Union Calendar No. 39

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 873

[Report No. 103–82, Part I]

A BILL

Entitled the ‘‘Gallatin Range Consolidation and

Protection Act of 1993’’.

MAY 7, 1993

Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the

Union, and ordered to be printedCommittee of the Whole House on the State of the
IB

Union Calendar No. 39

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 873

[Report No. 103–82, Part I]

Entitled the ‘‘Gallatin Range Consolidation and Protection Act of 1993’’.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 4, 1993

Mr. WILLIAMS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Natural Resources

MAY 6, 1993

Reported with amendments and referred to the Committee on Agriculture for

a period ending not later than May 7, 1993, for consideration of such

provisions of the bill and amendment as fall within the jurisdiction of

that committee pursuant to clause 1(a), rule X

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

MAY 7, 1993

Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the

Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[For text of the introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 4, 1993]

A BILL

Entitled the ‘‘Gallatin Range Consolidation and Protection

Act of 1993’’.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gallatin Range Consoli3 dation and Protection Act of 1993’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 The Congress finds that:

6 (1) It has been the clear policy of the Federal

7 Government since 1925 to consolidate the checker8 board lands along the Gallatin Range north of Yel9 lowstone National Park.

10 (2) These lands north of Yellowstone possess out11 standing natural characteristics and wildlife habitat

12 which give them high value as lands added to the Na13 tional Forest System.

14 (3) Although these lands have historically re15 mained pristine up to now, failure to consolidate at

16 this time will in the near future lead to fragmenta17 tion and development.

18 (4) The Federal Government has already in19 vested a great deal in keeping the lands along the

20 Gallatin Range protected from excess development.

21 SEC. 3. PLUM CREEK LAND EXCHANGE—GALLATIN AREA.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture (here23 inafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall, sub24 ject to the provisions of sections 4(a) and 5(a) and notwith25 standing any other provision of law, acquire by exchange

26 and cash equalization in the amount of $3,400,000, certain
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1 lands and interests in land of the Plum Creek Timber, L.P.

2 (hereinafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘company’’),

3 in and adjacent to the Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn

4 Wilderness Study Area, the Scapegoat Wilderness Area, and

5 other land in the Gallatin National Forest in accordance

6 with this section.

7 (b) DESCRIPTION OF LANDS.—(1) If the company of8 fers to the United States the fee title, including mineral interests, to approximately 37,752 and 15 9 ⁄100 acres of land

10 owned by the company which is available for exchange to

11 the United States as depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Plum

12 Creek Timber and Forest Service Proposed Gallatin Land

13 Exchange’’, dated May 20, 1988, the Secretary shall accept

14 a warranty deed to such land and, in exchange therefor,

15 and subject to valid existing rights, upon such acceptance

16 the Secretary of the Interior shall convey, subject to valid

17 existing rights, by patent the fee title to approximately

12,414 and 6 18 ⁄100 acres of National Forest System lands

19 available for exchange to the company as depicted on such

20 map, subject to—

21 (A) the reservation of ditches and canals re22 quired by the Act entitled ‘‘An Act making appro23 priations for sundry civil expenses of the Government

24 for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen

25 hundred and ninety-one, and for other purposes’’, ap-
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1 proved August 30, 1890 (26 Stat. 391; 43 U.S.C.

2 945);

3 (B) the reservation of rights under Federal Oil

4 and Gas Lease numbers 49739, 55610, 40389, 53670,

5 40215, 33385, 53736, and 38684; and

6 (C) such other terms, conditions, reservations,

7 and exceptions as may be agreed upon by the Sec8 retary and the company.

9 (2) On termination or relinquishment of the leases re10 ferred to in paragraph (1), all the rights and interests in

11 land granted therein shall immediately vest in the com12 pany, its successors and assigns, and the Secretary shall

13 give notice of that event by a document suitable for record14 ing in the county wherein the leased lands are situated.

15 (c) EASEMENTS.—Reciprocal easements shall be ex16 changed at closing on the conveyances authorized by this

17 section—

18 (1) in consideration of the easements conveyed by

19 the company as provided in paragraph (2) of this

20 subsection, the Secretary shall, under authority of the

21 Act of October 13, 1964 (16 U.S.C. 532 et seq.; com22 monly referred to as the ‘‘National Forest Roads and

23 Trails Act’’), or the Federal Land Policy and Man24 agement Act of 1976, execute and deliver to the com25 pany such easements or other rights-of-way authoriza-
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1 tions over federally owned lands included in this ex2 change as may be agreed to by the Secretary and the

3 company in an exchange agreement; and

4 (2) in consideration of the easements conveyed by

5 the United States as provided in paragraph (1), the

6 company shall execute and deliver to the United

7 States such easements or other rights-of-way author8 izations across company-owned lands included in this

9 exchange as may be agreed to by the Secretary and

10 the company in an exchange agreement.

11 (d) TIMING OF TRANSACTION.—Subject to the provi12 sions of sections 4(a) and 5(a) of this Act, it is the intent

13 of Congress that the conveyances authorized by this section

14 be completed within 90 days after the date of enactment

15 of an Act making the appropriation authorized by sub16 section (e).

17 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

18 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section the

19 sum of $3,400,000, which amount the Secretary shall, when

20 appropriated, pay to the company to equalize the value of

21 the exchange of land authorized by this section.

22 (f) QUALITY OF TITLE.—Title to the properties ref23 erenced in this section to be offered to the United States

24 by Big Sky Lumber Company, its assignees or successors

25 in interest, shall include both the entire surface and sub-
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1 surface estates without reservation or exception. The owner

2 shall be required to acquire any outstanding interest in

3 mineral or mineral rights, timber or timber rights, water

4 or water rights, or any other outstanding interest in the

5 property, except reservations by the United States or the

6 State of Montana by patent, in order to assure that title

7 to the property is transferred as described in this section

8 and sections 4, 5, and 6. Title to land to be conveyed to

9 the United States shall be acceptable to the Secretary and

10 shall otherwise be in conformity with title standards for

11 Federal land acquisitions.

12 (g) REFERENCES.—The reference and authorities of

13 this section referring to Plum Creek Timber Company, L.P.,

14 shall also refer to its successors and assigns.

15 SEC. 4. LAND CONSOLIDATION; PORCUPINE AREA.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The exchange described in section

17 3 of this Act shall not be consummated by the Secretary

18 until the Secretary or a not-for-profit corporation (herein19 after in this section referred to as the ‘‘conservation entity’’)

20 exempt from Federal taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the

21 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 acting for later dispositions

22 to the United States, shall have acquired, by purchase or

23 option to acquire, or exchange, all of the Porcupine property

24 for its fair market value, determined at the time of acquisi25 tion in accordance with appraisal standards acceptable to
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1 the Secretary by an appraiser acceptable to the Secretary

2 and the owner. And further that, if said acquisition or op3 tion to acquire has been consummated by a conservation

4 entity, said entity shall have notified the Secretary that the

5 quality of title in fact secured meets applicable Forest Serv6 ice standards with respect to surface and subsurface estates

7 or is otherwise acceptable to the Secretary.

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF ACQUISITION.—The Secretary

9 is authorized and directed to acquire by purchase or ex10 change the lands and interests therein as depicted on a map

11 entitled ‘‘Porcupine Area’’, dated September, 1992.

12 (c) LAND ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES.—Acquisitions

13 pursuant to this section shall be under existing authorities

14 available to the Secretary.

15 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

16 authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary

17 to carry out the purposes of this section. Funds necessary

18 for land acquisition are authorized to be appropriated from

19 the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

20 (e) REFERENCES.—The reference and authorities of

21 this section referring to the owner shall mean the Big Sky

22 Lumber Company, and its successors and assigns.

23 SEC. 5. LAND CONSOLIDATION—TAYLOR FORK AREA.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The exchange described in section

25 3 of this Act shall not be consummated by the Secretary
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1 until the Secretary or a not-for-profit corporation (herein2 after in this section referred to as the ‘‘conservation entity’’)

3 exempt from Federal taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the

4 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 acting for later disposition

5 to the United States, shall have acquired, by purchase or

6 option to acquire, or exchange, all of the Taylor Fork prop7 erty for its fair market value, determined at the time of

8 acquisition in accordance with appraisal standards accept9 able to the Secretary by an appraiser acceptable to the Sec10 retary and the owner. And further that, if said acquisition

11 or option to acquire has been consummated by a conserva12 tion entity, said entity shall have notified the Secretary

13 that the quality of title in fact secured meets applicable For14 est Service standards with respect to surface and subsurface

15 estates or is otherwise acceptable to the Secretary.

16 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR ACQUISITION.—The Sec17 retary is authorized and directed to acquire by purchase

18 or exchange the lands and interests therein as depicted on

19 a map entitled ‘‘Taylor Fork Area’’, dated September, 1992.

20 (c) LAND ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES.—Acquisition

21 pursuant to this section shall be under existing authorities

22 available to the Secretary, except that notwithstanding any

23 other provision of law, exchanges authorized in this section

24 shall not be restricted within the same State.
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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

2 authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary

3 to carry out the purposes of this section. Funds necessary

4 for land acquisition are authorized to be appropriated from

5 the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

6 (e) REFERENCES.—The reference and authorities of

7 this section referring to the owner shall mean the Big Sky

8 Lumber Company, and its successors and assigns.

9 (f) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—For a period of 2 years

10 from the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

11 report annually to the Committee on Natural Resources of

12 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy

13 and Natural Resources of the Senate, on the status of the

14 negotiations with the company or its successors in interest

15 to effect the land consolidation authorized by this section.

16 SEC. 6. LAND CONSOLIDATION—GALLATIN AREA.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the policy of the Congress that

18 the Secretary shall attempt to acquire by purchase or ex19 change all lands within what is generally known as the Gal20 latin Range owned by Big Sky Lumber Company, its as21 signees or successors in interest, not otherwise acquired,

22 purchased, or exchanged pursuant to sections 3 and 4 of

23 this Act.

24 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR ACQUISITION.—The Sec25 retary is authorized and directed to acquire by purchase
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1 or exchange the lands and interests therein as depicted on

2 a map entitled ‘‘Gallatin Area’’, dated September 1992.

3 (c) LAND ACQUISITION AUTHORITIES.—Acquisitions

4 pursuant to this section shall be under existing authorities

5 available to the Secretary, except that notwithstanding any

6 other law, exchanges authorized in this section shall not be

7 restricted within the same State.

8 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

9 authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary

10 to carry out the purposes of this section. Funds necessary

11 for land acquisition are authorized to be appropriated from

12 the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

13 (e) QUALITY OF TITLE.—The quality of title to the

14 properties references in this section in fact secured shall

15 meet applicable Forest Service standards with respect to

16 surface and subsurface estates or shall otherwise be accept17 able to the Forest Service.

18 (f) REFERENCES.—The references and authorities of

19 this section referring to the Big Sky Lumber Company,

20 shall also refer to its successors and assigns.

21 (g) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—For a period of 3 years

22 from the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

23 report annually to the Committee on Natural Resources of

24 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy

25 and Natural Resources of the Senate on the status of the
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1 negotiations with the company or its successors in interest

2 to effect the land consolidation authorized by this section.

3 SEC. 7. SEVERED MINERALS EXCHANGE.

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

5 (1) underlying certain areas in Montana de6 scribed in subsection (b) are mineral rights owned by

7 subsidiaries of Burlington Resources, Incorporated,

8 its successors and assigns (referred to in this section

9 as the ‘‘company’’);

10 (2) there are federally-owned minerals underly11 ing lands of the company lying outside those areas;

12 (3) the company has agreed in principle with the

13 Department of Agriculture to an exchange of mineral

14 rights to consolidate surface and subsurface owner15 ships and to avoid potential conflicts with the surface

16 management of such areas; and

17 (4) it is desirable that an exchange be completed

18 within 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

19 (b) DESCRIPTION OF MINERAL INTERESTS.—(1) Pur20 suant to an exchange agreement between the Secretary and

21 the company, the Secretary may acquire mineral interests

22 owned by the company or an affiliate of the company there23 of underlying surface lands owned by the United States lo24 cated in the areas depicted on the maps entitled ‘‘Severed

25 Minerals Exchange, Clearwater-Monture Area’’, dated Sep-
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1 tember 1988 and ‘‘Severed Minerals Exchanges, Gallatin

2 Area’’, dated September 1988, or in fractional sections adja3 cent to those areas.

4 (2) In exchange for the minerals interests conveyed to

5 the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary of

6 the Interior shall convey, subject to valid existing rights,

7 such federally owned mineral interests as the Secretary and

8 the company may agree upon.

9 (c) EQUAL VALUE.—(1) The value of mineral interests

10 exchanged pursuant to this section shall be approximately

11 equal based on available information.

12 (2) To ensure that the wilderness or other natural val13 ues of the areas are not affected, a formal appraisal based

14 upon drilling or other surface disturbing activities shall not

15 be required for any mineral interest proposed for exchange,

16 but the Secretary and the company shall fully share all

17 available information on the quality and quantity of min18 eral interests proposed for exchange.

19 (3) In the absence of adequate information regarding

20 values of minerals proposed for exchange, the Secretary and

21 the company may agree to an exchange on the basis of min22 eral interests of similar development potential, geologic

23 character, and similar factors.

24 (d) IDENTIFICATION OF FEDERALLY OWNED MINERAL

25 INTERESTS.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), mineral inter-
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1 ests conveyed by the United States pursuant to this section

2 shall underlie lands the surface of which are owned by the

3 company.

4 (2) If there are not sufficient federally owned mineral

5 interests of approximately equal value underlying lands, the

6 Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior may identify

7 for exchange any other federally owned mineral interest in

8 land in the State of Montana of which the surface estate

9 is in private ownership.

10 (e) CONSULTATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF THE

11 INTERIOR.—(1) The Secretary shall consult with the Sec12 retary of the Interior in the negotiation of the exchange

13 agreement authorized by subsection (b), particularly with

14 respect to the inclusion in such an agreement of a provision

15 calling for the exchange of federally owned mineral interests

16 lying outside the boundaries of units of the National Forest

17 System.

18 (2) Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary of

19 the Interior shall convey the federally owned mineral inter20 ests identified in a final exchange agreement between the

21 Secretary of Agriculture and the company and its affiliates.

22 (f) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the term

23 ‘‘mineral interests’’ includes all locatable and leasable min24 erals, including oil and gas, geothermal resources, and all

25 other subsurface rights.
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1 SEC. 8. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

2 (a) MAPS.—The maps referred to in sections 3, 4, 5,

3 6 and 7 are subject to such minor corrections as may be

4 agreed upon by the Secretary and the company. The Sec5 retary shall notify the Committee on Energy and Natural

6 Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee

7 on Natural Resources of the United States House of Rep8 resentatives of any corrections made pursuant to the sub9 section. The maps shall be on file and available for public

10 inspection in the office of Chief, Forest Service, United

11 States Department of Agriculture.

12 (b) TITLE OF LANDS CONVEYED TO THE UNITED

13 STATES.—The rights, title and interests to any lands con14 veyed to the United States in furtherance of section 4 in

15 the Porcupine Area, section 5 in the Taylor Fork Area, and

16 section 6 in the Gallatin Area shall, at a minimum, consist

17 of the surface estate and all the subsurface rights except that

18 the Secretary may accept title subject to outstanding or re19 served oil and gas and geothermal rights, except that there

20 shall be no surface occupancy permitted on such Federal

21 lands for any access to reserved or outstanding rights or

22 any exploration or development thereof. Notwithstanding

23 any provision of State law, section 1323(a) of the Alaska

24 National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.

25 3210(a)), or similar law pertaining to access over federally

26 owned land, no portion of lands acquired by the United
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1 States in furtherance of this Act shall be available for access

2 to, or exploration or development of, any reserved or out3 standing oil, gas, geothermal or other non-Federal property

4 interest.

5 (c) NATIONAL FOREST LANDS.—All lands conveyed to

6 the United States in furtherance of this Act shall be added

7 to and administered as part of the National Forest System

8 lands by the Secretary in accordance with the laws and reg9 ulations pertaining to the National Forest System. Until

10 Congress determines otherwise, lands acquired within the

11 Hyalite-Porcupine-Buffalo Horn Wilderness Study Area

12 shall be managed so as to maintain the present wilderness

13 character and potential for inclusion in the National Wil14 derness Preservation System in accordance with Public

15 Law 95–150. Other lands acquired shall be subject to the

16 Gallatin National Forest planning process under the Forest

17 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974

18 (16 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to provide for

the consolidation and protection of the Gallatin Range.’’.

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