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Union Calendar No. 373 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1773 

[Report No. 109–633] 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 25, 2006 

Referred to the Committee on Resources 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2006 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 

AN ACT 

To resolve certain Native American claims in New Mexico, 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pueblo de San 

5 Ildefonso Claims Settlement Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE ACCESS.—The term ‘‘ad2 ministrative access’’ means the unrestricted use of 

3 land and interests in land for ingress and egress by 

4 an agency of the United States (including a per5 mittee, contractor, agent, or assignee of the United 

6 States) in order to carry out an activity authorized 

7 by law or regulation, or otherwise in furtherance of 

8 the management of federally-owned land and re9 sources. 

10 (2) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means the 

11 incorporated county of Los Alamos, New Mexico. 

12 (3) LOS ALAMOS AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Los 

13 Alamos Agreement’’ means the agreement among 

14 the County, the Pueblo, the Department of Agri15 culture Forest Service, and the Bureau of Indian Af16 fairs dated January 22, 2004. 

17 (4) LOS ALAMOS TOWNSITE LAND.—‘‘Los Ala18 mos Townsite Land’’ means the land identified as 

19 Attachment B (dated December 12, 2003) to the 

20 Los Alamos Agreement. 

21 (5) NORTHERN TIER LAND.—‘‘Northern Tier 

22 Land’’ means the land comprising approximately 

23 739.71 acres and identified as ‘‘Northern Tier 

24 Lands’’ in Appendix B (dated August 3, 2004) to 

25 the Settlement Agreement. 


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1 (6) PENDING LITIGATION.—The term ‘‘Pending 

2 Litigation’’ means the case styled Pueblo of San 

3 Ildefonso v. United States, Docket Number 354, 

4 originally filed with the Indian Claims Commission 

5 and pending in the United States Court of Federal 

6 Claims on the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 (7) PUEBLO.—The term ‘‘Pueblo’’ means the 

8 Pueblo de San Ildefonso, a federally recognized In9 dian tribe (also known as the ‘‘Pueblo of San 

10 Ildefonso’’). 

11 (8) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The term 

12 ‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means the agreement enti13 tled ‘‘Settlement Agreement between the United 

14 States and the Pueblo de San Ildefonso to Resolve 

15 All of the Pueblo’s Land Title and Trespass Claims’’ 

16 and dated June 7, 2005. 

17 (9) SETTLEMENT AREA LAND.—The term ‘‘Set18 tlement Area Land’’ means the National Forest Sys19 tem land located within the Santa Fe National For20 est, as described in Appendix B to the Settlement 

21 Agreement, that is available for purchase by the 

22 Pueblo under section 9(a) of the Settlement Agree23 ment. 

24 (10) SETTLEMENT FUND.—The term ‘‘Settle25 ment Fund’’ means the Pueblo de San Ildefonso 


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1 Land Claims Settlement Fund established by section 

2 6. 

3 (11) SISK ACT.—The term ‘‘Sisk Act’’ means 

4 Public Law 90–171 (commonly known as the ‘‘Sisk 

5 Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 484a). 

6 (12) WATER SYSTEM LAND.—The term ‘‘Water 

7 System Land’’ means the federally-owned land lo8 cated within the Santa Fe National Forest to be 

9 conveyed to the County under the Los Alamos 

10 Agreement. 

11 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

12 (1) to finally dispose, as set forth in sections 4 

13 and 5, of all rights, claims, or demands that the 

14 Pueblo has asserted or could have asserted against 

15 the United States with respect to any and all claims 

16 in the Pending Litigation; 

17 (2) to extinguish claims based on aboriginal 

18 title, Indian title, or recognized title, or any other 

19 title claims under section 5; 

20 (3) to authorize the Pueblo to acquire the Set21 tlement Area Land, and to authorize the Secretary 

22 of Agriculture to convey the Water System Land, 

23 the Northern Tier Land, and the Los Alamos Town24 site Land for market value consideration, and for 

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1 riculture for the acquisition of replacement National 

2 Forest land elsewhere in New Mexico; 

3 (4) to provide that the Settlement Area Land 

4 acquired by the Pueblo shall be held by the Sec5 retary of the Interior in trust for the benefit of the 

6 Pueblo; 

7 (5) to facilitate government-to-government rela8 tions between the United States and the Pueblo re9 garding cooperation in the management of certain 

10 land administered by the National Park Service and 

11 the Bureau of Land Management as described in 

12 sections 7 and 8 of the Settlement Agreement; 

13 (6) to ratify the Settlement Agreement; and, 

14 (7) to ratify the Los Alamos Agreement. 

15 SEC. 3. RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENTS. 

16 (a) RATIFICATION.—The Settlement Agreement and 

17 Los Alamos Agreement are ratified under Federal law, 

18 and the parties to those agreements are authorized to 

19 carry out the provisions of the agreements. 

20 (b) CORRECTIONS AND MODIFICATIONS.—The re21 spective parties to the Settlement Agreement and the Los 

22 Alamos Agreement are authorized, by mutual agreement, 

23 to correct errors in any legal description or maps, and to 

24 make minor modifications to those agreements. 


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1 SEC. 4. JUDGMENT AND DISMISSAL OF LITIGATION. 

2 (a) DISMISSAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, the United States and the 

4 Pueblo shall execute and file with the United States Court 

5 of Federal Claims in the Pending Litigation a motion for 

6 entry of final judgment in accordance with section 5 of 

7 the Settlement Agreement. 

8 (b) COMPENSATION.—Upon entry of the final judg9 ment under subsection (a), $6,900,000 shall be paid into 

10 the Settlement Fund as compensation to the Pueblo in ac11 cordance with section 1304 of title 31, United States 

12 Code. 

13 SEC. 5. RESOLUTION OF CLAIMS. 

14 (a) EXTINGUISHMENTS.—Except as provided in sub15 section (b), in consideration of the benefits of the Settle16 ment Agreement, and in recognition of the agreement of 

17 the Pueblo to the Settlement Agreement, all claims of the 

18 Pueblo against the United States (including any claim 

19 against an agency, officer, or instrumentality of the 

20 United States) are relinquished and extinguished, includ21 ing— 

22 (1) any claim to land based on aboriginal title, 

23 Indian title, or recognized title; 

24 (2) any claim for damages or other judicial re25 lief or for administrative remedies that were 

26 brought, or that were knowable and could have been 


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1 brought, on or before the date of the Settlement 

2 Agreement; 

3 (3) any claim relating to— 

4 (A) any federally-administered land, in5 cluding National Park System land, National 

6 Forest System land, Public land administered 

7 by the Bureau of Land Management, the Set8 tlement Area Land, the Water System Land, 

9 the Northern Tier Land, and the Los Alamos 

10 Townsite Land; and 

11 (B) any land owned by, or held for the 

12 benefit of, any Indian tribe other than the 

13 Pueblo; and 

14 (4) any claim that was, or that could have been, 

15 asserted in the Pending Litigation. 

16 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this Act or the Settle17 ment Agreement shall in any way extinguish or otherwise 

18 impair— 

19 (1) the title of record of the Pueblo to land held 

20 by or for the benefit of the Pueblo, as identified in 

21 Appendix D to the Settlement Agreement, on or be22 fore the date of enactment of this Act; and, 

23 (2) the title of the Pueblo to the Pueblo de San 

24 Ildefonso Grant, including, as identified in Appendix 

25 D to the Settlement Agreement— 


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1 (A) the title found by the United States 

2 District Court for the District of New Mexico 

3 in the case styled United States v. Apodoca 

4 (Number 2031, equity: December 5, 1930) not 

5 to have been extinguished; and 

6 (B) title to any land that has been reac7 quired by the Pueblo pursuant to the Act enti8 tled ‘‘An Act to quiet the title to lands within 

9 Pueblo Indian land grants, and for other pur10 poses’’, approved June 7, 1924 (43 Stat. 636, 

11 chapter 331); 

12 (3) the water rights of the Pueblo appurtenant 

13 to the land described in paragraphs (1) and (2); and 

14 (4) any rights of the Pueblo or a member of the 

15 Pueblo under Federal law relating to religious or 

16 cultural access to, and use of, Federal land. 

17 (c) PREVIOUS EXTINGUISHMENTS UNIMPAIRED.— 

18 Nothing in this Act affects any prior extinguishments of 

19 rights or claims of the Pueblo which may have occurred 

20 by operation of law. 

21 (d) BOUNDARIES AND TITLE UNAFFECTED.— 

22 (1) BOUNDARIES.—Nothing in this Act affects 

23 the location of the boundaries of the Pueblo de San 

24 Ildefonso Grant. 


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1 (2) RIGHTS, TITLE, AND INTEREST.—Nothing 

2 in this Act affects, ratifies, or confirms the right, 

3 title, or interest of the Pueblo in the land held by, 

4 or for the benefit of, the Pueblo, including the land 

5 described in Appendix D of the Settlement Agree6 ment. 

7 SEC. 6. SETTLEMENT FUND. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

9 Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘‘Pueblo de San 

10 Ildefonso Land Claims Settlement Fund’’. 

11 (b) CONDITIONS.—Monies deposited in the Settle12 ment Fund shall be subject to the following conditions: 

13 (1) MAINTENANCE AND INVESTMENT.—The 

14 Settlement Fund shall be maintained and invested 

15 by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the Act 

16 of June 24, 1938 (25 U.S.C. 162a). 

17 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Subject to paragraph (3), 

18 monies deposited into the Settlement Fund shall be 

19 expended by the Pueblo— 

20 (A) to acquire the federally administered 

21 Settlement Area Land; 

22 (B) to pay for the acquisition of the Water 

23 System Land, as provided in the Los Alamos 

24 Agreement; and 


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1 (C) at the option of the Pueblo, to acquire 

2 other land. 

3 (3) EFFECT OF WITHDRAWAL.—If the Pueblo 

4 withdraws monies from the Settlement Fund, nei5 ther the Secretary of the Interior nor the Secretary 

6 of the Treasury shall retain any oversight over, or 

7 liability for, the accounting, disbursement, or invest8 ment of the withdrawn funds. 

9 (4) PER CAPITA DISTRIBUTION.—No portion of 

10 the funds in the Settlement Fund may be paid to 

11 Pueblo members on a per capita basis. 

12 (5) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—The acquisition of 

13 land with funds from the Settlement Fund shall be 

14 on a willing-seller, willing-buyer basis, and no emi15 nent domain authority may be exercised for purposes 

16 of acquiring land for the benefit of the Pueblo under 

17 this Act. 

18 (6) EFFECT OF OTHER LAWS.—The Act of Oc19 tober 19, 1973 (Public Law 93–134; 87 Stat. 466) 

20 and section 203 of the American Indian Trust Fund 

21 Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 4023) 

22 shall not apply to the Settlement Fund. 

23 SEC. 7. LAND OWNERSHIP ADJUSTMENTS. 

24 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

2 may sell the Settlement Area Land, Water System 

3 Land, and Los Alamos Townsite Land, on such 

4 terms and conditions as are agreed upon and de5 scribed in the Settlement Agreement and the Los Al6 amos Agreement, including reservations for adminis7 trative access and other access as shown on Appen8 dix B of the Settlement Agreement. 

9 (2) EFFECT OF CLAIMS AND CAUSE OF AC10 TION.—Consideration for any land authorized for 

11 sale by the Secretary of Agriculture shall not be off12 set or reduced by any claim or cause of action by 

13 any party to whom the land is conveyed. 

14 (b) CONSIDERATION.—The consideration to be paid 

15 for the Federal land authorized for sale in subsection (a) 

16 shall be— 

17 (1) for the Settlement Area Land and Water 

18 System Land, the consideration agreed upon in the 

19 Settlement Agreement; and 

20 (2) for the Los Alamos Townsite Land, the cur21 rent market value based on an appraisal approved 

22 by the Forest Service as being in conformity with 

23 the latest edition of the Uniform Appraisal Stand24 ards for Federal Land Acquisitions. 

25 (c) DISPOSITION OF RECEIPTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—All monies received by the 

2 Secretary of Agriculture from the sale of National 

3 Forest System land as authorized by this Act, in4 cluding receipts from the Northern Tier Land, shall 

5 be deposited into the fund established in the Treas6 ury of the United States pursuant to the Sisk Act 

7 and shall be available, without further appropriation, 

8 authorization, or administrative apportionment for 

9 the purchase of land by the Secretary of Agriculture 

10 for National Forest System purposes in the State of 

11 New Mexico, and for associated administrative costs. 

12 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds deposited in a Sisk 

13 Act fund pursuant to this Act shall not be subject 

14 to transfer or reprogramming for wildlands fire 

15 management or any other emergency purposes, or 

16 used to reimburse any other account. 

17 (3) ACQUISITIONS OF LAND.—In expending 

18 funds to exercise its rights under the Settlement 

19 Agreement and the Los Alamos Agreement with re20 spect to the acquisition of the Settlement Area 

21 Land, the County’s acquisitions of the Water System 

22 Land, and the Northern Tier Land (if the Pueblo 

23 exercises an option to purchase the Northern Tier 

24 Land as provided in section 12(b)(2)(A), the Pueblo 

25 shall use only funds in the Settlement Fund and 


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1 shall not augment those funds from any other 

2 source. 

3 (d) VALID EXISTING RIGHTS AND RESERVATIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Settlement Area Land 

5 acquired by the Pueblo shall be subject to all valid 

6 existing rights on the date of enactment of this Act, 

7 including rights of administrative access. 

8 (2) WATER RIGHTS.—No water rights shall be 

9 conveyed by the United States. 

10 (3) SPECIAL USE AUTHORIZATION.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act 

12 shall affect the validity of any special use au13 thorization issued by the Forest Service within 

14 the Settlement Area Land, except that such au15 thorizations shall not be renewed upon expira16 tion. 

17 (B) REASONABLE ACCESS.—For access to 

18 valid occupancies within the Settlement Area 

19 Land, the Pueblo and the Secretary of the Inte20 rior shall afford rights of reasonable access 

21 commensurate with that provided by the Sec22 retary of Agriculture on or before the date of 

23 enactment of this Act. 

24 (4) WATER SYSTEM LAND AND LOS ALAMOS

25 TOWNSITE LAND.—The Water System Land and 


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1 Los Alamos Townsite Land acquired by the County 

2 shall be subject to— 

3 (A) all valid existing rights; and 

4 (B) the rights reserved by the United 

5 States under the Los Alamos Agreement. 

6 (5) PRIVATE LANDOWNERS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Upon acquisition by 

8 the Pueblo of the Settlement Area Land, the 

9 Secretary of the Interior, acting on behalf of 

10 the Pueblo and the United States, shall execute 

11 easements in accordance with any right re12 served by the United States for the benefit of 

13 private landowners owning property that re14 quires the use of Forest Development Road 416 

15 (as in existence on the date of enactment of this 

16 Act) and other roads that may be necessary to 

17 provide legal access into the property of the 

18 landowners, as the property is used on the date 

19 of this Act. 

20 (B) MAINTENANCE OF ROADS.—Neither 

21 the Pueblo nor the United States shall be re22 quired to maintain roads for the benefit of pri23 vate landowners. 

24 (C) EASEMENTS.—Easements shall be 

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1 owners only upon application of such land2 owners to the Secretary. 

3 (e) FOREST DEVELOPMENT ROADS.— 

4 (1) UNITED STATES RIGHT TO USE.—Subject 

5 to any right-of-way to use, cross, and recross a road, 

6 the United States shall reserve and have free and 

7 unrestricted rights to use, operate, maintain, and re8 construct (at the same level of development, as in 

9 existence on the date of the Settlement Agreement), 

10 those sections of Forest Development Roads 57, 

11 442, 416, 416v, 445 and 445ca referenced in Appen12 dix B of the Settlement Agreement for any and all 

13 public and administrative access and other Federal 

14 governmental purposes, including access by Federal 

15 employees, their agents, contractors, and assigns (in16 cluding those holding Forest Service permits). 

17 (2) CERTAIN ROADS.—Notwithstanding para18 graph (1), the United States— 

19 (A) may improve Forest Development 

20 Road 416v beyond the existing condition of that 

21 road to a high clearance standard road (level 

22 2); and 

23 (B) shall have unrestricted administrative 

24 access and non-motorized public trail access to 

25 the portion of Forest Development Road 442 


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1 depicted in Appendix B to the Settlement 

2 Agreement. 

3 (f) PRIVATE MINING OPERATIONS.— 

4 (1) COPAR PUMICE MINE.—The United States 

5 and the Pueblo shall allow the COPAR Pumice Mine 

6 to continue to operate as provided in the Contract 

7 For The Sale Of Mineral Materials dated May 4, 

8 1994, and for COPAR to use portions of Forest De9 velopment Roads 57, 442, 416, and other designated 

10 roads within the area described in the contract, for 

11 the period of the contract and thereafter for a period 

12 necessary to reclaim the site. 

13 (2) CONTINUING JURISDICTION.— 

14 (A) ADMINISTRATION.—Continuing juris15 diction of the United States over the contract 

16 for the sale of mineral materials shall be admin17 istered by the Secretary of the Interior. 

18 (B) EXPIRATION OF CONTRACT.—Upon ex19 piration of the contract described in subpara20 graph (A), jurisdiction over reclamation shall be 

21 assumed by the Secretary of the Interior. 

22 (3) EFFECT ON EXISTING RIGHTS.—Nothing in 

23 this Act limits or enhances the rights of COPAR 

24 under the Contract For The Sale Of Mineral Mate25 rials dated May 4, 1994. 


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1 SEC. 8. CONVEYANCES. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

3 (1) CONSIDERATION FROM PUEBLO.—Upon re4 ceipt of the consideration from the Pueblo for the 

5 Settlement Area Land and the Water System Land, 

6 the Secretary of Agriculture shall execute and de7 liver— 

8 (A) to the Pueblo, a quitclaim deed to the 

9 Settlement Area Land; and 

10 (B) to the County, a quitclaim deed to the 

11 Water System Land, reserving— 

12 (i) a contingent remainder in the 

13 United States in trust for the benefit of 

14 the Pueblo in accordance with the Los Ala15 mos Agreement; and 

16 (ii) a right of access for the United 

17 States for the Pueblo for ceremonial and 

18 other cultural purposes. 

19 (2) CONSIDERATION FROM COUNTY.—Upon re20 ceipt of the consideration from the County for all or 

21 a portion of the Los Alamos Townsite Land, the 

22 Secretary of Agriculture shall execute and deliver to 

23 the County a quitclaim deed to all or portions of 

24 such land, as appropriate. 

25 (3) EXECUTION.—An easement or deed of con26 veyance by the Secretary of Agriculture under this 


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1 Act shall be executed by the Director of Lands and 

2 Minerals, Forest Service, Southwestern Region, De3 partment of Agriculture. 

4 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR PUEBLO TO CONVEY IN

5 TRUST.—Upon receipt by the Pueblo of the quitclaim deed 

6 to the Settlement Land under subsection (a)(1), the Pueb7 lo may quitclaim the Settlement Land to the United 

8 States, in trust for the Pueblo. 

9 (c) ADEQUACY OF CONVEYANCE INSTRUMENTS.— 

10 Notwithstanding the status of the Federal land as public 

11 domain or acquired land, no instrument of conveyance 

12 other than a quitclaim deed shall be required to convey 

13 the Settlement Area Land, the Water System Land, the 

14 Northern Tier Land, or the Los Alamos Townsite Land 

15 under this Act. 

16 (d) SURVEYS.—The Secretary of Agriculture is au17 thorized to perform and approve any required cadastral 

18 survey. 

19 (e) CONTRIBUTIONS.—Notwithstanding section 3302 

20 of title 31, United States Code, or any other provision of 

21 law, the Secretary of Agriculture may accept and use con22 tributions of cash or services from the Pueblo, other gov23 ernmental entities, or other persons— 

24 (1) to perform and complete required cadastral 

25 surveys for the Settlement Area Land, the Water 


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1 System Land, the Northern Tier Land, or the Los 

2 Alamos Townsite Land, as described in the Settle3 ment Agreement or the Los Alamos Agreement; and 

4 (2) to carry out any other project or activity 

5 under— 

6 (A) this Act; 

7 (B) the Settlement Agreement; or 

8 (C) the Los Alamos Agreement. 

9 SEC. 9. TRUST STATUS AND NATIONAL FOREST BOUND10 ARIES. 

11 (a) OPERATION OF LAW.—Without any additional 

12 administrative action by the Secretary of Agriculture or 

13 the Secretary of the Interior— 

14 (1) on recording the quitclaim deed or deeds 

15 from the Pueblo to the United States in trust for 

16 the Pueblo under section 8(b) in the Land Titles 

17 and Records Office, Southwest Region, Bureau of 

18 Indian Affairs— 

19 (A) the Settlement Area Land shall be 

20 held in trust by the United States for the ben21 efit of the Pueblo; and 

22 (B) the boundaries of the Santa Fe Na23 tional Forest shall be deemed to be modified to 

24 exclude from the National Forest System the 

25 Settlement Area Land; and 


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1 (2) on recording the quitclaim deed or deeds 

2 from the Secretary of Agriculture to the County of 

3 the Water System Land in the county land records, 

4 the boundaries of the Santa Fe National Forest 

5 shall be deemed to be modified to exclude from the 

6 National Forest System the Water System Land. 

7 (b) FUTURE INTERESTS.—If fee title to the Water 

8 System Land vests in the Pueblo by conveyance or oper9 ation of law, the Water System Land shall be deemed to 

10 be held in trust by the United States for the benefit of 

11 the Pueblo, without further administrative procedures or 

12 environmental or other analyses. 

13 (c) NONINTERCOURSE ACT.—Any land conveyed to 

14 the Secretary of the Interior in trust for the Pueblo or 

15 any other tribe in accordance with this Act shall be— 

16 (1) subject to the Act of June 30, 1834 (25 

17 U.S.C. 177); and 

18 (2) treated as reservation land. 

19 SEC. 10. INTERIM MANAGEMENT. 

20 Subject to valid existing rights, prior to the convey21 ance under section 9, the Secretary of Agriculture, with 

22 respect to the Settlement Area Land, the Water System 

23 Land, the Northern Tier Land, and the Los Alamos 

24 Townsite Land— 


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1 (1) shall not encumber or dispose of the land by 

2 sale, exchange, or special use authorization, in such 

3 a manner as to substantially reduce the market 

4 value of the land; 

5 (2) shall take any action that the Secretary de6 termines to be necessary or desirable— 

7 (A) to protect the land from fire, disease, 

8 or insect infestation; or 

9 (B) to protect lives or property; and 

10 (3) may, in consultation with the Pueblo or the 

11 County, as appropriate, authorize a special use of 

12 the Settlement Area Land, not to exceed 1 year in 

13 duration. 

14 SEC. 11. WITHDRAWAL. 

15 Subject to valid existing rights, the land referenced 

16 in the notices of withdrawal of land in New Mexico (67 

17 Fed. Reg. 7193; 68 Fed. Reg. 75628) is withdrawn from 

18 all location, entry, and patent under the public land laws 

19 and mining and mineral leasing laws of the United States, 

20 including geothermal leasing laws. 

21 SEC. 12. CONVEYANCE OF THE NORTHERN TIER LAND. 

22 (a) CONVEYANCE AUTHORIZATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing 

24 rights, including reservations in the United States 

25 and any right under this section, the Secretary of 


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1 Agriculture shall sell the Northern Tier Land on 

2 such terms and conditions as the Secretary may pre3 scribe as being in the public interest and in accord4 ance with this section. 

5 (2) EFFECT OF PARAGRAPH.—The authoriza6 tion under paragraph (1) is solely for the purpose of 

7 consolidating Federal and non-Federal land to in8 crease management efficiency and is not in settle9 ment or compromise of any claim of title by any 

10 Pueblo, Indian tribe, or other entity. 

11 (b) RIGHTS OF REFUSAL.— 

12 (1) PUEBLO OF SANTA CLARA.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—In consideration for an 

14 easement under subsection (e)(2), the Pueblo of 

15 Santa Clara shall have an exclusive option to 

16 purchase the Northern Tier Land for the period 

17 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act 

18 and ending 90 days thereafter. 

19 (B) RESOLUTION.—Within the period pre20 scribed in subparagraph (A), the Pueblo of 

21 Santa Clara may exercise its option to acquire 

22 the Northern Tier Land by delivering to the 

23 Regional Director of Lands and Minerals, For24 est Service, Southwestern Region, Department 

25 of Agriculture, a resolution of the Santa Clara 


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1 Tribal Council expressing the unqualified intent 

2 of the Pueblo of Santa Clara to purchase the 

3 land at the offered price. 

4 (C) FAILURE TO ACT.—If the Pueblo of 

5 Santa Clara does not exercise its option to pur6 chase the Northern Tier Land within the 90- 

7 day period under subparagraph (A), or fails to 

8 close on the purchase of such land within 1 

9 year of the date on which the option to pur10 chase was exercised, the Secretary of Agri11 culture shall offer the Northern Tier Land for 

12 sale to the Pueblo. 

13 (2) OFFER TO PUEBLO.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

15 after receiving a written offer from the Sec16 retary of Agriculture under paragraph (1)(C), 

17 the Pueblo may exercise its option to acquire 

18 the Northern Tier Land by delivering to the 

19 Regional Director of Lands and Minerals, For20 est Service, Southwestern Region, a resolution 

21 of the Pueblo Tribal Council expressing the un22 qualified intent of the Pueblo to purchase the 

23 land at the offered price. 

24 (B) FAILURE OF PUEBLO TO ACT.—If the 

25 Pueblo fails to exercise its option to purchase 


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1 the Northern Tier Land within 90 days after 

2 receiving an offer from the Secretary of Agri3 culture, or fails to close on the purchase of such 

4 land within 1 year of the date on which the op5 tion to purchase was exercised under subpara6 graph (A), the Secretary of Agriculture may sell 

7 or exchange the land to any third party in such 

8 manner and on such terms and conditions as 

9 the Secretary determines to be in the public in10 terest, including by a competitive process. 

11 (3) EXTENSION OF TIME PERIOD.—The Sec12 retary of Agriculture may extend the time period for 

13 closing beyond the 1 year prescribed in subsection 

14 (b), if the Secretary determines that additional time 

15 is required to meet the administrative processing re16 quirements of the Federal Government, or for other 

17 reasons beyond the control of either party. 

18 (c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE.— 

19 (1) PURCHASE PRICE.—Subject to valid exist20 ing rights and reservations, the purchase price for 

21 the Northern Tier Land sold to the Pueblo of Santa 

22 Clara or the Pueblo under subsection (b) shall be 

23 the consideration agreed to by the Pueblo of Santa 

24 Clara pursuant to that certain Pueblo of Santa 

25 Clara Tribal Council Resolution No. 05–01 ‘‘ApprovVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:43 Sep 19, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1773.RH S1773

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1 ing Proposed San Ildefonso Claims Settlement Act 

2 of 2005, and Terms for Purchase of Northern Tier 

3 Lands’’ that was signed by Governor J. Bruce 

4 Tafoya in January 2005. 

5 (2) RESERVED RIGHTS.—On the Northern Tier 

6 Land, the United States shall reserve the right to 

7 operate, maintain, reconstruct (at standards in exist8 ence on the date of the Settlement Agreement), re9 place, and use the stream gauge, and to have unre10 stricted administrative access over the associated 

11 roads to the gauge (as depicted in Appendix B of 

12 the Settlement Agreement). 

13 (3) CONVEYANCE BY QUITCLAIM DEED.—The 

14 conveyance of the Northern Tier Land shall be by 

15 quitclaim deed executed on behalf of the United 

16 States by the Director of Lands and Minerals, For17 est Service, Southwestern Region, Department of 

18 Agriculture. 

19 (d) TRUST STATUS AND FOREST BOUNDARIES.— 

20 (1) ACQUISITION OF LAND BY INDIAN TRIBE.— 

21 If the Northern Tier Land is acquired by an Indian 

22 tribe (including a Pueblo tribe), the land may be re23 conveyed by quitclaim deed or deeds back to the 

24 United States to be held in trust by the Secretary 

25 of the Interior for the benefit of the tribe, and the 


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1 Secretary of the Interior shall accept the conveyance 

2 without any additional administrative action by the 

3 Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the In4 terior. 

5 (2) LAND HELD IN TRUST.—On recording a 

6 quitclaim deed described in paragraph (1) in the 

7 Land Titles and Records Office, Southwest Region, 

8 Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Northern Tier Land 

9 shall be deemed to be held in trust by the United 

10 States for the benefit of the Indian tribe. 

11 (3) BOUNDARIES OF SANTA FE NATIONAL FOR12 EST.—Effective on the date of a deed described in 

13 paragraph (1), the boundaries of the Santa Fe Na14 tional Forest shall be deemed modified to exclude 

15 from the National Forest System the land conveyed 

16 by the deed. 

17 (e) INHOLDER AND ADMINISTRATIVE ACCESS.— 

18 (1) FAILURE OF PUEBLO OF SANTA CLARA TO

19 ACT.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Pueblo of Santa 

21 Clara does not exercise its option to acquire the 

22 Northern Tier Land, the Secretary of Agri23 culture or the Secretary of the Interior, as ap24 propriate, shall by deed reservations or grants 

25 on land under their respective jurisdiction proVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:43 Sep 19, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1773.RH S1773

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1 vide for inholder and public access across the 

2 Northern Tier Land in order to provide reason3 able ingress and egress to private and Federal 

4 land as shown in Appendix B of the Settlement 

5 Agreement. 

6 (B) ADMINISTRATION OF RESERVA7 TIONS.—The Secretary of the Interior shall ad8 minister any such reservations on land acquired 

9 by any Indian tribe. 

10 (2) EFFECT OF ACCEPTANCE.—If the Pueblo of 

11 Santa Clara exercises its option to acquire all of the 

12 Northern Tier Land, the following shall apply: 

13 (A) EASEMENTS TO UNITED STATES.— 

14 (i) DEFINITION OF ADMINISTRATIVE

15 ACCESS.—In this subparagraph, the term 

16 ‘‘administrative access’’ means access to 

17 Federal land by Federal employees acting 

18 in the course of their official capacities in 

19 carrying out activities on Federal land au20 thorized by law or regulation, and by 

21 agents and contractors of Federal agencies 

22 who have been engaged to perform services 

23 necessary or desirable for fire management 

24 and the health of forest resources, includ25 ing the cutting and removal of vegetation, 


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1 and for the health and safety of persons on 

2 the Federal land. 

3 (ii) EASEMENTS.— 

4 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Pueblo of 

5 Santa Clara shall grant and convey at 

6 closing perpetual easements over the 

7 existing roads to the United States 

8 that are acceptable to the Secretary of 

9 Agriculture for administrative access 

10 over the Santa Clara Reservation 

11 Highway 601 (the Puye Road), from 

12 its intersection with New Mexico State 

13 Highway 30, westerly to its intersec14 tion with the Sawyer Canyon Road 

15 (also known as Forest Development 

16 Road 445), thence southwesterly on 

17 the Sawyer Canyon Road to the point 

18 at which it exits the Santa Clara Res19 ervation. 

20 (II) MAINTENANCE OF ROAD21 WAY.—An easement under this sub22 paragraph shall provide that the 

23 United States shall be obligated to 

24 contribute to maintenance of the road25 way commensurate with actual use. 


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1 (B) EASEMENTS TO PRIVATE LAND2 OWNERS.—Not later than 180 days after the 

3 date of enactment of this Act, the Pueblo of 

4 Santa Clara, in consultation with private land5 owners, shall grant and convey a perpetual 

6 easement to the private owners of land within 

7 the Northern Tier Land for private access over 

8 Santa Clara Reservation Highway 601 (Puye 

9 Road) across the Santa Clara Indian Reserva10 tion from its intersection with New Mexico 

11 State Highway 30, or other designated public 

12 road, on Forest Development Roads 416, 445 

13 and other roads that may be necessary to pro14 vide access to each individually owned private 

15 tract. 

16 (3) APPROVAL.—The Secretary of the Interior 

17 shall approve the conveyance of an easement under 

18 paragraph (2) upon receipt of written approval of 

19 the terms of the easement by the Secretary of Agri20 culture. 

21 (4) ADEQUATE ACCESS PROVIDED BY PUEBLO

22 OF SANTA CLARA.—If adequate administrative and 

23 inholder access is provided over the Santa Clara In24 dian Reservation under paragraph (2), the Secretary 

25 of the Interior— 


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1 (A) shall vacate the inholder access over 

2 that portion of Forest Development Road 416 

3 referenced in section 7(e)(5); but 

4 (B) shall not vacate the reservations over 

5 the Northern Tier Land for administrative ac6 cess under subsection (c)(2). 

7 SEC. 13. INTER–PUEBLO COOPERATION. 

8 (a) DEMARCATION OF BOUNDARY.—The Pueblo of 

9 Santa Clara and the Pueblo may, by agreement, demar10 cate a boundary between their respective tribal land within 

11 Township 20 North, Range 7 East, in Rio Arriba County, 

12 New Mexico, and may exchange or otherwise convey land 

13 between them in that township. 

14 (b) ACTION BY SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.—In 

15 accordance with any agreement under subsection (a), the 

16 Secretary of the Interior shall, without further administra17 tive procedures or environmental or other analyses— 

18 (1) recognize a boundary between the Pueblo of 

19 Santa Clara and the Pueblo; 

20 (2) provide for a boundary survey; 

21 (3) approve land exchanges and conveyances as 

22 agreed upon by the Pueblo of Santa Clara and the 

23 Pueblo; and 

24 (4) accept conveyances of exchanged lands into 

25 trust for the benefit of the grantee tribe. 


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1 SEC. 14. DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS PLAN. 

2 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall act in ac4 cordance with the Indian Tribal Judgment Funds Use or 

5 Distribution Act (25 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) with respect to 

6 the award entered in the compromise and settlement of 

7 claims under the case styled Pueblo of San Ildefonso v. 

8 United States, No. 660–87L, United States Court of Fed9 eral Claims. 

10 SEC. 15. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

11 Notwithstanding any provision of State law, the Set12 tlement Agreement and the Los Alamos Agreement (in13 cluding any real property conveyance under the agree14 ments) shall be interpreted and implemented as matters 

15 of Federal law. 

16 SEC. 16. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

17 This Act shall take effect on the date of enactment 

18 of this Act. 

19 SEC. 17. TIMING OF ACTIONS. 

20 It is the intent of Congress that the land conveyances 

21 and adjustments contemplated in this Act (except the con22 veyances and adjustments relating to Los Alamos Town23 site Land) shall be completed not later than 180 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 18. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such funds 

3 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 


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Union Calendar No. 373 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1773 

[Report No. 109

–633] 

AN ACT 

To resolve certain Native American claims in New 

Mexico, and for other purposes. 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2006 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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