall provide public 

17 notice of any appraisals approved by the Secretary and 

18 copies of such appraisals shall be available for public in19 spection in appropriate offices of the Prescott, Coconino, 

20 and Kaibab National Forests. 

21 (B) The Secretary shall also provide copies of any 

22 approved appraisals to the cities and the owners of the 

23 camps described in section 101(1). 

24 (e) CONTRACTING.—(1) If the Secretary lacks ade25 quate staff or resources to complete the exchange by the 
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1 date specified in section 106(c), Yavapai Ranch, subject 

2 to the agreement of the Secretary, may contract with inde3 pendent third-party contractors to carry out any work nec4 essary to complete the exchange by that date. 

5 (2) If, in accordance with this subsection, Yavapai 

6 Ranch contracts with an independent third-party con7 tractor to carry out any work that would otherwise be per8 formed by the Secretary, the Secretary shall reimburse 

9 Yavapai Ranch for the costs for the third-party contrac10 tors. 

11 (f) EASEMENTS.—(1) The exchange of non-Federal 

12 and Federal land under this title shall be subject to any 

13 easements, rights-of-way, utility lines, and any other valid 

14 encumbrances in existence on the date of enactment of 

15 this Act, including acquired easements for water pipelines 

16 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai Ranch 

17 Land Exchange, YRLP Acquired Easements for Water 

18 Lines’’ dated August 2004, and any other reservations 

19 that may be agreed to by the Secretary and Yavapai 

20 Ranch. 

21 (2) Upon completion of the land exchange under this 

22 title, the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch shall grant each 

23 other at no charge reciprocal easements for access and 

24 utilities across, over, and through— 
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1 (A) the routes depicted on the map entitled 

2 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Road and Trail 

3 Easements, Yavapai Ranch Area’’ dated August 

4 2004; and 

5 (B) any relocated routes that are agreed to by 

6 the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch. 

7 (3) An easement described in paragraph (2) shall be 

8 unrestricted and non-exclusive in nature and shall run 

9 with and benefit the land. 

10 (g) CONVEYANCE OF FEDERAL LAND TO CITIES AND

11 CAMPS.—(1) Prior to the completion of the land exchange 

12 between Yavapai Ranch and the Secretary, the cities and 

13 the owners of the camps may enter into agreements with 

14 Yavapai Ranch whereby Yavapai Ranch, upon completion 

15 of the land exchange, will convey to the cities or the own16 ers of the camps the applicable parcel of Federal land or 

17 portion thereof. 

18 (2) If Yavapai Ranch and the cities or camp owners 

19 have not entered into agreements in accordance with para20 graph (1), the Secretary shall, on notification by the cities 

21 or owners of the camps no later than 30 days after the 

22 date the relevant approved appraisal is made publicly 

23 available, delete the applicable parcel or portion thereof 

24 from the land exchange between Yavapai Ranch and the 

25 United States as follows: 
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1 (A) Upon request of the City of Flagstaff, Ari2 zona, the parcels, or portion thereof, described in 

3 section 104(a)(2). 

4 (B) Upon request of the City of Williams, Ari5 zona, the parcels, or portion thereof, described in 

6 section 104(a)(3). 

7 (C) Upon request of the City of Camp Verde, 

8 Arizona, a portion of the parcel described in section 

9 104(a)(4), comprising approximately 514 acres lo10 cated southeast of the southeastern boundary of the 

11 I–17 right-of-way, and more particularly described 

as the SE1 12 ⁄4 portion of the southeast quarter of section 26, the E1⁄2 and the E1⁄2W1 13 ⁄2 portions of sec14 tion 35, and lots 5 through 7 of section 36, Town15 ship 14 North, Range 4 East, Gila and Salt River 

16 Base and Meridian, Yavapai County, Arizona. 

17 (D) Upon request of the owners of the 

18 Younglife Lost Canyon camp, the parcel described in 

19 section 104(a)(5). 

20 (E) Upon request of the owner of Friendly 

21 Pines Camp, Patterdale Pines Camp, Camp 

22 Pearlstein, Pine Summit, or Sky Y Camp, as appli23 cable, the corresponding parcel described in section 

24 104(a)(6). 
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1 (3)(A) Upon request of the specific city or camp ref2 erenced in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall convey to 

3 such city or camp all right, title, and interest of the United 

4 States in and to the applicable parcel of Federal land or 

5 portion thereof, upon payment of the fair market value 

6 of the parcel and subject to any terms and conditions the 

7 Secretary may require. 

8 (B) A conveyance under this paragraph shall not re9 quire new administrative or environmental analyses or ap10 praisals beyond those prepared for the land exchange. 

11 (4) A city or owner of a camp purchasing land under 

12 this subsection shall reimburse Yavapai Ranch for any 

13 costs incurred which are directly associated with surveys 

14 and appraisals of the specific property conveyed. 

15 (5) A conveyance of land under this subsection shall 

16 not affect the timing of the land exchange. 

17 (6) Nothing in this subsection limits the authority of 

18 the Secretary or Yavapai Ranch to delete any of the par19 cels referenced in this subsection from the land exchange. 

20 (7)(A) The Secretary shall deposit the proceeds of 

21 any sale under paragraph (2) in a special account in the 

22 fund established under Public Law 90–171 (commonly 

23 known as the ‘‘Sisk Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 484a). 

24 (B) Amounts deposited under subparagraph (A) shall 

25 be available to the Secretary, without further appropria-
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1 tion, to be used for the acquisition of land in the State 

2 of Arizona for addition to the National Forest System, in3 cluding the land to be exchanged under this title. 

4 SEC. 103. DESCRIPTION OF NON-FEDERAL LAND. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The non-Federal land referred to 

6 in this title consists of approximately 35,000 acres of pri7 vately-owned land within the boundaries of the Prescott 

8 National Forest, as generally depicted on the map entitled 

9 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Non-Federal Lands’’, 

10 dated August 2004. 

11 (b) EASEMENTS.—(1) The conveyance of non-Fed12 eral land to the United States under section 102 shall be 

13 subject to the reservation of— 

14 (A) water rights and perpetual easements that 

15 run with and benefit the land retained by Yavapai 

16 Ranch for— 

17 (i) the operation, maintenance, repair, im18 provement, development, and replacement of 

19 not more than 3 wells in existence on the date 

20 of enactment of this Act; 

21 (ii) related storage tanks, valves, pumps, 

22 and hardware; and 

23 (iii) pipelines to point of use; and 
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1 (B) easements for reasonable access to accom2 plish the purposes of the easements described in 

3 subparagraph (A). 

4 (2) Each easement for an existing well referred to 

5 in paragraph (1) shall be 40 acres in area, and to the 

6 maximum extent practicable, centered on the existing well. 

7 (3) The United States shall be entitled to one-half 

8 the production of each existing or replacement well, not 

9 to exceed a total of 3,100,000 gallons of water annually 

10 for National Forest System purposes. 

11 (4) The locations of the easements and wells shall be 

12 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai Ranch 

13 Land Exchange, Reserved Easements for Water Lines and 

14 Wells’’, dated August 2004. 

15 SEC. 104. DESCRIPTION OF FEDERAL LAND. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal land referred to in 

17 this title consists of the following: 

18 (1) Certain land comprising approximately 

19 15,300 acres located in the Prescott National For20 est, as generally depicted on the map entitled 

21 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Yavapai Ranch 

22 Area Federal Lands’’, dated August 2004. 

23 (2) Certain land located in the Coconino Na24 tional Forest— 
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1 (A) comprising approximately 1,500 acres 

2 as generally depicted on the map entitled 

3 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Flagstaff 

4 Federal Lands Airport Parcel’’, dated August 

5 2004; and 

6 (B) comprising approximately 28.26 acres 

7 in two separate parcels, as generally depicted 

8 on the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Ex9 change, Flagstaff Federal Lands Wetzel School 

10 and Mt. Elden Parcels’’, dated August 2004. 

11 (3) Certain land located in the Kaibab National 

12 Forest, and referred to as the Williams Airport, Wil13 liams golf course, Williams Sewer, Buckskinner 

14 Park, Williams Railroad, and Well parcels number 2, 

15 3, and 4, cumulatively comprising approximately 950 

16 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled 

17 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Williams Federal 

18 Lands’’, dated August 2004. 

19 (4) Certain land located in the Prescott Na20 tional Forest, comprising approximately 2,200 acres, 

21 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai 

22 Ranch Land Exchange, Camp Verde Federal Land 

23 General Crook Parcel’’, dated August 2004. 

24 (5) Certain land located in the Kaibab National 

25 Forest, comprising approximately 237.5 acres, as 
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1 generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai 

2 Ranch Land Exchange, Younglife Lost Canyon’’, 

3 dated August 2004. 

4 (6) Certain land located in the Prescott Na5 tional Forest, including the ‘‘Friendly Pines’’, 

6 ‘‘Patterdale Pines’’, ‘‘Camp Pearlstein’’, ‘‘Pine Sum7 mit’’, and ‘‘Sky Y’’ camps, cumulatively comprising 

8 approximately 200 acres, as generally depicted on 

9 the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, 

10 Prescott Federal Lands, Summer Youth Camp Par11 cels’’, dated August 2004. 

12 (b) CONDITION OF CONVEYANCE OF CAMP VERDE

13 PARCEL.—(1) To conserve water in the Verde Valley, Ari14 zona, and to minimize the adverse impacts from future 

15 development of the Camp Verde General Crook parcel de16 scribed in subsection (a)(4) on current and future holders 

17 of water rights in existence of the date of enactment of 

18 this Act and the Verde River and National Forest System 

19 lands retained by the United States, the United States 

20 shall limit in perpetuity the use of water on the parcel 

21 by reserving conservation easements that— 

22 (A) run with the land; 

23 (B) prohibit golf course development on the 

24 parcel; 
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1 (C) require that any public park or greenbelt on 

2 the parcel be watered with treated wastewater; 

3 (D) limit total post-exchange water use on the 

4 parcel to not more than 300 acre-feet of water per 

5 year; 

6 (E) provide that any water supplied by munici7 palities or private water companies shall count to8 wards the post-exchange water use limitation de9 scribed in subparagraph (D); and 

10 (F) except for water supplied to the parcel by 

11 municipal water service providers or private water 

12 companies, require that any water used for the par13 cel not be withdrawn from wells perforated in the 

14 saturated Holocene alluvium of the Verde River. 

15 (2) If Yavapai Ranch conveys the Camp Verde parcel 

16 described in subsection (a)(4), or any portion thereof, the 

17 terms of conveyance shall include a recorded and binding 

18 agreement of the quantity of water available for use on 

19 the land conveyed, as determined by Yavapai Ranch, ex20 cept that total water use on the Camp Verde parcel may 

21 not exceed the amount specified in paragraph (1)(D). 

22 (3) The Secretary may enter into a memorandum of 

23 understanding with the State or political subdivision of the 

24 State to enforce the terms of the conservation easement. 
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1 SEC. 105. STATUS AND MANAGEMENT OF LAND AFTER EX2 CHANGE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Land acquired by the United 

4 States under this title shall become part of the Prescott 

5 National Forest and shall be administered by the Sec6 retary in accordance with this title and the laws applicable 

7 to the National Forest System. 

8 (b) GRAZING.—Where grazing on non-Federal land 

9 acquired by the Secretary under this title occurs prior to 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary may man11 age the land to allow for continued grazing use, in accord12 ance with the laws generally applicable to domestic live13 stock grazing on National Forest System land. 

14 (c) TIMBER HARVESTING.—(1) After completion of 

15 the land exchange under this title, except as provided in 

16 paragraph (2), commercial timber harvesting shall be pro17 hibited on the non-Federal land acquired by the United 

18 States. 

19 (2) Timber harvesting may be conducted on the non20 Federal land acquired under this title if the Secretary de21 termines that such harvesting is necessary— 

22 (A) to prevent or control fires, insects, and dis23 ease through forest thinning or other forest manage24 ment techniques; 
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1 (B) to protect or enhance grassland habitat, 

2 watershed values, native plants and wildlife species; 

3 or 

4 (C) to improve forest health. 

5 SEC. 106. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

6 (a) REVOCATION OF ORDERS.—Any public orders 

7 withdrawing any of the Federal land from appropriation 

8 or disposal under the public land laws are revoked to the 

9 extent necessary to permit disposal of the Federal land. 

10 (b) WITHDRAWAL OF FEDERAL LAND.—Subject to 

11 valid existing rights, the Federal land is withdrawn from 

12 all forms of entry and appropriation under the public land 

13 laws; location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; 

14 and operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leas15 ing laws, until the date on which the land exchange is com16 pleted. 

17 (c) COMPLETION OF EXCHANGE.—It is the intent of 

18 Congress that the land exchange authorized and directed 

19 under this title be completed not later than 18 months 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 107. CONVEYANCE OF ADDITIONAL LAND. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall convey to a 

23 person that represents the majority of landowners with en24 croachments on the lot by quitclaim deed the parcel of 

25 land described in subsection (b). 
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1 (b) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The parcel of land re2 ferred to in subsection (a) is lot 8 in section 11, T. 21 

3 N., R. 7 E., Gila and Salt River Base and Meridian, 

4 Coconino County, Arizona. 

5 (c) AMOUNT OF CONSIDERATION.—In exchange for 

6 the land described in subsection (b), the person acquiring 

7 the land shall pay to the Secretary consideration in the 

8 amount of— 

9 (1) $2500; plus 

10 (2) any costs of re-monumenting the boundary 

11 of land. 

12 (d) TIMING.—(1) Not later than 90 days after the 

13 date on which the Secretary receives a power of attorney 

14 executed by the person acquiring the land, the Secretary 

15 shall convey to the person the land described in subsection 

16 (b). 

17 (2) If, by the date that is 270 days after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary does not receive 

19 the power of attorney described in paragraph (1)— 

20 (A) the authority provided under this section 

21 shall terminate; and 

22 (B) any conveyance of the land shall be made 

23 under Public Law 97–465 (16 U.S.C. 521c et seq.). 
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1 TITLE II—VERDE RIVER BASIN 

2 PARTNERSHIP 

3 SEC. 201. PURPOSE. 

4 The purpose of this title is to authorize assistance 

5 for a collaborative and science-based water resource plan6 ning and management partnership for the Verde River 

7 Basin in the State of Arizona, consisting of members that 

8 represent— 

9 (1) Federal, State, and local agencies; and 

10 (2) economic, environmental, and community 

11 water interests in the Verde River Basin. 

12 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this title: 

14 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

15 the Director of the Arizona Department of Water 

16 Resources. 

17 (2) PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘Partnership’’ 

18 means the Verde River Basin Partnership. 

19 (3) PLAN.—The term ‘‘plan’’ means the plan 

20 for the Verde River Basin required by section 

21 204(a)(1). 

22 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

24 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

25 of Arizona. 
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1 (6) VERDE RIVER BASIN.—The term ‘‘Verde 

2 River Basin’’ means the land area designated by the 

3 Arizona Department of Water Resources as encom4 passing surface water and groundwater resources, 

5 including drainage and recharge areas with a hydro6 logic connection to the Verde River. 

7 (7) WATER BUDGET.—The term ‘‘water budg8 et’’ means the accounting of— 

9 (A) the quantities of water leaving the 

10 Verde River Basin— 

11 (i) as discharge to the Verde River 

12 and tributaries; 

13 (ii) as subsurface outflow; 

14 (iii) as evapotranspiration by riparian 

15 vegetation; 

16 (iv) as surface evaporation; 

17 (v) for agricultural use; and 

18 (vi) for human consumption; and 

19 (B) the quantities of water replenishing 

20 the Verde River Basin by precipitation, infiltra21 tion, and subsurface inflows. 

22 SEC. 203. VERDE RIVER BASIN PARTNERSHIP. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may participate in 

24 the establishment of a partnership, to be known as the 

25 ‘‘Verde River Basin Partnership’’, made up of Federal, 
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1 State, local governments, and other entities with respon2 sibilities and expertise in water to coordinate and cooper3 ate in the identification and implementation of comprehen4 sive science-based policies, projects, and management ac5 tivities relating to the Verde River Basin. 

6 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—On es7 tablishment of the Partnership, there are authorized to be 

8 appropriated to the Secretary and the Secretary of the In9 terior such sums as are necessary to carry out the activi10 ties of the Partnership for each of fiscal years 2006 

11 through 2010. 

12 SEC. 204. VERDE RIVER BASIN STUDIES. 

13 (a) STUDIES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Partnership shall pre15 pare a plan for conducting water resource studies in 

16 the Verde River Basin that identifies— 

17 (A) the primary study objectives to fulfill 

18 water resource planning and management needs 

19 for the Verde River Basin; and 

20 (B) the water resource studies, hydrologic 

21 models, surface and groundwater monitoring 

22 networks, and other analytical tools helpful in 

23 the identification of long-term water supply 

24 management options within the Verde River 

25 Basin. 
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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—At a minimum, the plan 

2 shall— 

3 (A) include a list of specific studies and 

4 analyses that are needed to support Partnership 

5 planning and management decisions; 

6 (B) identify any ongoing or completed 

7 water resource or riparian studies that are rel8 evant to water resource planning and manage9 ment for the Verde River Basin; 

10 (C) describe the estimated cost and dura11 tion of the proposed studies and analyses; and 

12 (D) designate as a study priority the com13 pilation of a water budget analysis for the 

14 Verde Valley. 

15 (b) VERDE VALLEY WATER BUDGET ANALYSIS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

17 appropriations, not later than 14 months after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the 

19 U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Di20 rector, shall prepare and submit to the Partnership 

21 a report that provides a water budget analysis of the 

22 portion of the Verde River Basin within the Verde 

23 Valley. 

24 (2) COMPONENTS.—The report submitted 

25 under paragraph (1) shall include— 
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1 (A) a summary of the information avail2 able on the hydrologic flow regime for the por3 tion of the Middle Verde River from the 

4 Clarkdale streamgauging station to the city of 

5 Camp Verde at United States Geological Survey 

6 Stream Gauge 09506000; 

7 (B) with respect to the portion of the Mid8 dle Verde River described in subparagraph (A), 

9 estimates of— 

10 (i) the inflow and outflow of surface 

11 water and groundwater; 

12 (ii) annual consumptive water use; 

13 and 

14 (iii) changes in groundwater storage; 

15 and 

16 (C) an analysis of the potential long-term 

17 consequences of various water use scenarios on 

18 groundwater levels and Verde River flows. 

19 (c) PRELIMINARY REPORT AND RECOMMENDA20 TIONS.—. 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 16 months 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, using the in23 formation provided in the report submitted under 

24 subsection (b) and any other relevant information, 

25 the Partnership shall submit to the Secretary, the 
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1 Governor of Arizona, and representatives of the 

2 Verde Valley communities, a preliminary report that 

3 sets forth the findings and recommendations of the 

4 Partnership regarding the long-term available water 

5 supply within the Verde Valley. 

6 (2) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—

7 The Secretary may take into account the rec8 ommendations included in the report submitted 

9 under paragraph (1) with respect to decisions affect10 ing land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, in11 cluding any future sales or exchanges of Federal 

12 land in the Verde River Basin after the date of en13 actment of this Act. 

14 (3) EFFECT.—Any recommendations included 

15 in the report submitted under paragraph (1) shall 

16 not affect the land exchange process or the apprais17 als of the Federal land and non-Federal land con18 ducted under sections 103 and 104. 

19 SEC. 205. VERDE RIVER BASIN PARTNERSHIP FINAL RE20 PORT. 

21 Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, the Partnership shall submit to the Secretary 

23 and the Governor of Arizona a final report that— 
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1 (1) includes a summary of the results of any 

2 water resource assessments conducted under this 

3 title in the Verde River Basin; 

4 (2) identifies any areas in the Verde River 

5 Basin that are determined to have groundwater defi6 cits or other current or potential water supply prob7 lems; 

8 (3) identifies long-term water supply manage9 ment options for communities and water resources 

10 within the Verde River Basin; and 

11 (4) identifies water resource analyses and moni12 toring needed to support the implementation of man13 agement options. 

14 SEC. 206. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING. 

15 The Secretary (acting through the Chief of the Forest 

16 Service) and the Secretary of the Interior, shall enter into 

17 a memorandum of understanding authorizing the United 

18 States Geological Survey to access Forest Service land (in19 cluding stream gauges, weather stations, wells, or other 

20 points of data collection on the Forest Service land) to 

21 carry out this title. 
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•S 161 IS

1 SEC. 207. EFFECT. 

2 Nothing in this title diminishes or expands State or 

3 local jurisdiction, responsibilities, or rights with respect to 

4 water resource management or control.

Æ