II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1773 

To resolve certain Native American claims in New Mexico, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2005 

Mr. DOMENICI (for himself and Mr. BINGAMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL 

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: 

8 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE ACCESS.—The term ‘‘ad9 ministrative access’’ means the unrestricted use of 

10 land and interests in land for ingress and egress by 
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•S 1773 IS

1 an agency of the United States (including a per2 mittee, contractor, agent, or assignee of the United 

3 States) in order to carry out an activity authorized 

4 by law or regulation, or otherwise in furtherance of 

5 the management of federally-owned land and re6 sources. 

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

8 incorporated county of Los Alamos, New Mexico. 

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

10 Alamos Agreement’’ means the agreement among 

11 the County, the Pueblo, the Department of Agri12 culture Forest Service, and the Bureau of Indian Af13 fairs dated January, 22, 2004. 

14 (4) LOS ALAMOS TOWNSITE LAND.—‘‘Los Ala15 mos Townsite Land’’ means the land identified as 

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

17 Los Alamos Agreement. 

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

19 Land’’ means the land comprising approximately 

20 739.71 acres and identified as ‘‘Northern Tier 

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

22 the Settlement Agreement. 

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

24 Litigation’’ means the case styled Pueblo of San 

25 Ildefonso v. United States, Docket Number 354, 
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•S 1773 IS

1 originally filed with the Indian Claims Commission 

2 and pending in the United States Court of Federal 

3 Claims on the date of enactment of this Act. 

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

5 Pueblo de San Ildefonso, a federally recognized In6 dian tribe (also known as the ‘‘Pueblo of San 

7 Ildefonso’’). 

8 (8) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The term 

9 ‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means the agreement enti10 tled ‘‘Settlement Agreement between the United 

11 States and the Pueblo de San Ildefonso to Resolve 

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

13 and dated June 7, 2005. 

14 (9) SETTLEMENT AREA LAND.—The term ‘‘Set15 tlement Area Land’’ means the National Forest Sys16 tem land located within the Santa Fe National For17 est, as described in Appendix B to the Settlement 

18 Agreement, that is available for purchase by the 

19 Pueblo under section 9(a) of the Settlement Agree20 ment. 

21 (10) SETTLEMENT FUND.—The term ‘‘Settle22 ment Fund’’ means the Pueblo de San Ildefonso 

23 Land Claims Settlement Fund established by section 

24 6. 
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•S 1773 IS

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

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

3 Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 484a). 

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

5 System Land’’ means the federally-owned land lo6 cated within the Santa Fe National Forest to be 

7 conveyed to the County under the Los Alamos 

8 Agreement. 

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

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

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

12 Pueblo has asserted or could have asserted against 

13 the United States with respect to any and all claims 

14 in the Pending Litigation; 

15 (2) to extinguish claims based on aboriginal 

16 title, Indian title, or recognized title, or any other 

17 title claims under section 5; 

18 (3) to authorize the Pueblo to acquire the Set19 tlement Area Land, and to authorize the Secretary 

20 of Agriculture to convey the Water System Land, 

21 the Northern Tier Land, and the Los Alamos Town22 site Land for market value consideration, and for 

23 such consideration to be paid to the Secretary of Ag24 riculture for the acquisition of replacement National 

25 Forest land elsewhere in New Mexico; 
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•S 1773 IS

1 (4) to provide that the Settlement Area Land 

2 acquired by the Pueblo shall be held by the Sec3 retary of the Interior in trust for the benefit of the 

4 Pueblo; 

5 (5) to facilitate government-to-government rela6 tions between the United States and the Pueblo re7 garding cooperation in the management of certain 

8 land administered by the National Park Service and 

9 the Bureau of Land Management as described in 

10 sections 7 and 8 of the Settlement Agreement; 

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

12 (7) to ratify the Los Alamos Agreement. 

13 SEC. 3. RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENTS. 

14 (a) RATIFICATION.—The Settlement Agreement and 

15 Los Alamos Agreement are ratified under Federal law, 

16 and the parties to those agreements are authorized to 

17 carry out the provisions of the agreements. 

18 (b) CORRECTIONS AND MODIFICATIONS.—The re19 spective parties to the Settlement Agreement and the Los 

20 Alamos Agreement are authorized, by mutual agreement, 

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

22 make minor modifications to those agreements. 

23 SEC. 4. JUDGMENT AND DISMISSAL OF LITIGATION. 

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

25 date of enactment of this Act, the United States and the 
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•S 1773 IS

1 Pueblo shall execute and file with the United States Court 

2 of Federal Claims in the Pending Litigation a motion for 

3 entry of final judgment in accordance with section 5 of 

4 the Settlement Agreement. 

5 (b) COMPENSATION.—Upon entry of the final judg6 ment under subsection (a), $6,900,000 shall be paid into 

7 the Settlement Fund as compensation to the Pueblo in ac8 cordance with section 1304 of title 31, United States 

9 Code. 

10 SEC. 5. RESOLUTION OF CLAIMS. 

11 (a) EXTINGUISHMENTS.—Except as provided in sub12 section (b), in consideration of the benefits of the Settle13 ment Agreement, and in recognition of the agreement of 

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

15 Pueblo against the United States (including any claim 

16 against an agency, officer, or instrumentality of the 

17 United States) are relinquished and extinguished, includ18 ing— 

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

20 Indian title, or recognized title; 

21 (2) any claim for damages or other judicial re22 lief or for administrative remedies that were 

23 brought, or that were knowable and could have been 

24 brought, on or before the date of the Settlement 

25 Agreement; 
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1 (3) any claim relating to— 

2 (A) any federally-administered land, in3 cluding National Park System land, National 

4 Forest System land, Public land administered 

5 by the Bureau of Land Management, the Set6 tlement Area Land, the Water System Land, 

7 the Northern Tier Land, and the Los Alamos 

8 Townsite Land; and 

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

10 benefit of, any Indian tribe other than the 

11 Pueblo; and 

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

13 asserted in the Pending Litigation. 

14 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this Act or the Settle15 ment Agreement shall in any way extinguish or otherwise 

16 impair— 

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

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

19 Appendix D to the Settlement Agreement, on or be20 fore the date of enactment of this Act; and, 

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

22 Ildefonso Grant, including, as identified in Appendix 

23 D to the Settlement Agreement— 

24 (A) the title found by the United States 

25 District Court for the District of New Mexico 
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1 in the case styled United States v. Apodoca 

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

3 to have been extinguished; and 

4 (B) title to any land that has been reac5 quired by the Pueblo pursuant to the Act enti6 tled ‘‘An Act to quiet the title to lands within 

7 Pueblo Indian land grants, and for other pur8 poses’’, approved June 7, 1924 (43 Stat. 636, 

9 chapter 331); 

10 (3) the water rights of the Pueblo appurtenant 

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

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

13 Pueblo under Federal law relating to religious or 

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

15 (c) PREVIOUS EXTINGUISHMENTS UNIMPAIRED.— 

16 Nothing in this Act affects any prior extinguishments of 

17 rights or claims of the Pueblo which may have occurred 

18 by operation of law. 

19 (d) BOUNDARIES AND TITLE UNAFFECTED.— 

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

21 the location of the boundaries of the Pueblo de San 

22 Ildefonso Grant. 

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

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

25 title, or interest of the Pueblo in the land held by, 
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1 or for the benefit of, the Pueblo, including the land 

2 described in Appendix D of the Settlement Agree3 ment. 

4 SEC. 6. SETTLEMENT FUND. 

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

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

7 Ildefonso Land Claims Settlement Fund’’. 

8 (b) CONDITIONS.—Monies deposited in the Settle9 ment Fund shall be subject to the following conditions: 

10 (1) MAINTENANCE AND INVESTMENT.—The 

11 Settlement Fund shall be maintained and invested 

12 by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the Act 

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

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

15 monies deposited into the Settlement Fund shall be 

16 expended by the Pueblo— 

17 (A) to acquire the federally administered 

18 Settlement Area Land; 

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

20 System Land, as provided in the Los Alamos 

21 Agreement; and 

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

23 other land. 

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

25 withdraws monies from the Settlement Fund, nei-
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1 ther the Secretary of the Interior nor the Secretary 

2 of the Treasury shall retain any oversight over, or 

3 liability for, the accounting, disbursement, or invest4 ment of the withdrawn funds. 

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

6 the funds in the Settlement Fund may be paid to 

7 Pueblo members on a per capita basis. 

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

9 land with funds from the Settlement Fund shall be 

10 on a willing-seller, willing-buyer basis, and no emi11 nent domain authority may be exercised for purposes 

12 of acquiring land for the benefit of the Pueblo under 

13 this Act. 

14 (6) EFFECT OF OTHER LAWS.—The Act of Oc15 tober 19, 1973 (Public Law 93–134; 87 Stat. 466) 

16 and section 203 of the American Indian Trust Fund 

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

18 shall not apply to the Settlement Fund. 

19 SEC. 7. LAND OWNERSHIP ADJUSTMENTS. 

20 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

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

22 may sell the Settlement Area Land, Water System 

23 Land, and Los Alamos Townsite Land, on such 

24 terms and conditions as are agreed upon and de25 scribed in the Settlement Agreement and the Los Al-
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•S 1773 IS

1 amos Agreement, including reservations for adminis2 trative access and other access as shown on Appen3 dix B of the Settlement Agreement. 

4 (2) EFFECT OF CLAIMS AND CAUSE OF AC5 TION.—Consideration for any land authorized for 

6 sale by the Secretary of Agriculture shall not be off7 set or reduced by any claim or cause of action by 

8 any party to whom the land is conveyed. 

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

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

11 shall be— 

12 (1) for the Settlement Area Land and Water 

13 System Land, the consideration agreed upon in the 

14 Settlement Agreement; and 

15 (2) for the Los Alamos Townsite Land, the cur16 rent market value based on an appraisal approved 

17 by the Forest Service as being in conformity with 

18 the latest edition of the Uniform Appraisal Stand19 ards for Federal Land Acquisitions. 

20 (c) DISPOSITION OF RECEIPTS.— 

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

22 Secretary of Agriculture from the sale of National 

23 Forest System land as authorized by this Act, in24 cluding receipts from the Northern Tier Land, shall 

25 be deposited into the fund established in the Treas-
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1 ury of the United States pursuant to the Sisk Act 

2 and shall be available, without further appropriation, 

3 authorization, or administrative apportionment for 

4 the purchase of land by the Secretary of Agriculture 

5 for National Forest System purposes in the State of 

6 New Mexico. 

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

8 Act fund pursuant to this Act shall not be subject 

9 to transfer or reprogramming for wildlands fire 

10 management or any other emergency purposes, or 

11 used to reimburse any other account. 

12 (3) ACQUISITIONS OF LAND.—In expending 

13 funds to exercise its rights under the Settlement 

14 Agreement and the Los Alamos Agreement with re15 spect to the acquisition of the Settlement Area 

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

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

18 exercises an option to purchase the Northern Tier 

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

20 shall use only funds in the Settlement Fund and 

21 shall not augment those funds from any other 

22 source. 

23 (d) VALID EXISTING RIGHTS AND RESERVATIONS.— 

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

25 acquired by the Pueblo shall be subject to all valid 
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•S 1773 IS

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

2 including rights of administrative access. 

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

4 conveyed by the United States. 

5 (3) SPECIAL USE AUTHORIZATION.— 

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

7 shall affect the validity of any special use au8 thorization issued by the Forest Service within 

9 the Settlement Area Land, except that such au10 thorizations shall not be renewed upon expira11 tion. 

12 (B) REASONABLE ACCESS.—For access to 

13 valid occupancies within the Settlement Area 

14 Land, the Pueblo and the Secretary of the Inte15 rior shall afford rights of reasonable access 

16 commensurate with that provided by the Sec17 retary of Agriculture on or before the date of 

18 enactment of this Act. 

19 (4) WATER SYSTEM LAND AND LOS ALAMOS

20 TOWNSITE LAND.—The Water System Land and 

21 Los Alamos Townsite Land acquired by the County 

22 shall be subject to— 

23 (A) all valid existing rights; and 

24 (B) the rights reserved by the United 

25 States under the Los Alamos Agreement. 
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1 (5) PRIVATE LANDOWNERS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Upon acquisition by 

3 the Pueblo of the Settlement Area Land, the 

4 Secretary of the Interior, acting on behalf of 

5 the Pueblo and the United States, shall execute 

6 easements in accordance with any right re7 served by the United States for the benefit of 

8 private landowners owning property that re9 quires the use of Forest Development Road 416 

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

11 Act) and other roads that may be necessary to 

12 provide legal access into the property of the 

13 landowners, as the property is used on the date 

14 of this Act. 

15 (B) MAINTENANCE OF ROADS.—Neither 

16 the Pueblo nor the United States shall be re17 quired to maintain roads for the benefit of pri18 vate landowners. 

19 (C) EASEMENTS.—Easements shall be 

20 granted, without consideration, to private land21 owners only upon application of such land22 owners to the Secretary. 

23 (e) FOREST DEVELOPMENT ROADS.— 

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

25 to any right-of-way to use, cross, and recross a road, 
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1 the United States shall reserve and have free and 

2 unrestricted rights to use, operate, maintain, and re3 construct (at the same level of development, as in 

4 existence on the date of the Settlement Agreement), 

5 those sections of Forest Development Roads 57, 

6 442, 416, 416v, 445 and 445ca referenced in Appen7 dix B of the Settlement Agreement for any and all 

8 public and administrative access and other Federal 

9 governmental purposes, including access by Federal 

10 employees, their agents, contractors, and assigns (in11 cluding those holding Forest Service permits). 

12 (2) CERTAIN ROADS.—Notwithstanding para13 graph (1), the United States— 

14 (A) may improve Forest Development 

15 Road 416v beyond the existing condition of that 

16 road to a high clearance standard road (level 

17 2); and 

18 (B) shall have unrestricted administrative 

19 access and non-motorized public trail access to 

20 the portion of Forest Development Road 442 

21 depicted in Appendix B to the Settlement 

22 Agreement. 

23 (f) PRIVATE MINING OPERATIONS.— 

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

25 and the Pueblo shall allow the COPAR Pumice Mine 
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1 to continue to operate as provided in the Contract 

2 For The Sale Of Mineral Materials dated May 4, 

3 1994, and for COPAR to use portions of Forest De4 velopment Roads 57, 442, 416, and other designated 

5 roads within the area described in the contract, for 

6 the period of the contract and thereafter for a period 

7 necessary to reclaim the site. 

8 (2) CONTINUING JURISDICTION.— 

9 (A) ADMINISTRATION.—Continuing juris10 diction of the United States over the contract 

11 for the sale of mineral materials shall be admin12 istered by the Secretary of the Interior. 

13 (B) EXPIRATION OF CONTRACT.—Upon ex14 piration of the contract described in subpara15 graph (A), jurisdiction over reclamation shall be 

16 assumed by the Secretary of the Interior. 

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

18 this Act limits or enhances the rights of COPAR 

19 under the Contract For The Sale Of Mineral Mate20 rials dated May 4, 1994. 

21 SEC. 8. CONVEYANCES. 

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

23 (1) CONSIDERATION FROM PUEBLO.—Upon re24 ceipt of the consideration from the Pueblo for the 

25 Settlement Area Land and the Water System Land, 
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•S 1773 IS

1 the Secretary of Agriculture shall execute and de2 liver— 

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

4 Settlement Area Land; and 

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

6 Water System Land, reserving— 

7 (i) a contingent remainder in the 

8 United States in trust for the benefit of 

9 the Pueblo in accordance with the Los Ala10 mos Agreement; and 

11 (ii) a right of access for the United 

12 States for the Pueblo for ceremonial and 

13 other cultural purposes. 

14 (2) CONSIDERATION FROM COUNTY.—Upon re15 ceipt of the consideration from the County for all or 

16 a portion of the Los Alamos Townsite Land, the 

17 Secretary of Agriculture shall execute and deliver to 

18 the County a quitclaim deed to all or portions of 

19 such land, as appropriate. 

20 (3) EXECUTION.—An easement or deed of con21 veyance by the Secretary of Agriculture under this 

22 Act shall be executed by the Director of Lands and 

23 Minerals, Forest Service, Southwestern Region, De24 partment of Agriculture. 
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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR PUEBLO TO CONVEY IN

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

3 to the Settlement Land under subsection (a)(1), the Pueb4 lo may quitclaim the Settlement Land to the United 

5 States, in trust for the Pueblo. 

6 (c) ADEQUACY OF CONVEYANCE INSTRUMENTS.— 

7 Notwithstanding the status of the Federal land as public 

8 domain or acquired land, no instrument of conveyance 

9 other than a quitclaim deed shall be required to convey 

10 the Settlement Area Land, the Water System Land, the 

11 Northern Tier Land, or the Los Alamos Townsite Land 

12 under this Act. 

13 (d) SURVEYS.—The Secretary of Agriculture is au14 thorized to perform and approve any required cadastral 

15 survey. 

16 (e) CONTRIBUTIONS.—Notwithstanding section 3302 

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

18 law, the Secretary of Agriculture may accept and use con19 tributions of cash or services from the Pueblo, other gov20 ernmental entities, or other persons— 

21 (1) to perform and complete required cadastral 

22 surveys for the Settlement Area Land, the Water 

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

24 Alamos Townsite Land, as described in the Settle25 ment Agreement or the Los Alamos Agreement; and 
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1 (2) to carry out any other project or activity 

2 under— 

3 (A) this Act; 

4 (B) the Settlement Agreement; or 

5 (C) the Los Alamos Agreement. 

6 SEC. 9. TRUST STATUS AND NATIONAL FOREST BOUND7 ARIES. 

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

9 administrative action by the Secretary of Agriculture or 

10 the Secretary of the Interior— 

11 (1) on recording the quitclaim deed or deeds 

12 from the Pueblo to the United States in trust for 

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

14 and Records Office, Southwest Region, Bureau of 

15 Indian Affairs— 

16 (A) the Settlement Area Land shall be 

17 held in trust by the United States for the ben18 efit of the Pueblo; and 

19 (B) the boundaries of the Santa Fe Na20 tional Forest shall be deemed to be modified to 

21 exclude from the National Forest System the 

22 Settlement Area Land; and 

23 (2) on recording the quitclaim deed or deeds 

24 from the Secretary of Agriculture to the County of 

25 the Water System Land in the county land records, 
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1 the boundaries of the Santa Fe National Forest 

2 shall be deemed to be modified to exclude from the 

3 National Forest System the Water System Land. 

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

5 System Land vests in the Pueblo by conveyance or oper6 ation of law, the Water System Land shall be deemed to 

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

8 the Pueblo, without further administrative procedures or 

9 environmental or other analyses. 

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

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

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

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

14 U.S.C. 177); and 

15 (2) treated as reservation land. 

16 SEC. 10. INTERIM MANAGEMENT. 

17 Subject to valid existing rights, prior to the convey18 ance under section 9, the Secretary of Agriculture, with 

19 respect to the Settlement Area Land, the Water System 

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

21 Townsite Land— 

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

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

24 a manner as to substantially reduce the market 

25 value of the land; 
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1 (2) shall take any action that the Secretary de2 termines to be necessary or desirable— 

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

4 or insect infestation; or 

5 (B) to protect lives or property; and 

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

7 County, as appropriate, authorize a special use of 

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

9 duration. 

10 SEC. 11. WITHDRAWAL. 

11 Subject to valid existing rights, the land referenced 

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

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

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

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

16 including geothermal leasing laws. 

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

18 (a) CONVEYANCE AUTHORIZATION.— 

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

20 rights, including reservations in the United States 

21 and any right under this section, the Secretary of 

22 Agriculture shall sell the Northern Tier Land on 

23 such terms and conditions as the Secretary may pre24 scribe as being in the public interest and in accord25 ance with this section. 
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1 (2) EFFECT OF PARAGRAPH.—The authoriza2 tion under paragraph (1) is solely for the purpose of 

3 consolidating Federal and non-Federal land to in4 crease management efficiency and is not in settle5 ment or compromise of any claim of title by any 

6 Pueblo, Indian tribe, or other entity. 

7 (b) RIGHTS OF REFUSAL.— 

8 (1) PUEBLO OF SANTA CLARA.— 

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

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

11 Santa Clara shall have an exclusive option to 

12 purchase the Northern Tier Land for the period 

13 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act 

14 and ending 90 days thereafter. 

15 (B) RESOLUTION.—Within the period pre16 scribed in subparagraph (A), the Pueblo of 

17 Santa Clara 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, Department 

21 of Agriculture, a resolution of the Santa Clara 

22 Tribal Council expressing the unqualified intent 

23 of the Pueblo of Santa Clara to purchase the 

24 land at the offered price. 
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1 (C) FAILURE TO ACT.—If the Pueblo of 

2 Santa Clara does not exercise its option to pur3 chase the Northern Tier Land within the 90- 

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

5 close on the purchase of such land within 1 

6 year of the date on which the option to pur7 chase was exercised, the Secretary of Agri8 culture shall offer the Northern Tier Land for 

9 sale to the Pueblo. 

10 (2) OFFER TO PUEBLO.— 

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

12 after receiving a written offer from the Sec13 retary of Agriculture under paragraph (1)(C), 

14 the Pueblo may exercise its option to acquire 

15 the Northern Tier Land by delivering to the 

16 Regional Director of Lands and Minerals, For17 est Service, Southwestern Region, a resolution 

18 of the Pueblo Tribal Council expressing the un19 qualified intent of the Pueblo to purchase the 

20 land at the offered price. 

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

22 Pueblo fails to exercise its option to purchase 

23 the Northern Tier Land within 90 days after 

24 receiving an offer from the Secretary of Agri25 culture, or fails to close on the purchase of such 
24 

•S 1773 IS

1 land within 1 year of the date on which the op2 tion to purchase was exercised under subpara3 graph (A), the Secretary of Agriculture may sell 

4 or exchange the land to any third party in such 

5 manner and on such terms and conditions as 

6 the Secretary determines to be in the public in7 terest, including by a competitive process. 

8 (3) EXTENSION OF TIME PERIOD.—The Sec9 retary of Agriculture may extend the time period for 

10 closing beyond the 1 year prescribed in subsection 

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

12 is required to meet the administrative processing re13 quirements of the Federal Government, or for other 

14 reasons beyond the control of either party. 

15 (c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE.— 

16 (1) PURCHASE PRICE.—Subject to valid exist17 ing rights and reservations, the purchase price for 

18 the Northern Tier Land sold to the Pueblo of Santa 

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

20 the consideration agreed to by the Pueblo of Santa 

21 Clara pursuant to that certain Pueblo of Santa 

22 Clara Tribal Council Resolution No. 05–01 ‘‘Approv23 ing Proposed San Ildefonso Claims Settlement Act 

24 of 2005, and Terms for Purchase of Northern Tier 
25 

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

2 Tafoya in January 2005. 

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

4 Land, the United States shall reserve the right to 

5 operate, maintain, reconstruct (at standards in exist6 ence on the date of the Settlement Agreement), re7 place, and use the stream gauge, and to have unre8 stricted administrative access over the associated 

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

10 the Settlement Agreement). 

11 (3) CONVEYANCE BY QUITCLAIM DEED.—The 

12 conveyance of the Northern Tier Land shall be by 

13 quitclaim deed executed on behalf of the United 

14 States by the Director of Lands and Minerals, For15 est Service, Southwestern Region, Department of 

16 Agriculture. 

17 (d) TRUST STATUS AND FOREST BOUNDARIES.— 

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

19 If the Northern Tier Land is acquired by an Indian 

20 tribe (including a Pueblo tribe), the land may be re21 conveyed by quitclaim deed or deeds back to the 

22 United States to be held in trust by the Secretary 

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

24 Secretary of the Interior shall accept the conveyance 

25 without any additional administrative action by the 
26 

•S 1773 IS

1 Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the In2 terior. 

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

4 quitclaim deed described in paragraph (1) in the 

5 Land Titles and Records Office, Southwest Region, 

6 Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Northern Tier Land 

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

8 States for the benefit of the Indian tribe. 

9 (3) BOUNDARIES OF SANTA FE NATIONAL FOR10 EST.—Effective on the date of a deed described in 

11 paragraph (1), the boundaries of the Santa Fe Na12 tional Forest shall be deemed modified to exclude 

13 from the National Forest System the land conveyed 

14 by the deed. 

15 (e) INHOLDER AND ADMINISTRATIVE ACCESS.— 

16 (1) FAILURE OF PUEBLO OF SANTA CLARA TO

17 ACT.— 

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

19 Clara does not exercise its option to acquire the 

20 Northern Tier Land, the Secretary of Agri21 culture or the Secretary of the Interior, as ap22 propriate, shall by deed reservations or grants 

23 on land under their respective jurisdiction pro24 vide for inholder and public access across the 

25 Northern Tier Land in order to provide reason-
27 

•S 1773 IS

1 able ingress and egress to private and Federal 

2 land as shown in Appendix B of the Settlement 

3 Agreement. 

4 (B) ADMINISTRATION OF RESERVA5 TIONS.—The Secretary of the Interior shall ad6 minister any such reservations on land acquired 

7 by any Indian tribe. 

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

9 Santa Clara exercises its option to acquire all of the 

10 Northern Tier Land, the following shall apply: 

11 (A) EASEMENTS TO UNITED STATES.— 

12 (i) DEFINITION OF ADMINISTRATIVE

13 ACCESS.—In this subparagraph, the term 

14 ‘‘administrative access’’ means access to 

15 Federal land by Federal employees acting 

16 in the course of their official capacities in 

17 carrying out activities on Federal land au18 thorized by law or regulation, and by 

19 agents and contractors of Federal agencies 

20 who have been engaged to perform services 

21 necessary or desirable for fire management 

22 and the health of forest resources, includ23 ing the cutting and removal of vegetation, 

24 and for the health and safety of persons on 

25 the Federal land. 
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•S 1773 IS

1 (ii) EASEMENTS.— 

2 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Pueblo of 

3 Santa Clara shall grant and convey at 

4 closing perpetual easements over the 

5 existing roads to the United States 

6 that are acceptable to the Secretary of 

7 Agriculture for administrative access 

8 over the Santa Clara Reservation 

9 Highway 601 (the Puye Road), from 

10 its intersection with New Mexico State 

11 Highway 30, westerly to its intersec12 tion with the Sawyer Canyon Road 

13 (also known as Forest Development 

14 Road 445), thence southwesterly on 

15 the Sawyer Canyon Road to the point 

16 at which it exits the Santa Clara Res17 ervation. 

18 (II) MAINTENANCE OF ROAD19 WAY.—An easement under this sub20 paragraph shall provide that the 

21 United States shall be obligated to 

22 contribute to maintenance of the road23 way commensurate with actual use. 

24 (B) EASEMENTS TO PRIVATE LAND25 OWNERS.—Not later than 180 days after the 
29 

•S 1773 IS

1 date of enactment of this Act, the Pueblo of 

2 Santa Clara, in consultation with private land3 owners, shall grant and convey a perpetual 

4 easement to the private owners of land within 

5 the Northern Tier Land for private access over 

6 Santa Clara Reservation Highway 601 (Puye 

7 Road) across the Santa Clara Indian Reserva8 tion from its intersection with New Mexico 

9 State Highway 30, or other designated public 

10 road, on Forest Development Roads 416, 445 

11 and other roads that may be necessary to pro12 vide access to each individually owned private 

13 tract. 

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

15 shall approve the conveyance of an easement under 

16 paragraph (2) upon receipt of written approval of 

17 the terms of the easement by the Secretary of Agri18 culture. 

19 (4) ADEQUATE ACCESS PROVIDED BY PUEBLO

20 OF SANTA CLARA.—If adequate administrative and 

21 inholder access is provided over the Santa Clara In22 dian Reservation under paragraph (2), the Secretary 

23 of the Interior— 
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•S 1773 IS

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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•S 1773 IS

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 shall be com22 pleted not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act. 
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•S 1773 IS

1 SEC. 18. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such funds 

3 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ