II 

Calendar No. 55 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 161 

[Report No. 109–40] 

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 

MARCH 16, 2005 

Reported by Mr. DOMENICI, without amendment 

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, 
2 

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Northern Arizona Land Exchange and Verde River 

4 Basin Partnership Act of 2005’’. 

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

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

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. 

7 TITLE I—NORTHERN ARIZONA 

8 LAND EXCHANGE 

9 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this title: 

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

12 Pearlstein, Friendly Pines, Patterdale Pines, Pine 

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

14 in the State of Arizona. 

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

16 of Flagstaff, Williams, and Camp Verde, Arizona. 
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1 (3) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

2 means the land described in section 104. 

3 (4) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘non-Fed4 eral land’’ means the land described in section 103. 

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

6 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

7 (6) YAVAPAI RANCH.—The term ‘‘Yavapai 

8 Ranch’’ means the Yavapai Ranch Limited Partner9 ship, an Arizona Limited Partnership, and the 

10 Northern Yavapai, L.L.C., an Arizona Limited Li11 ability Company. 

12 SEC. 102. LAND EXCHANGE. 

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

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

15 in section 103, the Secretary shall simultaneously convey 

16 to Yavapai Ranch title to the Federal land identified in 

17 section 104. 

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

19 form acceptable to the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch. 

20 (3) The Federal and non-Federal lands to be ex21 changed under this title may be modified prior to the ex22 change as provided in this title. 

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

24 Yavapai Ranch may make minor and technical corrections 

25 to the maps and legal descriptions of the lands and inter-
4 

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1 ests therein exchanged or retained under this title, includ2 ing changes, if necessary to conform to surveys approved 

3 by the Bureau of Land Management. 

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

5 and legal description, the map shall prevail unless the Sec6 retary and Yavapai Ranch agree otherwise. 

7 (b) EXCHANGE PROCESS.—(1) Except as otherwise 

8 provided in this title, the land exchange under subsection 

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

10 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 

11 U.S.C. 1716). 

12 (2) Before completing the land exchange under this 

13 title, the Secretary shall perform any necessary land sur14 veys and pre-exchange inventories, clearances, reviews, 

15 and approvals, including those relating to hazardous mate16 rials, threatened and endangered species, cultural and his17 toric resources, and wetlands and flood plains. 

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

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

20 equalized by the Secretary by adjusting the acreage of the 

21 Federal land in accordance with paragraph (2). 

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

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

24 prior to making other adjustments, the Federal lands shall 
5 

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1 be adjusted by deleting all or part of the parcels or por2 tions of the parcels in the following order: 

3 (A) A portion of the Camp Verde parcel de4 scribed in section 104(a)(4), comprising approxi5 mately 316 acres, located in the Prescott National 

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

and 6 of section 26, the NE1⁄4NE1 7 ⁄4 portion of section 26 and the N1⁄2N1 8 ⁄2 portion of section 27, 

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

10 River Base and Meridian, Yavapai County, Arizona. 

11 (B) A portion of the Camp Verde parcel de12 scribed in section 104(a)(4), comprising approxi13 mately 314 acres, located in the Prescott National 

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

8, and 9 of section 26, the SE1⁄4NE1 15 ⁄4 portion of 

section 26, and the S1⁄2N1 16 ⁄2 of section 27, Township 

17 14 North, Range 4 East, Gila and Salt River Base 

18 and Meridian, Yavapai County, Arizona. 

19 (C) Beginning at the south boundary of section 

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

21 Salt River Base and Meridian, Yavapai County, Ari22 zona, and sections 33 and 35, Township 20 North, 

23 Range 6 West, Gila and Salt River Base and Merid24 ian, Yavapai County, Arizona, by adding to the non25 Federal land to be conveyed to the United States in 
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1 1 ⁄8-section increments (E–W 64th line) while delet2 ing from the conveyance to Yavapai Ranch Federal 

3 land in the same incremental portions of section 32, 

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

5 River Base and Meridian, Yavapai County, Arizona, 

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

7 Range 6 West, Gila and Salt River Base and Merid8 ian, Yavapai County, Arizona, to establish a linear 

9 and continuous boundary that runs east-to-west 

10 across the sections. 

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

12 agreed to by the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch. 

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

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

15 or portion thereof, shall be excluded from the exchange 

16 and the remaining lands shall be adjusted as provided in 

17 this subsection. 

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

19 of the non-Federal land by more than $50,000, the Sec20 retary and Yavapai Ranch shall, by mutual agreement, de21 lete additional Federal land from the exchange until the 

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

23 maximum extent practicable, equal. 

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

25 and non-Federal land shall be determined by appraisals 
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1 prepared in accordance with the Uniform Appraisal 

2 Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions and the Uniform 

3 Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. 

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

5 the final appraised values of the Federal land and non6 Federal land to be exchanged, the Secretary shall not be 

7 required to reappraise or update the final appraised values 

8 before the completion of the land exchange. 

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

10 period following the approval by the Secretary of the final 

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

12 unless the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch have entered into 

13 an agreement to implement the exchange. 

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

15 determine the value of each parcel of Federal land and 

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

17 individual section of the intermingled Federal and non18 Federal land of the property described in sections 103(a) 

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

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

21 public of the final appraised values of the Federal land 

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

23 notice of any appraisals approved by the Secretary and 

24 copies of such appraisals shall be available for public in-
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1 spection in appropriate offices of the Prescott, Coconino, 

2 and Kaibab National Forests. 

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

4 approved appraisals to the cities and the owners of the 

5 camps described in section 101(1). 

6 (e) CONTRACTING.—(1) If the Secretary lacks ade7 quate staff or resources to complete the exchange by the 

8 date specified in section 106(c), Yavapai Ranch, subject 

9 to the agreement of the Secretary, may contract with inde10 pendent third-party contractors to carry out any work nec11 essary to complete the exchange by that date. 

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

13 Ranch contracts with an independent third-party con14 tractor to carry out any work that would otherwise be per15 formed by the Secretary, the Secretary shall reimburse 

16 Yavapai Ranch for the costs for the third-party contrac17 tors. 

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

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

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

21 encumbrances in existence on the date of enactment of 

22 this Act, including acquired easements for water pipelines 

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

24 Land Exchange, YRLP Acquired Easements for Water 

25 Lines’’ dated August 2004, and any other reservations 
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1 that may be agreed to by the Secretary and Yavapai 

2 Ranch. 

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

4 title, the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch shall grant each 

5 other at no charge reciprocal easements for access and 

6 utilities across, over, and through— 

7 (A) the routes depicted on the map entitled 

8 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Road and Trail 

9 Easements, Yavapai Ranch Area’’ dated August 

10 2004; and 

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

12 the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch. 

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

14 unrestricted and non-exclusive in nature and shall run 

15 with and benefit the land. 

16 (g) CONVEYANCE OF FEDERAL LAND TO CITIES AND

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

18 between Yavapai Ranch and the Secretary, the cities and 

19 the owners of the camps may enter into agreements with 

20 Yavapai Ranch whereby Yavapai Ranch, upon completion 

21 of the land exchange, will convey to the cities or the own22 ers of the camps the applicable parcel of Federal land or 

23 portion thereof. 

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

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

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

3 date the relevant approved appraisal is made publicly 

4 available, delete the applicable parcel or portion thereof 

5 from the land exchange between Yavapai Ranch and the 

6 United States as follows: 

7 (A) Upon request of the City of Flagstaff, Ari8 zona, the parcels, or portion thereof, described in 

9 section 104(a)(2). 

10 (B) Upon request of the City of Williams, Ari11 zona, the parcels, or portion thereof, described in 

12 section 104(a)(3). 

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

14 Arizona, a portion of the parcel described in section 

15 104(a)(4), comprising approximately 514 acres lo16 cated southeast of the southeastern boundary of the 

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

as the SE1 18 ⁄4 portion of the southeast quarter of section 26, the E1⁄2 and the E1⁄2W1 19 ⁄2 portions of sec20 tion 35, and lots 5 through 7 of section 36, Town21 ship 14 North, Range 4 East, Gila and Salt River 

22 Base and Meridian, Yavapai County, Arizona. 

23 (D) Upon request of the owners of the 

24 Younglife Lost Canyon camp, the parcel described in 

25 section 104(a)(5). 
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1 (E) Upon request of the owner of Friendly 

2 Pines Camp, Patterdale Pines Camp, Camp 

3 Pearlstein, Pine Summit, or Sky Y Camp, as appli4 cable, the corresponding parcel described in section 

5 104(a)(6). 

6 (3)(A) Upon request of the specific city or camp ref7 erenced in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall convey to 

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

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

10 portion thereof, upon payment of the fair market value 

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

12 Secretary may require. 

13 (B) A conveyance under this paragraph shall not re14 quire new administrative or environmental analyses or ap15 praisals beyond those prepared for the land exchange. 

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

17 this subsection shall reimburse Yavapai Ranch for any 

18 costs incurred which are directly associated with surveys 

19 and appraisals of the specific property conveyed. 

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

21 not affect the timing of the land exchange. 

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

23 the Secretary or Yavapai Ranch to delete any of the par24 cels referenced in this subsection from the land exchange. 
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1 (7)(A) The Secretary shall deposit the proceeds of 

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

3 fund established under Public Law 90–171 (commonly 

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

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

6 be available to the Secretary, without further appropria7 tion, to be used for the acquisition of land in the State 

8 of Arizona for addition to the National Forest System, in9 cluding the land to be exchanged under this title. 

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

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

12 in this title consists of approximately 35,000 acres of pri13 vately-owned land within the boundaries of the Prescott 

14 National Forest, as generally depicted on the map entitled 

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

16 dated August 2004. 

17 (b) EASEMENTS.—(1) The conveyance of non-Fed18 eral land to the United States under section 102 shall be 

19 subject to the reservation of— 

20 (A) water rights and perpetual easements that 

21 run with and benefit the land retained by Yavapai 

22 Ranch for— 

23 (i) the operation, maintenance, repair, im24 provement, development, and replacement of 
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1 not more than 3 wells in existence on the date 

2 of enactment of this Act; 

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

4 and hardware; and 

5 (iii) pipelines to point of use; and 

6 (B) easements for reasonable access to accom7 plish the purposes of the easements described in 

8 subparagraph (A). 

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

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

11 maximum extent practicable, centered on the existing well. 

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

13 the production of each existing or replacement well, not 

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

15 for National Forest System purposes. 

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

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

18 Land Exchange, Reserved Easements for Water Lines and 

19 Wells’’, dated August 2004. 

20 SEC. 104. DESCRIPTION OF FEDERAL LAND. 

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

22 this title consists of the following: 

23 (1) Certain land comprising approximately 

24 15,300 acres located in the Prescott National For25 est, as generally depicted on the map entitled 
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1 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Yavapai Ranch 

2 Area Federal Lands’’, dated August 2004. 

3 (2) Certain land located in the Coconino Na4 tional Forest— 

5 (A) comprising approximately 1,500 acres 

6 as generally depicted on the map entitled 

7 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Flagstaff 

8 Federal Lands Airport Parcel’’, dated August 

9 2004; and 

10 (B) comprising approximately 28.26 acres 

11 in two separate parcels, as generally depicted 

12 on the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Ex13 change, Flagstaff Federal Lands Wetzel School 

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

15 (3) Certain land located in the Kaibab National 

16 Forest, and referred to as the Williams Airport, Wil17 liams golf course, Williams Sewer, Buckskinner 

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

19 3, and 4, cumulatively comprising approximately 950 

20 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled 

21 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Williams Federal 

22 Lands’’, dated August 2004. 

23 (4) Certain land located in the Prescott Na24 tional Forest, comprising approximately 2,200 acres, 

25 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai 
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1 Ranch Land Exchange, Camp Verde Federal Land 

2 General Crook Parcel’’, dated August 2004. 

3 (5) Certain land located in the Kaibab National 

4 Forest, comprising approximately 237.5 acres, as 

5 generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai 

6 Ranch Land Exchange, Younglife Lost Canyon’’, 

7 dated August 2004. 

8 (6) Certain land located in the Prescott Na9 tional Forest, including the ‘‘Friendly Pines’’, 

10 ‘‘Patterdale Pines’’, ‘‘Camp Pearlstein’’, ‘‘Pine Sum11 mit’’, and ‘‘Sky Y’’ camps, cumulatively comprising 

12 approximately 200 acres, as generally depicted on 

13 the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, 

14 Prescott Federal Lands, Summer Youth Camp Par15 cels’’, dated August 2004. 

16 (b) CONDITION OF CONVEYANCE OF CAMP VERDE

17 PARCEL.—(1) To conserve water in the Verde Valley, Ari18 zona, and to minimize the adverse impacts from future 

19 development of the Camp Verde General Crook parcel de20 scribed in subsection (a)(4) on current and future holders 

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

22 this Act and the Verde River and National Forest System 

23 lands retained by the United States, the United States 

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

25 by reserving conservation easements that— 
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1 (A) run with the land; 

2 (B) prohibit golf course development on the 

3 parcel; 

4 (C) require that any public park or greenbelt on 

5 the parcel be watered with treated wastewater; 

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

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

8 year; 

9 (E) provide that any water supplied by munici10 palities or private water companies shall count to11 wards the post-exchange water use limitation de12 scribed in subparagraph (D); and 

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

14 municipal water service providers or private water 

15 companies, require that any water used for the par16 cel not be withdrawn from wells perforated in the 

17 saturated Holocene alluvium of the Verde River. 

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

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

20 terms of conveyance shall include a recorded and binding 

21 agreement of the quantity of water available for use on 

22 the land conveyed, as determined by Yavapai Ranch, ex23 cept that total water use on the Camp Verde parcel may 

24 not exceed the amount specified in paragraph (1)(D). 
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1 (3) The Secretary may enter into a memorandum of 

2 understanding with the State or political subdivision of the 

3 State to enforce the terms of the conservation easement. 

4 SEC. 105. STATUS AND MANAGEMENT OF LAND AFTER EX5 CHANGE. 

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

7 States under this title shall become part of the Prescott 

8 National Forest and shall be administered by the Sec9 retary in accordance with this title and the laws applicable 

10 to the National Forest System. 

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

12 acquired by the Secretary under this title occurs prior to 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary may man14 age the land to allow for continued grazing use, in accord15 ance with the laws generally applicable to domestic live16 stock grazing on National Forest System land. 

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

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

19 paragraph (2), commercial timber harvesting shall be pro20 hibited on the non-Federal land acquired by the United 

21 States. 

22 (2) Timber harvesting may be conducted on the non23 Federal land acquired under this title if the Secretary de24 termines that such harvesting is necessary— 
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1 (A) to prevent or control fires, insects, and dis2 ease through forest thinning or other forest manage3 ment techniques; 

4 (B) to protect or enhance grassland habitat, 

5 watershed values, native plants and wildlife species; 

6 or 

7 (C) to improve forest health. 

8 SEC. 106. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

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

10 withdrawing any of the Federal land from appropriation 

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

12 extent necessary to permit disposal of the Federal land. 

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

14 valid existing rights, the Federal land is withdrawn from 

15 all forms of entry and appropriation under the public land 

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

17 and operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leas18 ing laws, until the date on which the land exchange is com19 pleted. 

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

21 Congress that the land exchange authorized and directed 

22 under this title be completed not later than 18 months 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 107. CONVEYANCE OF ADDITIONAL LAND. 

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

3 person that represents the majority of landowners with en4 croachments on the lot by quitclaim deed the parcel of 

5 land described in subsection (b). 

6 (b) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The parcel of land re7 ferred to in subsection (a) is lot 8 in section 11, T. 21 

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

9 Coconino County, Arizona. 

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

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

12 the land shall pay to the Secretary consideration in the 

13 amount of— 

14 (1) $2500; plus 

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

16 of land. 

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

18 date on which the Secretary receives a power of attorney 

19 executed by the person acquiring the land, the Secretary 

20 shall convey to the person the land described in subsection 

21 (b). 

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

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

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

25 (A) the authority provided under this section 

26 shall terminate; and 
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1 (B) any conveyance of the land shall be made 

2 under Public Law 97–465 (16 U.S.C. 521c et seq.). 

3 TITLE II—VERDE RIVER BASIN 

4 PARTNERSHIP 

5 SEC. 201. PURPOSE. 

6 The purpose of this title is to authorize assistance 

7 for a collaborative and science-based water resource plan8 ning and management partnership for the Verde River 

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

10 represent— 

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

12 (2) economic, environmental, and community 

13 water interests in the Verde River Basin. 

14 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this title: 

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

17 the Director of the Arizona Department of Water 

18 Resources. 

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

20 means the Verde River Basin Partnership. 

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

22 for the Verde River Basin required by section 

23 204(a)(1). 

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

25 the Secretary of Agriculture. 
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1 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

2 of Arizona. 

3 (6) VERDE RIVER BASIN.—The term ‘‘Verde 

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

5 Arizona Department of Water Resources as encom6 passing surface water and groundwater resources, 

7 including drainage and recharge areas with a hydro8 logic connection to the Verde River. 

9 (7) WATER BUDGET.—The term ‘‘water budg10 et’’ means the accounting of— 

11 (A) the quantities of water leaving the 

12 Verde River Basin— 

13 (i) as discharge to the Verde River 

14 and tributaries; 

15 (ii) as subsurface outflow; 

16 (iii) as evapotranspiration by riparian 

17 vegetation; 

18 (iv) as surface evaporation; 

19 (v) for agricultural use; and 

20 (vi) for human consumption; and 

21 (B) the quantities of water replenishing 

22 the Verde River Basin by precipitation, infiltra23 tion, and subsurface inflows. 
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1 SEC. 203. VERDE RIVER BASIN PARTNERSHIP. 

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

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

4 ‘‘Verde River Basin Partnership’’, made up of Federal, 

5 State, local governments, and other entities with respon6 sibilities and expertise in water to coordinate and cooper7 ate in the identification and implementation of comprehen8 sive science-based policies, projects, and management ac9 tivities relating to the Verde River Basin. 

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—On es11 tablishment of the Partnership, there are authorized to be 

12 appropriated to the Secretary and the Secretary of the In13 terior such sums as are necessary to carry out the activi14 ties of the Partnership for each of fiscal years 2006 

15 through 2010. 

16 SEC. 204. VERDE RIVER BASIN STUDIES. 

17 (a) STUDIES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Partnership shall pre19 pare a plan for conducting water resource studies in 

20 the Verde River Basin that identifies— 

21 (A) the primary study objectives to fulfill 

22 water resource planning and management needs 

23 for the Verde River Basin; and 

24 (B) the water resource studies, hydrologic 

25 models, surface and groundwater monitoring 

26 networks, and other analytical tools helpful in 
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1 the identification of long-term water supply 

2 management options within the Verde River 

3 Basin. 

4 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—At a minimum, the plan 

5 shall— 

6 (A) include a list of specific studies and 

7 analyses that are needed to support Partnership 

8 planning and management decisions; 

9 (B) identify any ongoing or completed 

10 water resource or riparian studies that are rel11 evant to water resource planning and manage12 ment for the Verde River Basin; 

13 (C) describe the estimated cost and dura14 tion of the proposed studies and analyses; and 

15 (D) designate as a study priority the com16 pilation of a water budget analysis for the 

17 Verde Valley. 

18 (b) VERDE VALLEY WATER BUDGET ANALYSIS.— 

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

20 appropriations, not later than 14 months after the 

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

22 U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Di23 rector, shall prepare and submit to the Partnership 

24 a report that provides a water budget analysis of the 
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1 portion of the Verde River Basin within the Verde 

2 Valley. 

3 (2) COMPONENTS.—The report submitted 

4 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

5 (A) a summary of the information avail6 able on the hydrologic flow regime for the por7 tion of the Middle Verde River from the 

8 Clarkdale streamgauging station to the city of 

9 Camp Verde at United States Geological Survey 

10 Stream Gauge 09506000; 

11 (B) with respect to the portion of the Mid12 dle Verde River described in subparagraph (A), 

13 estimates of— 

14 (i) the inflow and outflow of surface 

15 water and groundwater; 

16 (ii) annual consumptive water use; 

17 and 

18 (iii) changes in groundwater storage; 

19 and 

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

21 consequences of various water use scenarios on 

22 groundwater levels and Verde River flows. 

23 (c) PRELIMINARY REPORT AND RECOMMENDA24 TIONS.—. 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 16 months 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, using the in3 formation provided in the report submitted under 

4 subsection (b) and any other relevant information, 

5 the Partnership shall submit to the Secretary, the 

6 Governor of Arizona, and representatives of the 

7 Verde Valley communities, a preliminary report that 

8 sets forth the findings and recommendations of the 

9 Partnership regarding the long-term available water 

10 supply within the Verde Valley. 

11 (2) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

12 The Secretary may take into account the rec13 ommendations included in the report submitted 

14 under paragraph (1) with respect to decisions affect15 ing land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, in16 cluding any future sales or exchanges of Federal 

17 land in the Verde River Basin after the date of en18 actment of this Act. 

19 (3) EFFECT.—Any recommendations included 

20 in the report submitted under paragraph (1) shall 

21 not affect the land exchange process or the apprais22 als of the Federal land and non-Federal land con23 ducted under sections 103 and 104. 
26 

•S 161 RS

1 SEC. 205. VERDE RIVER BASIN PARTNERSHIP FINAL RE2 PORT. 

3 Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment 

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

5 and the Governor of Arizona a final report that— 

6 (1) includes a summary of the results of any 

7 water resource assessments conducted under this 

8 title in the Verde River Basin; 

9 (2) identifies any areas in the Verde River 

10 Basin that are determined to have groundwater defi11 cits or other current or potential water supply prob12 lems; 

13 (3) identifies long-term water supply manage14 ment options for communities and water resources 

15 within the Verde River Basin; and 

16 (4) identifies water resource analyses and moni17 toring needed to support the implementation of man18 agement options. 

19 SEC. 206. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING. 

20 The Secretary (acting through the Chief of the Forest 

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

22 a memorandum of understanding authorizing the United 

23 States Geological Survey to access Forest Service land (in24 cluding stream gauges, weather stations, wells, or other 

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

26 carry out this title. 
27 

•S 161 RS

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. 
Calendar No. 55 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 161 

[Report No. 109–40] 

A BILL 

To provide for a land exchange in the State of AriYavapai Ranch Limited Partnership. zona between the Secretary of Agriculture and 

MARCH 16, 2005 

Reported without amendment