I

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1719

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 21, 1998

Referred to the Committee on 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 commitee concerned

AN ACT

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary

of the Interior to exchange land and other assets with

Big Sky Lumber Co. and other entities.

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 ‘‘Gallatin Land Consoli5 dation Act of 1998’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) the land north of Yellowstone National Park

4 possesses outstanding natural characteristics and

5 wildlife habitats that make the land a valuable addi6 tion to the National Forest System;

7 (2) it is in the interest of the United States to

8 establish a logical and effective ownership pattern

9 for the Gallatin National Forest, reducing long-term

10 costs for taxpayers and increasing and improving

11 public access to the forest;

12 (3) it is in the interest of the United States for

13 the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into an Option

14 Agreement for the acquisition of land owned by Big

15 Sky Lumber Co. to accomplish the purposes of this

16 Act; and

17 (4) other private property owners are willing to

18 enter into exchanges that further improve the owner19 ship pattern of the Gallatin National Forest.

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

21 In this Act:

22 (1) BLM LAND.—The term ‘‘BLM land’’

23 means approximately 2,000 acres of Bureau of Land

24 Management land (including all appurtenances to

25 the land) that is proposed to be acquired by BSL,

26 as depicted in Exhibit B to the Option Agreement.
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1 (2) BSL.—The term ‘‘BSL’’ means Big Sky

2 Lumber Co., an Oregon joint venture, and its suc3 cessors and assigns, and any other entities having a

4 property interest in the BSL land.

5 (3) BSL LAND.—The term ‘‘BSL land’’ means

6 approximately 54,000 acres of land (including all ap7 purtenances to the land except as provided in section

8 4(e)(1)(D)(i)) owned by BSL that is proposed to be

9 acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture, as depicted

10 in Exhibit A to the Option Agreement.

11 (4) EASTSIDE NATIONAL FORESTS.—The term

12 ‘‘Eastside National Forests’’ means national forests

13 east of the Continental Divide in the State of Mon14 tana, including the Beaverhead National Forest,

15 Deerlodge National Forest, Helena National Forest,

16 Custer National Forest, and Lewis and Clark Na17 tional Forest.

18 (5) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND.—The

19 term ‘‘National Forest System land’’ means approxi20 mately 29,000 acres of land (including all appur21 tenances to the land) owned by the United States in

22 the Gallatin National Forest, Flathead National

23 Forest, Deerlodge National Forest, Helena National

24 Forest, Lolo National Forest, and Lewis and Clark

25 National Forest that is proposed to be acquired by
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1 BSL, as depicted in Exhibit B to the Option Agree2 ment.

3 (6) OPTION AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Option

4 Agreement’’ means—

5 (A) the document signed by BSL, dated

6 July 29, 1998 and entitled ‘‘Option Agreement

7 for the Acquisition of Big Sky Lumber Co.

8 Lands Pursuant to the Gallatin Range Consoli9 dation and Protection Act of 1993’’;

10 (B) the exhibits and maps attached to the

11 document described in subparagraph (A); and

12 (C) an exchange agreement to be entered

13 into between the Secretary and BSL and made

14 part of the document described in subparagraph

15 (A).

16 (7) SECRETARY.—The ‘‘Secretary’’ means the

17 Secretary of Agriculture.

18 SEC. 4. GALLATIN LAND CONSOLIDATION COMPLETION.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi20 sion of law, and subject to the terms and conditions of

21 the Option Agreement—

22 (1) if BSL offers title acceptable to the Sec23 retary to the BSL land—
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1 (A) the Secretary shall accept a warranty

2 deed to the BSL land and a quit claim deed to

3 agreed to mineral interests in the BSL land;

4 (B) the Secretary shall convey to BSL,

5 subject to valid existing rights and to other

6 terms, conditions, reservations, and exceptions

7 as may be agreed to by the Secretary and BSL,

8 fee title to the National Forest System land;

9 and

10 (C) the Secretary of the Interior shall con11 vey to BSL, by patent or otherwise, subject to

12 valid existing rights and other terms, condi13 tions, reservations, and exceptions as may be

14 agreed to by the Secretary of the Interior and

15 BSL, fee title to the BLM land;

16 (2) if BSL places title in escrow acceptable to

the Secretary to 111 17 ⁄2 sections of the BSL land in

18 the Taylor Fork area as set forth in the Option

19 Agreement—

20 (A) the Secretary shall place Federal land

21 in the Bangtail and Doe Creek areas of the

22 Gallatin National Forest, as identified in the

23 Option Agreement, in escrow pending convey24 ance to the Secretary of the Taylor Fork land,
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1 as identified in the Option Agreement in es2 crow;

3 (B) the Secretary, subject to the availability of funds, shall purchase 71 4 ⁄2 sections of BSL

5 land in the Taylor Fork area held in escrow and

6 identified in the Option Agreement at a pur7 chase price of $4,150,000; and

8 (C) the Secretary shall acquire the 4 Tay9 lor Fork sections identified in the Option

10 Agreement remaining in escrow, and any of the

11 6 sections referred to in subparagraph (B) for

12 which funds are not available, by providing

13 BSL with timber sale receipts from timber sales

14 on the Gallatin National Forest and other

15 eastside national forests in the State of Mon16 tana in accordance with subsection (c); and

17 (3)(A) as funds or timber sale receipts are re18 ceived by BSL—

19 (i) the deeds to an equivalent value of BSL

20 Taylor Fork land held in escrow shall be re21 leased and conveyed to the Secretary; and

22 (ii) the escrow of deeds to an equivalent

23 value of Federal land shall be released to the

24 Secretary in accordance with the terms of the

25 Option Agreement; or
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1 (B) if funds or timber sale receipts are not pro2 vided to BSL as provided in the Option Agreement,

3 BSL shall be entitled to receive patents and deeds

4 to an equivalent value of the Federal land held in es5 crow.

6 (b) VALUATION.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The property and other as8 sets exchanged or conveyed by BSL and the United

9 States under subsection (a) shall be approximately

10 equal in value, as determined by the Secretary.

11 (2) DIFFERENCE IN VALUE.—To the extent

12 that the property and other assets exchanged or con13 veyed by BSL or the United States under subsection

14 (a) are not approximately equal in value, as deter15 mined by the Secretary, the values shall be equalized

16 in accordance with methods identified in the Option

17 Agreement.

18 (c) TIMBER SALE PROGRAM.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall imple20 ment a timber sale program, according to the terms

21 and conditions identified in the Option Agreement

22 and subject to compliance with applicable environ23 mental laws (including regulations), judicial deci24 sions, memoranda of understanding, small business

25 set-aside rules, and acts beyond the control of the
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1 Secretary, to generate sufficient timber receipts to

2 purchase the portions of the BSL land in Taylor

3 Fork identified in the Option Agreement.

4 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.—In implementing the

5 timber sale program—

6 (A) the Secretary shall provide BSL with

7 a proposed annual schedule of timber sales;

8 (B) as set forth in the Option Agreement,

9 receipts generated from the timber sale pro10 gram shall be deposited by the Secretary in a

11 special account established by the Secretary and

12 paid by the Secretary to BSL;

13 (C) receipts from the Gallatin National

14 Forest shall not be subject to the Act of May

15 23, 1908 (16 U.S.C. 500); and

16 (D) the Secretary shall fund the timber

17 sale program at levels determined by the Sec18 retary to be commensurate with the preparation

19 and administration of the identified timber sale

20 program.

21 (d) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—As specified in the Option

22 Agreement—

23 (1) the Secretary, under the authority of the

24 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

25 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), shall convey to BSL such
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1 easements in or other rights-of-way over National

2 Forest System land for access to the land acquired

3 by BSL under this Act for all lawful purposes; and

4 (2) BSL shall convey to the United States such

5 easements in or other rights-of-way over land owned

6 by BSL for all lawful purposes, as may be agreed

7 to by the Secretary and BSL.

8 (e) QUALITY OF TITLE.—

9 (1) DETERMINATION.—The Secretary shall re10 view the title for the BSL land described in sub11 section (a) and, within 45 days after receipt of all

12 applicable title documents from BSL, determine

13 whether—

14 (A) the applicable title standards for Fed15 eral land acquisition have been satisfied and the

16 quality of the title is otherwise acceptable to the

17 Secretary of Agriculture;

18 (B) all draft conveyances and closing docu19 ments have been received and approved;

20 (C) a current title commitment verifying

21 compliance with applicable title standards has

22 been issued to the Secretary; and

23 (D) the title includes both the surface and

24 subsurface estates without reservation or excep-
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1 tion (except as specifically provided in this Act),

2 including—

3 (i) minerals, mineral rights, and min4 eral interests (including severed oil and gas

5 surface rights), subject to and excepting

6 other outstanding or reserved oil and gas

7 rights;

8 (ii) timber, timber rights, and timber

9 interests (except those reserved subject to

10 section 251.14 of title 36, Code of Federal

11 Regulations, by BSL and agreed to by the

12 Secretary);

13 (iii) water, water rights, ditch, and

14 ditch rights;

15 (iv) geothermal rights; and

16 (v) any other interest in the property.

17 (2) CONVEYANCE OF TITLE.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the quality of title

19 does not meet Federal standards or is otherwise

20 determined to be unacceptable to the Secretary

21 of Agriculture, the Secretary shall advise BSL

22 regarding corrective actions necessary to make

23 an affirmative determination under paragraph

24 (1).
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1 (B) TITLE TO SUBSURFACE ESTATE.—

2 Title to the subsurface estate shall be conveyed

3 by BSL to the Secretary in the same form and

4 content as that estate is received by BSL from

5 Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company Inc.

6 and Glacier Park Company.

7 (f) TIMING OF IMPLEMENTATION.—

8 (1) LAND-FOR-LAND EXCHANGE.—The Sec9 retary shall accept the conveyance of land described

10 in subsection (a) not later than 45 days after the

11 Secretary has made an affirmative determination of

12 quality of title.

13 (2) LAND-FOR-TIMBER SALE RECEIPT EX14 CHANGE.—As provided in subsection (c) and the Op15 tion Agreement, the Secretary shall make timber re16 ceipts described in subsection (a)(3) available not

17 later than December 31 of the fifth full calendar

18 year that begins after the date of enactment of this

19 Act.

20 (3) PURCHASE.—The Secretary shall complete

21 the purchase of BSL land under subsection

22 (a)(3)(B) not later than 30 days after the date on

23 which appropriated funds are made available and an

24 affirmative determination of quality of title is made

25 with respect to the BSL land.
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1 SEC. 5. OTHER FACILITATED EXCHANGES.

2 (a) AUTHORIZED EXCHANGES.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter

4 into the following land exchanges if the landowners

5 are willing:

6 (A) Wapiti land exchange, as outlined in

7 the documents entitled ‘‘Non-Federal Lands in

8 Facilitated Exchanges’’ and ‘‘Federal Lands in

9 Facilitated Exchanges’’ and dated July 1998.

10 (B) Eightmile/West Pine land exchange as

11 outlined in the documents entitled ‘‘Non-Fed12 eral Lands in Facilitated Exchanges’’ and

13 ‘‘Federal Lands in Facilitated Exchanges’’ and

14 dated July 1998.

15 (2) EQUAL VALUE.—Before entering into an

16 exchange under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall

17 determine that the parcels of land to be exchanged

18 are of approximately equal value, based on an ap19 praisal.

20 (b) SECTION 1 OF THE TAYLOR FORK LAND.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is encouraged

22 to pursue a land exchange with the owner of section

23 1 of the Taylor Fork land after completing a full

24 public process and an appraisal.

25 (2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report to

26 Congress on the implementation of paragraph (1)
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1 not later than 180 days after the date of enactment

2 of this Act.

3 SEC. 6. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

4 (a) MINOR CORRECTIONS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Option Agreement shall

6 be subject to such minor corrections and supple7 mental provisions as may be agreed to by the Sec8 retary and BSL.

9 (2) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall notify

10 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of

11 the Senate, the Committee on Resources of the

12 House of Representatives, and each member of the

13 Montana congressional delegation of any changes

14 made under this subsection.

15 (3) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The boundary of the

17 Gallatin National Forest is adjusted in the

18 Wineglass and North Bridger area, as described

19 on maps dated July 1998, upon completion of

20 the conveyances.

21 (B) NO LIMITATION.—Nothing in this sub22 section limits the authority of the Secretary to

23 adjust the boundary pursuant to section 11 of

24 the Act of March 1, 1911 (commonly known as

25 the ‘‘Weeks Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 521).
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1 (C) ALLOCATION OF LAND AND WATER

2 CONSERVATION FUND MONEYS.—For the pur3 poses of section 7 of the Land and Water Con4 servation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–

5 9), boundaries of the Gallatin National Forest

6 shall be considered to be the boundaries of the

7 National Forest as of January 1, 1965.

8 (b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Option

9 Agreement—

10 (1) shall be on file and available for public in11 spection in the office of the Supervisor of the Gal12 latin National Forest; and

13 (2) shall be filed with the county clerk of each

14 of Gallatin County, Park County, Madison County,

15 Granite County, Broadwater County, Meagher Coun16 ty, Flathead County, and Missoula County, Mon17 tana.

18 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH OPTION AGREEMENT.—The

19 Secretary, the Secretary of the Interior, and BSL shall

20 comply with the terms and conditions of the Option Agree21 ment except to the extent that any provision of the Option

22 Agreement conflicts with this Act.

23 (d) STATUS OF LAND.—All land conveyed to the

24 United States under this Act shall be added to and admin25 istered as part of the Gallatin National Forest and
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1 Deerlodge National Forest, as appropriate, in accordance

2 with the Act of March 1, 1911 (5 U.S.C. 515 et seq.),

3 and other laws (including regulations) pertaining to the

4 National Forest System.

5 (e) MANAGEMENT.—

6 (1) PUBLIC PROCESS.—Not later than 30 days

7 after the date of completion of the land-for-land ex8 change under section 4(f)(1), the Secretary shall ini9 tiate a public process to amend the Gallatin Na10 tional Forest Plan and the Deerlodge National For11 est Plan to integrate the acquired land into the

12 plans.

13 (2) PROCESS TIME.—The amendment process

14 under paragraph (1) shall be completed as soon as

15 practicable, and in no event later than 540 days

16 after the date on which the amendment process is

17 initiated.

18 (3) LIMITATION.—An amended management

19 plan shall not permit surface occupancy on the ac20 quired land for access to reserved or outstanding oil

21 and gas rights or for exploration or development of

22 oil and gas.

23 (4) INTERIM MANAGEMENT.—Pending comple24 tion of the forest plan amendment process under

25 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—
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1 (A) manage the acquired land under the

2 standards and guidelines in the applicable land

3 and resource management plans for adjacent

4 land managed by the Forest Service; and

5 (B) maintain all existing public access to

6 the acquired land.

7 (f) RESTORATION.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall imple9 ment a restoration program including reforestation

10 and watershed enhancements to bring the acquired

11 land and surrounding national forest land into com12 pliance with Forest Service standards and guide13 lines.

14 (2) STATE AND LOCAL CONSERVATION

15 CORPS.—In implementing the restoration program,

16 the Secretary shall, when practicable, use partner17 ships with State and local conservation corps, includ18 ing the Montana Conservation Corps, under the

19 Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1721 et

20 seq.).

21 (g) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Agri22 culture shall ensure that sufficient funds are made avail23 able to the Gallatin National Forest to carry out this Act.

24 (i) REVOCATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provi25 sion of law, any public orders withdrawing lands identified
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1 in the Option Agreement from all forms of appropriation

2 under the public land laws are revoked upon conveyance

3 of the lands by the Secretary.

4 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

6 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

Passed the Senate October 2, 1998.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.