I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4976 

To provide for the conveyance of small parcels of National Forest System 

land and small parcels of public lands administered by the Bureau 

of Land Management to landowners whose lands share a boundary with 

the National Forest System land or public lands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 27, 2012 

Mr. AMODEI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for the conveyance of small parcels of National 

Forest System land and small parcels of public lands 

administered by the Bureau of Land Management to 

landowners whose lands share a boundary with the National Forest System land or public lands, 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 ‘‘Small Lands Tracts 

5 Conveyance Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SPECIAL CONVEYANCE AUTHORITY REGARDING 

2 SMALL PARCELS OF NATIONAL FOREST SYS3 TEM LAND AND PUBLIC LANDS. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) DIRECTOR CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Direc6 tor concerned’’ means the Director of the Bureau of 

7 Land Management for a State. 

8 (2) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL LANDS PARCEL.—The 

9 term ‘‘eligible Federal lands parcel’’ means a parcel 

10 of National Forest System land or the public lands 

11 that— 

12 (A) shares one or more boundaries with 

13 non-Federal land; 

14 (B) is located within the boundaries of an 

15 incorporated or unincorporated area with a pop16 ulation of at least 500 residents; 

17 (C) is not subject to existing rights held by 

18 a non-Federal entity; 

19 (D) does not contain an exceptional re20 source; and 

21 (E) is not habitat for an endangered spe22 cies or a threatened species determined under 

23 section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 

24 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533). 

25 (3) EXCEPTIONAL RESOURCE.—The term ‘‘ex26 ceptional resource’’ means a resource of scientific, 


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1 historic, cultural, or recreational value on a parcel of 

2 public lands that the Director concerned or Regional 

3 Forester concerned determines, on the record and 

4 after an opportunity for a hearing— 

5 (A) is documented by a Federal, State, or 

6 local governmental authority; and 

7 (B) requires extraordinary conservation 

8 and protection to maintain the resource for the 

9 benefit of the public. 

10 (4) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘National 

12 Forest System land’’ means land within the Na13 tional Forest System, as defined in section 

14 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 

15 Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

16 1609(a)), including the National Grasslands 

17 and land utilization projects designated as Na18 tional Grasslands administered pursuant to the 

19 Act of July 22, 1937 (7 U.S.C. 1010–1012). 

20 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term does not in21 clude any land managed by the Forest Service 

22 that is included in a national monument, an 

23 area of critical environmental concern, a na24 tional conservation area, a national riparian 

25 conservation area, a national recreation area, a 


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1 national scenic area, a research natural area, a 

2 national outstanding natural area, a national 

3 natural landmark, a wilderness area, a wilder4 ness study area, the national wild and scenic 

5 rivers system, or the national system of trails. 

6 (5) PUBLIC LANDS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘public 

8 lands’’ has the meaning given that term in sec9 tion 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and 

10 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)). 

11 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term does not in12 clude any land managed by the Bureau of Land 

13 Management that is included in a national 

14 monument, an area of critical environmental 

15 concern, a national conservation area, a na16 tional riparian conservation area, a national 

17 recreation area, a national scenic area, a re18 search natural area, a national outstanding nat19 ural area, a national natural landmark, a wil20 derness area, a wilderness study area, the na21 tional wild and scenic rivers system, or the na22 tional system of trails. 

23 (6) REGIONAL FORESTER CONCERNED.—The 

24 term ‘‘Regional Forester concerned’’ means the Re25 gional Forester with jurisdiction over the National 


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1 Forest System land of a specific Forest Service Re2 gion. 

3 (b) SELECTION OF PARCELS FOR CONVEYANCE.— 

4 (1) TWO SELECTION METHODS.—The Director 

5 concerned or the Regional Forester concerned shall 

6 select an eligible Federal lands parcel for conveyance 

7 under this section— 

8 (A) in response to a request submitted by 

9 an owner of non-Federal land that shares one 

10 or more boundaries with the parcel; or 

11 (B) upon the recommendation of the Dis12 trict Office of the Bureau of Land Management 

13 or unit of the National Forest System exer14 cising administration over the parcel. 

15 (2) REVIEW OF LANDOWNER REQUEST.—When 

16 a landowner submits a request under paragraph 

17 (1)(A) for conveyance of a parcel of National Forest 

18 System land or public lands, the Director concerned 

19 or the Regional Forester concerned shall review the 

20 parcel and determine, within 30 days after receipt of 

21 the request, whether the parcel satisfies the defini22 tion of eligible Federal lands parcel for conveyance. 

23 (3) REJECTION OF LANDOWNER REQUEST.—If 

24 the Director concerned or the Regional Forester con25 cerned determines under paragraph (2) that all or a 


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1 portion of the parcel of National Forest System land 

2 or public lands covered by a landowner request 

3 under paragraph (1)(A) fails to satisfy the definition 

4 of eligible Federal lands parcel, the Director con5 cerned or the Regional Forester concerned shall give 

6 the landowner— 

7 (A) a written explanation of the reasons 

8 for the rejection, which specifically specifies— 

9 (i) which of the elements of the defini10 tion of eligible Federal lands parcel the 

11 parcel fails to satisfy and how and why the 

12 parcel fails to satisfy that element; 

13 (ii) how the continued administration 

14 of the parcel by the Bureau of Land Man15 agement or the Forest Service would im16 pact the parcel and surrounding economy; 

17 and 

18 (iii) why the Federal Government 

19 needs to maintain ownership of the parcel 

20 and would be the best land ownership 

21 steward of the parcel; and 

22 (B) an opportunity to appeal the rejection 

23 under subsection (e). 

24 (c) PARCEL AND ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.— 


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1 (1) ACREAGE.—An eligible Federal lands parcel 

2 conveyed under this section may not exceed 160 

3 acres unless a request for additional acreage is ap4 proved by the Director concerned or the Regional 

5 Forester concerned. 

6 (2) NUMBER OF PARCELS.—A person may only 

7 acquire one eligible Federal lands parcel under this 

8 section per year, except that, if the parcel is less 

9 than 160 acres in size, the person may acquire addi10 tional eligible Federal lands parcels during that year 

11 so long as the total acreage acquired does not exceed 

12 160 acres unless a request for additional acreage is 

13 approved by the Director concerned or the Regional 

14 Forester concerned. 

15 (d) CONVEYANCE PROCESS.— 

16 (1) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Director concerned 

17 or the Regional Forester concerned shall provide 

18 public notice of the availability of an eligible Federal 

19 lands parcel, even in cases in which the parcel 

20 shares a boundary with only a single parcel of non21 Federal land or with multiple parcels owned by the 

22 same landowner. The notice shall state that the par23 cel satisfies the definition of eligible Federal lands 

24 parcel for conveyance. 


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1 (2) SINGLE ADJACENT LANDOWNER.—If the el2 igible Federal lands parcel shares a boundary with 

3 only a single parcel of non-Federal land or with mul4 tiple parcels owned by the same landowner, the Di5 rector concerned or the Regional Forester concerned 

6 shall carry out a negotiated sale of the eligible Fed7 eral lands parcel with the landowner. 

8 (3) MULTIPLE ADJACENT LANDOWNERS.—If 

9 multiple parcels of non-Federal land, owned by dif10 ferent landowners, share a boundary with an eligible 

11 public lands parcel, the sale of the eligible public 

12 lands parcel under this section shall be conducted 

13 using competitive bidding procedures established 

14 under section 203(f) of the Federal Land Policy and 

15 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1713(f)). 

16 (4) REJECTION OF OFFERS.—The Director con17 cerned or the Regional Forester concerned may re18 ject any offer made under this subsection that does 

19 not offer the minimum consideration required by 

20 subsection (f). The landowner shall be given an op21 portunity to appeal the rejection under subsection 

22 (e). 

23 (5) COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL PLANNING AND

24 ZONING.—As a condition of the conveyance of an eli25 gible public lands parcel under this section, the DiVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:39 May 03, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4976.IH H4976

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1 rector concerned or the Regional Forester concerned 

2 shall require the purchaser of the parcel to agree to 

3 comply all local land use ordinances and any master 

4 zoning plan applicable to the parcel or the adjacent 

5 non-Federal land of the purchaser. 

6 (6) FORM OF CONVEYANCE.—When an eligible 

7 Federal lands parcel is to sold under this section, 

8 the Director concerned or the Regional Forester con9 cerned shall convey, by quitclaim deed, all right, 

10 title, and interest, including the mineral estate, of 

11 the United States in and to the parcel. 

12 (e) APPEALS PROCESS.— 

13 (1) AVAILABILITY OF APPEAL.—If the Director 

14 concerned or the Regional Forester concerned rejects 

15 a landowner request under subsection (b)(1)(A) for 

16 selection of a parcel of National Forest System land 

17 or public lands for conveyance under this section or 

18 rejects a landowner offer for purchase of an eligible 

19 Federal lands parcel under subsection (d), the Direc20 tor concerned or the Regional Forester concerned 

21 shall provide an appeals process for reconsideration 

22 of the rejection using the expedited Forest Service 

23 appeals process available under section 322(d) of 

24 Public Law 102–381 (16 U.S.C. 1612 note). 


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1 (2) ADMINISTERING OFFICIAL.—For purposes 

2 of applying section 322(d) of Public Law 102–381 

3 (16 U.S.C. 1612 note), references to the Chief of the 

4 Forest Service or the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

5 be deemed to mean the Director concerned or the 

6 Regional Forester concerned. 

7 (f) CONSIDERATION.— 

8 (1) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—As consideration for 

9 the sale of an eligible Federal lands parcel under 

10 this section, the Director concerned or the Regional 

11 Forester concerned shall require a cash payment in 

12 an amount that is equal to not less than the fair 

13 market value of the parcel, including the mineral es14 tate, being conveyed by the Director concerned or 

15 the Regional Forester concerned. 

16 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The fair market value 

17 of an eligible Federal lands parcel shall be estab18 lished by an appraisal submitted by the landowner 

19 seeking to purchase the parcel, unless the Director 

20 concerned or the Regional Forester concerned rejects 

21 such appraisal within 45 days after submission. In 

22 the case of the rejection of the appraisal, the Direc23 tor concerned or the Regional Forester concerned 

24 shall cause another appraisal to be conducted, within 

25 30 days, in accordance with the regulations regardVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:39 May 03, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4976.IH H4976

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1 ing appraisals issued under section 206(f) of the 

2 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

3 (43 U.S.C. 1716(f)). 

4 (g) TREATMENT OF PROCEEDS.— 

5 (1) SHARING AND DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—Of 

6 the consideration received by the Director concerned 

7 or the Regional Forester concerned under subsection 

8 (f) for the sale of an eligible Federal lands parcel 

9 under this section, the Director concerned or the Re10 gional Forester concerned shall— 

11 (A) subject to paragraph (2), pay 50 per12 cent of the consideration to the county govern13 ment of the county in which the parcel is lo14 cated; and— 

15 (B) deposit the remainder in the general 

16 fund of the Treasury. 

17 (2) EFFECT OF COUNTY PURCHASE.—If an eli18 gible Federal lands parcel is purchased by a State, 

19 county, or city government or any agency thereof, 

20 the county government in which the parcel is located 

21 shall not receive a portion of the consideration paid 

22 for the parcel. Instead, the entire amount of the con23 sideration shall be deposited in the general fund of 

24 the Treasury. 

25 (h) PAYMENT OF COSTS OF CONVEYANCE.— 


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1 (1) PAYMENT REQUIRED.—The Director con2 cerned or the Regional Forester concerned shall re3 quire the purchaser of an eligible Federal lands par4 cel under this section to cover the costs to be in5 curred, or to reimburse the Director concerned or 

6 the Regional Forester concerned for costs incurred, 

7 to carry out the conveyance, including survey and 

8 appraisal costs, costs for environmental documenta9 tion, and any other administrative costs related to 

10 the conveyance. If amounts are collected from the 

11 purchaser of the parcel in advance of the Director 

12 concerned or the Regional Forester concerned incur13 ring the actual costs, and the amount collected ex14 ceeds the costs actually incurred by the Director 

15 concerned or the Regional Forester concerned to 

16 carry out the conveyance, the Director concerned or 

17 the Regional Forester concerned shall refund the ex18 cess amount to the purchaser. 

19 (2) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS RECEIVED.— 

20 Amounts received as reimbursement under para21 graph (1) shall be credited to the fund or account 

22 that was used to cover those costs in carrying out 

23 the conveyance. Amounts so credited shall be merged 

24 with amounts in such fund or account, and shall be 

25 available for the same purposes, and subject to the 


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1 same conditions and limitations, as amounts in such 

2 fund or account. 

3 (i) TIME FOR CONVEYANCE.—It is the intent of the 

4 Congress that the sale of an eligible Federal lands parcel 

5 under this section, from selection of the parcel for convey6 ance through completion of the sale, should take no more 

7 than 18 months. 

8 (j) NEPA EXEMPTION.—The conveyance of eligible 

9 Federal lands parcels under this section is not a major 

10 Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the 

11 human environment under section 102(2)(C) the National 

12 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) 

13 because each conveyance involves only a small parcel of 

14 National Forest System land or the public lands and has 

15 no significant impact on critical habitats or endangered 

16 or threatened species, critical environments, exceptional 

17 resources. 

18 (k) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—The conveyance au19 thority provided by this section is in addition to the sale 

20 authority provided by section 203 of the Federal Land 

21 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1713) 

22 or any other provision of law. 

Æ 


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