29–010 

Calendar No. 170 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 113–92 

Y MOUNTAIN CONVEYANCE 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. WYDEN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 28] 

The committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 28) to provide for the conveyance of a small 

parcel of National Forest system land in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache 

National Forest in Utah to Brigham Young University, and for 

other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably 

thereon with amendments and an amendment to the title and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. 

The amendments are as follows: 

1. On page 1, lines 4 and 5, strike ‘‘Y Mountain Access Enhancement Act’’ and insert ‘‘Upper Y Mountain Trail and Y Conveyance 

Act’’. 

2. On page 2, strike lines 11 through 15 and insert the following: 

National Forest in the State of Utah, as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Upper Y Mountain Trail and 

Y Conveyance Act’’ and dated June 6, 2013, subject to 

valid existing rights and by quitclaim deed. 

3. On page 3, line 5, strike ‘‘GUARANTEED’’. 

4. On page 3, line 7, strike ‘‘represents that it’’. 

5. Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to provide for the conveyance of an approximately 80-acre parcel of National Forest System 

land in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Utah to 

Brigham Young University, and for other purposes.’’. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 28 is to provide for the conveyance of a small 

parcel of National Forest System land in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache 

National Forest in Utah to Brigham Young University. 


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BACKGROUND AND NEED

Y Mountain is the location of a white block ‘‘Y’’ in Provo, Utah, 

overlooking Utah Valley and the Brigham Young University (BYU) 

campus. The Y was constructed in 1906. BYU currently owns and 

maintains the trailhead and much of the trail leading up to the Y. 

The remaining property is owned by the Forest Service, and is 

managed through a special use permit with BYU, that has been 

typically been renewed every 10 years. 

BYU is interested in owning the remaining property rather than 

continuing to renew the existing special use permit with the Forest 

Service in order to guarantee its ability to maintain the Y and surrounding grounds. S. 28 would therefore direct the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to convey to BYU all right, title, and interest 

of the United States to two parcels comprising approximately 80.99 

acres of National Forest System land in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache 

National Forest in Utah. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 28 was introduced by Senators Hatch, Lee, Crapo, and Flake 

on January 22, 2013. A hearing was held by the Subcommittee on 

Public Lands, Forests and Mining on April 25, 2013 on the bill. At 

its business meeting on June 18, 2013, the bill was reported favorably with amendments and an amendment to the title. 

In the 112th Congress, similar legislation was introduced in the 

House, H.R. 4484. The Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, 

and Public Lands held a hearing on H.R. 4484 on June 28, 2012. 

The House Committee on Natural Resources favorably reported 

H.R. 4484 with an amendment on July 11, 2012. H.R. 4484 then 

passed the House by a voice vote under suspension of the rules on 

July 23, 2012. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

During its consideration of S. 28, the Committee adopted five 

amendments. The first changes the short title. The second replaces 

the section, township, and range description of the parcel with a 

map reference. The third clarifies the heading of section 2(c). The 

fourth clarifies BYU’s public access assurances. The fifth amends 

the long title. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on June 18, 2013, by a voice vote of a 

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 28, if amended as described herein. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 provides a short title. 

Section 2(a) requires the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to 

Brigham Young University all right, title, and interest of the 

United States in and to an approximately 80-acre parcel of National Forest System land in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cash National 

Forest depicted in the map entitled ‘‘Upper Y Mountain Trail and 

Y Conveyance Act dated June 6, 2013.’’ 


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Subsection (b)(1) requires Brigham Young University to pay to 

the Secretary an amount equal to the fair market value of the land. 

This amount will be determined by an appraisal approved by the 

Secretary and in conformity with the Uniform Appraisal Standards 

for Federal Land Acquisitions and section 206 of the Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716). 

Paragraph (2) requires the revenue generated from the land conveyance to be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury for federal deficit reduction. 

Subsection (c)(1) ensures reasonable public access to the trailhead and portion of the Y Mountain Trail already owned by 

Brigham Young University. 

Paragraph (2) ensures reasonable public access to the portion of 

the Y Mountain Trail and the ‘‘Y’’ symbol as determined by 

Brigham Young University. 

Subsection (d) requires the exact acreage and legal description of 

the land to be conveyed to be determined by a survey and Brigham 

Young University to pay the costs of the survey, appraisal, and any 

administrative analyses. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

S. 28—Upper Y Mountain Trail and Y Conveyance Act 

S. 28 would require the Secretary of Agriculture to sell, for fair 

market value, about 80 acres of federal land located in Utah to 

Brigham Young University. Based on information about the value 

of similar lands in northern Utah, CBO estimates that enacting the 

legislation would increase offsetting receipts, which are treated as 

reductions in direct spending, by less than $500,000 in 2014; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Because the bill would require the university to cover any administrative costs associated 

with the conveyance, CBO estimates that implementing the bill 

would not affect discretionary spending. Enacting S. 28 would not 

affect revenues. 

S. 28 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not 

affect the budgets of state, local or tribal governments. 

On May 6, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 253, 

the Y Mountain Access Enhancement Act, as ordered reported by 

the House Committee on National Resources on April 24, 2013. The 

two bills are similar, and the CBO cost estimates are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

S. 28. 

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 


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No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 28, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

S. 28, as reported, does not contain any congressionally directed 

spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by Forest Service at the April 25, 2013, 

Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining hearing on S. 

28 follows: 

STATEMENT OF JAMES M. PEN ̃ A, ASSOCIATE DEPUTY CHIEF, 

NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM, FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Barrasso, and members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here 

today to testify regarding S. 28, the ‘‘Y’’ Mountain Access 

Enhancement Act. 

S. 28, the ‘‘Y’’ Mountain Access Enhancement Act, would 

direct the Secretary to convey to Brigham Young University (BYU) all right, title, and interest of the United States 

to two parcels comprising approximately 89 acres of National Forest System land in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest in the State of Utah, as shown on the accompanying map. The southern parcel is a split estate, so the 

United States would only convey what it owns (the surface 

estate). The United States does not own the underlying 

mineral estate. 

The Department does not object to the conveyance of the 

two parcels, but would like to work with the Subcommittee 

and the sponsor to address public access at the trailhead. 

The trailhead and beginning portion of the ‘‘Y’’ Mountain 

Trail’’ are located on land owned by the University. These 

parcels are adjacent to it. Historically, the public has been 

permitted access to the trailhead and trail. Section 2(c) of 

the bill seeks to provide the same reasonable public access 

for the trail that historically has been allowed. To accomplish this objective, the Department recommends that section 2(c) be revised to provide for the reservation by the 

Secretary of an easement for public access for the portion 

of Forest Service Trail #2062 that would be conveyed to 

the University. In addition, there is no legal public access 

to the trail and trailhead located on BYU owned property. 

Therefore, to ensure legal public access, the Department 

suggests the Committee consider an amendment to allow 

the Secretary to obtain an easement from BYU for the 

trailhead parking lot and the portion of trail that traverses 

across BYU property. 

The bill provides for the conveyance of this land for consideration in the amount equal to the fail market value of 


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the land. The bill also requires the proceeds from the sale 

shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury to 

reduce the Federal debt. The Department recommends utilizing Public Law 90–171, commonly known as the ‘‘Sisk 

Act’’ (16 U.S.C. 484a), which would allow for the deposit of 

proceeds received for a conveyance into the fund established under the Sisk Act for the acquisition of land or interests in land within the State of Utah. 

This concludes my testimony and I would be happy to 

answer any questions that you may have. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by S. 28, as ordered reported. 

Æ 


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