I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6718 

To authorize, direct, expedite, and facilitate a land exchange in California, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 12, 2023 

Mr. MCCARTHY (for himself, Mr. KILEY, and Mr. OBERNOLTE) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize, direct, expedite, and facilitate a land exchange 

in California, 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 ‘‘City of Ridgecrest 

5 Land Exchange Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) CITY.—The term ‘‘City’’ means the City of 

9 Ridgecrest, California. 


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1 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

2 means the approximately 500 acres of Federal land 

3 generally depicted as ‘‘Proposed BLM to City of 

4 Ridgecrest Land Transfer’’ on the Federal land 

5 map. 

6 (3) FEDERAL LAND MAP.—The term ‘‘Federal 

7 land map’’ means the map titled ‘‘Proposed Bureau 

8 of Land Management to City of Ridgecrest Land 

9 Exchange’’ and dated October 5, 2023. 

10 (4) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘non-Fed11 eral land’’ means the approximately 640 acres of 

12 land in California, generally depicted as ‘‘Proposed 

13 City of Ridgecrest to BLM Land Transfer’’ on the 

14 non-Federal land map. 

15 (5) NON-FEDERAL LAND MAP.—The term 

16 ‘‘non-Federal land map’’ means the map titled ‘‘Pro17 posed City of Ridgecrest to Bureau of Land Man18 agement Land Exchange’’ and dated August 31, 

19 2023. 

20 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of the Interior. 

22 SEC. 3. LAND EXCHANGE. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the City offers to convey to the 

24 Secretary all right, title, and interest of the City in and 

25 to the non-Federal land, the Secretary shall accept the 


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1 offer and, as soon as practicable, but not later than 1 year 

2 after receiving the offer from the City, convey to the City 

3 all right, title, and interest of the United States to the 

4 Federal land. 

5 (b) TITLE APPROVAL.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title to the land to be ex7 changed under this section shall be in a format ac8 ceptable to the Secretary and the City. 

9 (2) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—Title to the non10 Federal land conveyed to the Secretary under this 

11 section shall conform to the title approval standards 

12 of the Attorney General of the United States appli13 cable to land acquisitions by the Federal Govern14 ment. 

15 (c) MAPS, ESTIMATES, AND DESCRIPTIONS.— 

16 (1) MINOR ERRORS.—The Secretary and the 

17 City may, by mutual agreement— 

18 (A) make minor boundary adjustments to 

19 the Federal land and non-Federal land involved 

20 in the exchange; and 

21 (B) correct any minor errors in any map, 

22 acreage estimate, or description of the land to 

23 be exchanged. 

24 (2) CONFLICT.—If there is a conflict between a 

25 map, an acreage estimate, or a description of land 


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1 under this section, the map shall control unless the 

2 Secretary and City mutually agree otherwise. 

3 (3) AVAILABILITY OF MAPS.—The Federal land 

4 map and non-Federal land map shall be kept on file 

5 and available for public inspection in the appropriate 

6 office of the Bureau of Land Management. 

7 (d) SURVEY.—The exact acreage and legal descrip8 tion of the land exchanged under this section shall be de9 termined by a survey satisfactory to the Secretary. 

10 (e) COSTS OF CONVEYANCE.—As a condition for the 

11 land exchange under this section, the City shall pay the 

12 reasonable costs incurred by the Secretary for— 

13 (1) the survey required by subsection (d); and 

14 (2) any environmental analysis or administra15 tive expenses related to the exchange. 

16 (f) EFFECT; TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The land ex17 change under this section— 

18 (1) is not subject to section 206 of the Federal 

19 Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

20 1716); 

21 (2) shall not affect the administration or owner22 ship of any highways; 

23 (3) shall not affect and shall further reserve for 

24 the continued and perpetual benefit of utilities all 

25 those existing rights on or to the land exchanged 


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1 under this section, including any easements, and 

2 rights-of-way for electrical transmission and dis3 tribution poles, lines, and other appurtenances, re4 gardless of whether such rights were created by pat5 ent, prescription, contract, or applicable law; and 

6 (4) is subject to the condition that, with respect 

7 to Federal land conveyed to the City, the City shall, 

8 to the extent practicable, maintain access— 

9 (A) to all officially designated motorized 

10 routes depicted on the Federal land map; and 

11 (B) for non-motorized recreation activities. 

12 (g) RESTRICTION ON GAMING.—The Federal land 

13 conveyed to the City under this section shall not be eligi14 ble, or used, for any class II or class III gaming (as such 

15 terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Gaming Regu16 latory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703)). 

17 (h) MANAGEMENT OF LAND.—Land acquired by the 

18 Secretary under this section shall become part of the 

19 Owens Peak Wilderness Area and be managed in accord20 ance with the laws, rules, and regulations applicable to 

21 that wilderness area. 

Æ 


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