Calendar No. 572

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1719

[Report No. 105–329]

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secassets with Big Sky Lumber Co. retary of the Interior to exchange land and other

SEPTEMBER 14, 1998

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the

title
II

Calendar No. 572

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1719

[Report No. 105–329]

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior

to exchange land and other assets with Big Sky Lumber Co.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 6, 1998

Mr. BAUCUS (for himself and Mr. BURNS) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

SEPTEMBER 14, 1998

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment and an amendment to the

title

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

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary

of the Interior to exchange land and other assets with

Big Sky Lumber Co.

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 Land Consoli3 dation Act of 1998’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds that—

6 (1) the land north of Yellowstone National Park

7 possesses outstanding natural characteristics and

8 wildlife habitats that make the land a valuable addi9 tion to the National Forest System;

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

11 establish a logical and effective ownership pattern

12 for the Gallatin National Forest, reducing long-term

13 costs for taxpayers and increasing and improving

14 public access to the forest; and

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

16 the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into an Option

17 Agreement for the acquisition of land owned by Big

18 Sky Lumber Co. to accomplish the purposes of this

19 Act.

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

21 In this Act:

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

23 means approximately 3,000 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 55,000 acres of land (including all ap7 purtenances to the land) owned by BSL that is pro8 posed to be acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture,

9 as depicted in Exhibit A to the Option Agreement.

10 (4) FOREST SYSTEM LAND.—The term ‘‘Forest

11 System land’’ means approximately 28,000 acres of

12 land (including all appurtenances to the land) owned

13 by the United States in the Gallatin National For14 est, Flathead National Forest, Deer Lodge National

15 Forest, Lolo National Forest, and Lewis and Clark

16 National Forest that is proposed to be acquired by

17 BSL, as depicted in Exhibit B to the Option Agree18 ment.

19 (5) OPTION AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Option

20 Agreement’’ means the document signed by BSL,

21 dated llllll and entitled ‘‘Option Agree22 ment for the Acquisition of Big Sky Lumber Co.

23 Lands Pursuant to the Gallatin Range Consolidation

24 and Protection Act of 1993’’, and the exhibits (in-
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1 cluding an exchange agreement) and maps attached

2 to the agreement.

3 SEC. 4. GALLATIN LAND CONSOLIDATION COMPLETION.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law, if BSL offers title to the BSL land, including

6 mineral interests, that is acceptable to the United States

7 and meets the requirements of subsection (e)—

8 (1) the Secretary of Agriculture shall accept a

9 warranty deed to the BSL land and a quit claim

10 deed to the mineral interests in the BSL land;

11 (2) the Secretary of Agriculture shall convey to

12 BSL, subject to valid existing rights and to such

13 other terms, conditions, reservations, and exceptions

14 as may be agreed on by the Secretary of Agriculture

15 and BSL fee title to the Forest System land ;

16 (3) the Secretary shall grant to BSL timber

17 harvest rights to approximately 20,000,000 board

18 feet of timber in accordance with subsection (c) and

19 as described in Exhibit C to the Option Agreement;

20 (4)(A) subject to the availability of funds, the

21 Secretary of Agriculture shall purchase the portion

22 of the BSL land in the Taylor Fork area depicted

23 on Exhibit D to the Option Agreement at a purchase

24 price of not more than $6,500,000; and
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1 (B) to extent that funds are not available, the

2 Secretary of Agriculture shall acquire the remaining

3 Taylor Fork sections through an exchange of assets;

4 and

5 (5) the Secretary of the Interior shall convey to

6 BSL, by patent or otherwise, subject to valid exist7 ing rights and to such other terms, conditions, res8 ervations, and exceptions as may be agreed to by the

9 Secretary of the Interior and BSL, fee title to the

10 BLM land.

11 (b) VALUATION.—The property and other assets ex12 changed by BSL and the United States under subsection

13 (a) shall be approximately equal in value, as determined

14 by the Secretary of Agriculture.

15 (c) TIMBER HARVEST RIGHTS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31

17 of the second full calendar year that begins after the

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

19 prepare, grant to BSL, and commence administra20 tion of the timber harvest rights identified in Ex21 hibit C to the Option Agreement.

22 (2) GRANTS.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

24 grant timber harvest rights to BSL not earlier

25 than the date that is 45 days after the date on
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1 which the Secretary issues a decision notice to

2 grant the timber harvest rights, or, if such a

3 decision notice is appealed, after the date of

4 final resolution of the appeal.

5 (B) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not

6 grant timber harvest rights that are the subject

7 of administrative appeal or litigation.

8 (3) ADMINISTRATION.—After timber harvest

9 rights are granted to BSL, the decision notice for

10 those rights and the administration of those rights

11 in accordance with the decision notice shall not be

12 subject to administrative appeal or judicial review.

13 (4) SCHEDULES.—The Secretary and BSL

14 shall mutually develop and agree on schedules for

15 the harvest of timber the harvest rights to which are

16 granted to BSL in the exchange.

17 (5) TIMBER SALE PROGRAM.—The timber har18 vest rights granted under this Act—

19 (A) shall constitute the timber sale pro20 gram for the Gallatin National Forest for the

21 period beginning on the date of enactment of

22 this Act and ending on December 31 of the sec23 ond full calendar year that begins after that

24 date; and
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1 (B) shall be funded by the Secretary annu2 ally at levels that are commensurate with the

3 preparation and administration involved in the

4 program.

5 (6) SUBSTITUTION.—If circumstances, such as

6 natural catastrophe, administrative appeals or litiga7 tion, regulatory or legal limitations, or environ8 mental or financial circumstances, prevent the Sec9 retary from granting the timber harvest rights iden10 tified in Exhibit C to the Option Agreement, the

11 Secretary shall replace the value of the diminished

12 timber harvest rights by substituting equivalent tim13 ber harvest rights volume from the same market

14 area.

15 (7) OPEN MARKET.—All timber harvest rights

16 granted to BSL in the exchange under subsection

17 (a) shall be offered for sale by BSL through the

18 competitive bid process.

19 (8) SMALL BUSINESS.—All timber harvest

20 rights granted to BSL in the exchange shall be sub21 ject to compliance by BSL with Forest Service small

22 business program procedures in effect as of the date

23 of enactment of this Act, including contractual pro24 visions for payment schedules, harvest schedules,

25 and bonds and including the right of the highest bid-
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1 der among qualified small businesses that submit

2 minimum bids to be awarded a timber contract.

3 (9) COMPLIANCE WITH OPTION AGREEMENT.—

4 The Secretary and BSL shall comply with the terms

5 and conditions of the Option Agreement, including

6 terms and conditions with respect to timber harvest

7 rights included in the exchange.

8 (d) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—As part of the exchange under

9 subsection (a)—

10 (1) the Secretary of Agriculture, under the au11 thority of the Federal Land Policy and Management

12 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), shall convey

13 to BSL such easements in or other rights-of-way

14 over Forest System land as may be agreed to by the

15 Secretary of Agriculture and BSL; and

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

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

18 by BSL as may be agreed to by the Secretary of Ag19 riculture and BSL.

20 (e) QUALITY OF TITLE.—

21 (1) DETERMINATION.—The Secretary of Agri22 culture shall review the title for the BSL land de23 scribed in subsection (a) and, within 45 days after

24 receipt of all applicable title documents from BSL,

25 determine whether—
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1 (A) the applicable title standards for Fed2 eral land acquisition have been satisfied or the

3 quality of the title is otherwise acceptable to the

4 Secretary of Agriculture;

5 (B) all draft conveyances and closing docu6 ments have been received and approved;

7 (C) a current title commitment verifying

8 compliance with applicable title standards has

9 been issued to the Secretary; and

10 (D) the title includes both the surface and

11 subsurface estates without reservation or excep12 tion (except by the United States or the State

13 of Montana, by patent or as otherwise agreed

14 to by the Secretary and BSL), including—

15 (i) minerals, mineral rights, and min16 eral interests (including severed oil and gas

17 surface rights), subject to and excepting

18 other outstanding or reserved oil and gas

19 rights;

20 (ii) timber, timber rights, and timber

21 interests, except those reserved subject to

22 section 251.14 of title 36, Code of Federal

23 Regulations, by BSL and agreed to by the

24 Secretary;
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1 (iii) water, water rights, ditch, and

2 ditch rights; and

3 (iv) any other interest in the property.

4 (2) CONVEYANCE OF TITLE.—

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

6 does not meet Federal standards or is otherwise

7 determined to be unacceptable to the Secretary

8 of Agriculture, the Secretary shall advise BSL

9 regarding corrective actions necessary to make

10 an affirmative determination under paragraph

11 (1).

12 (B) TITLE TO SUBSURFACE ESTATE.—

13 Title to the subsurface estate shall be conveyed

14 by BSL to the Secretary of Agriculture in the

15 same form and content as that estate is re16 ceived by BSL from Burlington Resources Oil

17 & Gas Company Inc. and Glacier Park Com18 pany.

19 (f) TIMING OF IMPLEMENTATION.—

20 (1) LAND-FOR-LAND EXCHANGE.—The Sec21 retary of Agriculture shall accept the conveyance of

22 land described in subsection (a) not later than 45

23 days after the Secretary of Agriculture has made an

24 affirmative determination of quality of title.
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1 (2) LAND-FOR-TIMBER EXCHANGE.—The Sec2 retary shall make the timber harvest rights de3 scribed in subsection (a)(3) available not later than

4 December 31 of the second full calendar year that

5 begins after the date of enactment of this Act.

6 (3) PURCHASE.—The Secretary of Agriculture

7 shall complete the purchase of BSL land under sub8 section (a)(4) not later than 30 days after the date

9 on which appropriated funds are made available and

10 an affirmative determination of quality of title is

11 made with respect to the BSL land.

12 SEC. 5. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

13 (a) MINOR CORRECTIONS.—

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

15 be subject to such minor corrections as may be

16 agreed to by the Secretary of Agriculture and BSL.

17 (2) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall notify

18 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of

19 the Senate, the Committee on Resources of the

20 House of Representatives, and each member of the

21 Montana congressional delegation of any changes

22 made pursuant to this subsection.

23 (b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Option Agree24 ment—
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1 (1) shall be on file and available for public in2 spection in the office of the Supervisor of the Gal3 latin National Forest; and

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

5 of Gallatin County, Park County, Madison County,

6 Granite County, Broadwater County, Meagher Coun7 ty, Flathead County, and Missoula County, Mon8 tana.

9 (c) STATUS OF LAND.—All land conveyed to the

10 United States under this Act shall be added to and admin11 istered as part of the Gallatin National Forest and

12 Deerlodge National Forest, as appropriate, in accordance

13 with the Act of March 1, 1911 (commonly known as the

14 ‘‘Weeks Act’’) (36 Stat. 961, chapter 186), and other laws

15 (including regulations) pertaining to the National Forest

16 System.

17 (d) MANAGEMENT.—

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

19 after the date of completion of the land-for-land ex20 change under section 4(f)(1), the Secretary shall ini21 tiate a public process to amend the Gallatin Na22 tional Forest Plan and the Deerlodge National For23 est Plan to integrate the acquired BSL land into the

24 plans.
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1 (2) PROCESS TIME.—The amendment process

2 under paragraph (1) shall be completed not later

3 than 360 days after the date on which the amend4 ment process is initiated.

5 (3) LIMITATION.—An amended management

6 plan shall not permit surface occupancy on the BSL

7 land for access to reserved or outstanding oil and

8 gas rights or for exploration or development of oil

9 and gas.

10 (4) INTERIM MANAGEMENT.—Pending comple11 tion of the forest plan amendment process under

12 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

13 (A) manage the acquired BSL land under

14 the same standards, guidelines, and manage15 ment directions as adjacent land managed by

16 the Forest Service; and

17 (B) maintain all existing public access to

18 the acquired BSL land.

19 (e) RESTORATION.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—After acquiring the BSL

21 land, the Secretary shall implement a restoration

22 program including reforestation and watershed en23 hancements to bring the BSL land and surrounding

24 national forest land into compliance with Forest

25 Service standards and guidelines.
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1 (2) STATE AND LOCAL CONSERVATION

2 CORPS.—In implementing the restoration program,

3 the Secretary shall, when practicable, use partner4 ships with State and local conservation corps, includ5 ing the Montana Conservation Corps, under the

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

7 seq.).

8 (f) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture

9 shall ensure that sufficient funds are made available to

10 the Gallatin National Forest to carry out this Act.

11 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

13 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

14 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

15 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gallatin Land Consoli16 dation Act of 1998’’.

17 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

18 Congress finds that—

19 (1) the land north of Yellowstone National Park

20 possesses outstanding natural characteristics and

21 wildlife habitats that make the land a valuable addi22 tion to the National Forest System;

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

24 establish a logical and effective ownership pattern for

25 the Gallatin National Forest, reducing long-term costs
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1 for taxpayers and increasing and improving public

2 access to the forest;

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

4 the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into an Option

5 Agreement for the acquisition of land owned by Big

6 Sky Lumber Co. to accomplish the purposes of this

7 Act;

8 (4) other private property owners are willing to

9 enter into exchanges that further improve the owner10 ship pattern of the Gallatin National Forest; and

11 (5) BSL, acting in good faith, has shouldered

12 many aspects of the financial burden of the appraisal

13 and subsequent option and exchange process.

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

15 In this Act:

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

17 approximately 2,000 acres of Bureau of Land Man18 agement land (including all appurtenances to the

19 land) that is proposed to be acquired by BSL, as de20 picted in Exhibit B to the Option Agreement.

21 (2) BSL.—The term ‘‘BSL’’ means Big Sky

22 Lumber Co., an Oregon joint venture, and its succes23 sors and assigns, and any other entities having a

24 property interest in the BSL land.
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1 (3) BSL LAND.—The term ‘‘BSL land’’ means

2 approximately 54,000 acres of land (including all ap3 purtenances to the land except as provided in section

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

5 acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture, as depicted

6 in Exhibit A to the Option Agreement.

7 (4) EASTSIDE NATIONAL FORESTS.—The term

8 ‘‘Eastside National Forests’’ means national forests

9 east of the Continental Divide in the State of Mon10 tana, including the Beaver Head National Forest,

11 Deer Lodge National Forest, Helena National Forest,

12 Custer National Forest, and Lewis and Clark Na13 tional Forest.

14 (5) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND.—The term

15 ‘‘National Forest System land’’ means approximately

16 29,000 acres of land (including all appurtenances to

17 the land) owned by the United States in the Gallatin

18 National Forest, Flathead National Forest, Deer

19 Lodge National Forest, Helena National Forest, Lolo

20 National Forest, and Lewis and Clark National For21 est that is proposed to be acquired by BSL, as de22 picted in Exhibit B to the Option Agreement.

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

24 Agreement’’ means—
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1 (A) the document signed by BSL, dated

2 July 29, 1998 and entitled ‘‘Option Agreement

3 for the Acquisition of Big Sky Lumber Co.

4 Lands Pursuant to the Gallatin Range Consoli5 dation and Protection Act of 1993’’;

6 (B) the exhibits and maps attached to the

7 document described in subparagraph (A); and

8 (C) an exchange agreement to be entered

9 into between the Secretary and BSL and made

10 part of the document described in subparagraph

11 (A).

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

13 Secretary of Agriculture.

14 SEC. 4. GALLATIN LAND CONSOLIDATION COMPLETION.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi16 sion of law, and subject to the terms and conditions of the

17 Option Agreement—

18 (1) if BSL offers title acceptable to the Secretary

19 to the BSL land—

20 (A) the Secretary shall accept a warranty

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

22 agreed to mineral interests in the BSL land;

23 (B) the Secretary shall convey to BSL, sub24 ject to valid existing rights and to other terms,

25 conditions, reservations, and exceptions as may
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1 be agreed to by the Secretary and BSL, fee title

2 to the National Forest System land; and

3 (C) the Secretary of the Interior shall con4 vey to BSL, by patent or otherwise, subject to

5 valid existing rights and other terms, conditions,

6 reservations, and exceptions as may be agreed to

7 by the Secretary of the Interior and BSL, fee

8 title to the BLM land;

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

the Secretary to 111 10 ⁄2 sections of the BSL land in the

11 Taylor Fork area as set forth in the Option Agree12 ment—

13 (A) the Secretary shall place Federal land

14 in the Bangtail and Doe Creek areas of the Gal15 latin National Forest, as identified in the Op16 tion Agreement, in escrow pending conveyance to

17 the Secretary of the Taylor Fork land, as identi18 fied in the Option Agreement in escrow;

19 (B) the Secretary, subject to the availability

of appropriations, shall purchase 71 20 ⁄2 sections of

21 BSL land in the Taylor Fork area held in es22 crow and identified in the Option Agreement at

23 a purchase price of $4,150,000 plus interest at a

24 rate acceptable to the Secretary; and
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1 (C) the Secretary shall acquire the 4 Taylor

2 Fork sections identified in the Option Agreement

3 remaining in escrow, and any of the 6 sections

4 referred to in subparagraph (B) for which ap5 propriations are not available, by providing

6 BSL with timber sale receipts from timber sales

7 on the Gallatin National Forest and other

8 eastside national forests in the State of Montana

9 in accordance with subsection (c); and

10 (3)(A) as appropriated funds or timber sale re11 ceipts are received by BSL—

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

13 Taylor Fork land held in escrow shall be released

14 and conveyed to the Secretary; and

15 (ii) the escrow of deeds to an equivalent

16 value of Federal land shall be released to the Sec17 retary in accordance with the terms of the Op18 tion Agreement; or

19 (B) if appropriated funds or timber sale receipts

20 are not provided to BSL as provided in the Option

21 Agreement, BSL shall be entitled to receive patents

22 and deeds to an equivalent value of the Federal land

23 held in escrow.

24 (b) VALUATION.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The property and other assets

2 exchanged or conveyed by BSL and the United States

3 under subsection (a) shall be approximately equal in

4 value, as determined by the Secretary.

5 (2) DIFFERENCE IN VALUE.—To the extent that

6 the property and other assets exchanged or conveyed

7 by BSL or the United States under subsection (a) are

8 not approximately equal in value, as determined by

9 the Secretary, the values shall be equalized in accord10 ance with methods identified in the Option Agree11 ment.

12 (c) TIMBER SALE PROGRAM.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall imple14 ment a timber sale program, according to the terms

15 and conditions identified in the Option Agreement

16 and subject to compliance with applicable environ17 mental laws, judicial decisions, and acts beyond the

18 control of the Secretary, to generate sufficient timber

19 receipts to purchase the portions of the BSL land in

20 Taylor Fork identified in the Option Agreement.

21 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.—In implementing the

22 timber sale program—

23 (A) the Secretary shall provide BSL with a

24 proposed annual schedule of timber sales;
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1 (B) as set forth in the Option Agreement,

2 receipts generated from the timber sale program

3 shall be deposited by the Secretary in a special

4 account established by the Secretary and paid by

5 the Secretary to BSL;

6 (C) receipts from the Gallatin National

7 Forest shall not be subject to the Act of May 23,

8 1908 (16 U.S.C. 500); and

9 (D) the Secretary shall fund the timber sale

10 program at levels determined by the Secretary to

11 be commensurate with the preparation and ad12 ministration of the identified timber sale pro13 gram.

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

15 Agreement—

16 (1) the Secretary, under the authority of the Fed17 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43

18 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), shall convey to BSL such ease19 ments in or other rights-of-way over National Forest

20 System land for access to the land acquired by BSL

21 under this Act for all lawful purposes; and

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

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

24 by BSL for all lawful purposes, as may be agreed to

25 by the Secretary and BSL.
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1 (e) QUALITY OF TITLE.—

2 (1) DETERMINATION.—The Secretary shall re3 view the title for the BSL land described in subsection

4 (a) and, within 45 days after receipt of all applicable

5 title documents from BSL, determine whether—

6 (A) the applicable title standards for Fed7 eral land acquisition have been satisfied and the

8 quality of the title is otherwise acceptable to the

9 Secretary of Agriculture;

10 (B) all draft conveyances and closing docu11 ments have been received and approved;

12 (C) a current title commitment verifying

13 compliance with applicable title standards has

14 been issued to the Secretary; and

15 (D) the title includes both the surface and

16 subsurface estates without reservation or excep17 tion (except as specifically provided in this Act),

18 including—

19 (i) minerals, mineral rights, and min20 eral interests (including severed oil and gas

21 surface rights), subject to and excepting

22 other outstanding or reserved oil and gas

23 rights;

24 (ii) timber, timber rights, and timber

25 interests (except those reserved subject to
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1 section 251.14 of title 36, Code of Federal

2 Regulations, by BSL and agreed to by the

3 Secretary);

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

5 ditch rights;

6 (iv) geothermal rights; and

7 (v) any other interest in the property.

8 (2) CONVEYANCE OF TITLE.—

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

10 does not meet Federal standards or is otherwise

11 determined to be unacceptable to the Secretary of

12 Agriculture, the Secretary shall advise BSL re13 garding corrective actions necessary to make an

14 affirmative determination under paragraph (1).

15 (B) TITLE TO SUBSURFACE ESTATE.—Title

16 to the subsurface estate shall be conveyed by BSL

17 to the Secretary in the same form and content as

18 that estate is received by BSL from Burlington

19 Resources Oil & Gas Company Inc. and Glacier

20 Park Company.

21 (f) TIMING OF IMPLEMENTATION.—

22 (1) LAND-FOR-LAND EXCHANGE.—The Secretary

23 shall accept the conveyance of land described in sub24 section (a) not later than 45 days after the Secretary
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1 has made an affirmative determination of quality of

2 title.

3 (2) LAND-FOR-TIMBER SALE RECEIPT EX4 CHANGE.—As provided in subsection (c) and the Op5 tion Agreement, the Secretary shall make timber re6 ceipts described in subsection (a)(3) available not

7 later than December 31 of the fifth full calendar year

8 that begins after the date of enactment of this Act.

9 (3) PURCHASE.—The Secretary shall complete

10 the purchase of BSL land under subsection (a)(4) not

11 later than 30 days after the date on which appro12 priated funds are made available and an affirmative

13 determination of quality of title is made with respect

14 to the BSL land.

15 SEC. 5. OTHER FACILITATED EXCHANGES.

16 (a) AUTHORIZED EXCHANGES.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter into

18 the following land exchanges if the landowners are

19 willing:

20 (A) Wapiti land exchange, as outlined in

21 the documents entitled ‘‘Non-Federal Lands in

22 Facilitated Exchanges’’ and ‘‘Federal Lands in

23 Facilitated Exchanges’’ and dated July 1998.

24 (B) Eightmile/West Pine land exchange as

25 outlined in the documents entitled ‘‘Non-Federal
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1 Lands in Facilitated Exchanges’’ and ‘‘Federal

2 Lands in Facilitated Exchanges’’ and dated July

3 1998.

4 (2) EQUAL VALUE.—Before entering into an ex5 change under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall de6 termine that the parcels of land to be exchanged are

7 of approximately equal value, based on an appraisal.

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

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

10 to pursue a land exchange with the owner of section

11 1 of the Taylor Fork land after completing a full pub12 lic process and an appraisal.

13 (2) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report to Con14 gress on the implementation of paragraph (1) not

15 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of

16 this Act.

17 SEC. 6. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

18 (a) MINOR CORRECTIONS.—

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

20 be subject to such minor corrections and supplemental

21 provisions as may be agreed to by the Secretary and

22 BSL.

23 (2) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall notify

24 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of

25 the Senate, the Committee on Resources of the House
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1 of Representatives, and each member of the Montana

2 congressional delegation of any changes made under

3 this subsection.

4 (3) BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The boundary of the

6 Gallatin National Forest is adjusted in the

7 Wineglass and North Bridger area, as described

8 on maps dated July 1998, upon completion of

9 the conveyances.

10 (B) NO LIMITATION.—Nothing in this sub11 section limits the authority of the Secretary to

12 adjust the boundary pursuant to section 11 of

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

14 the ‘‘Weeks Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 521).

15 (C) ALLOCATION OF LAND AND WATER CON16 SERVATION FUND MONEYS.—For the purposes of

17 section 7 of the Land and Water Conservation

18 Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–9), bound19 aries of the Gallatin National Forest shall be

20 considered to be the boundaries of the National

21 Forest as of January 1, 1965.

22 (b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Option Agreement—

23 (1) shall be on file and available for public in24 spection in the office of the Supervisor of the Gallatin

25 National Forest; and
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1 (2) shall be filed with the county clerk of each of

2 Gallatin County, Park County, Madison County,

3 Granite County, Broadwater County, Meagher Coun4 ty, Flathead County, and Missoula County, Montana.

5 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH OPTION AGREEMENT.—The

6 Secretary, the Secretary of the Interior, and BSL shall com7 ply with the terms and conditions of the Option Agreement

8 except to the extent that any provision of the Option Agree9 ment conflicts with this Act.

10 (d) CONVEYANCE OF TIMBER.—After completion of the

11 land-for-land exchange under section 4(a)(1), the Secretary

12 shall convey to BSL 1,000,000 board feet of timber from

13 roaded land in the Gallatin National Forest, which—

14 (1) shall be treated as reserved timber under sec15 tion 251.14 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations;

16 and

17 (2) shall not be considered as part of the ap18 praisal value of land exchanged under this Act.

19 (e) STATUS OF LAND.—All land conveyed to the

20 United States under this Act shall be added to and adminis21 tered as part of the Gallatin National Forest and Deerlodge

22 National Forest, as appropriate, in accordance with the Act

23 of March 1, 1911 (5 U.S.C. 515 et seq.), and other laws

24 (including regulations) pertaining to the National Forest

25 System.
28

S 1719 RS

1 (f) MANAGEMENT.—

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

3 after the date of completion of the land-for-land ex4 change under section 4(f)(1), the Secretary shall initi5 ate a public process to amend the Gallatin National

6 Forest Plan and the Deerlodge National Forest Plan

7 to integrate the acquired land into the plans.

8 (2) PROCESS TIME.—The amendment process

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

10 practicable, and in no event later than 540 days after

11 the date on which the amendment process is initiated.

12 (3) LIMITATION.—An amended management

13 plan shall not permit surface occupancy on the ac14 quired land for access to reserved or outstanding oil

15 and gas rights or for exploration or development of oil

16 and gas.

17 (4) INTERIM MANAGEMENT.—Pending completion

18 of the forest plan amendment process under para19 graph (1), the Secretary shall—

20 (A) manage the acquired land under the

21 standards and guidelines in the applicable land

22 and resource management plans for adjacent

23 land managed by the Forest Service; and

24 (B) maintain all existing public access to

25 the acquired land.
29

S 1719 RS

1 (g) RESTORATION.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall imple3 ment a restoration program including reforestation

4 and watershed enhancements to bring the acquired

5 land and surrounding national forest land into com6 pliance with Forest Service standards and guidelines.

7 (2) STATE AND LOCAL CONSERVATION CORPS.—

8 In implementing the restoration program, the Sec9 retary shall, when practicable, use partnerships with

10 State and local conservation corps, including the

11 Montana Conservation Corps, under the Public Lands

12 Corps Act of 1993 (16 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.).

13 (h) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture

14 shall ensure that sufficient funds are made available to the

15 Gallatin National Forest to carry out this Act.

16 (i) REVOCATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provi17 sion of law, any public orders withdrawing lands identified

18 in the Option Agreement from all forms of appropriation

19 under the public land laws are revoked upon conveyance

20 of the lands by the Secretary.

21 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as

23 are necessary to carry out this Act.
30

S 1719 RS

FEDERAL LANDS IN FACILITATED EXCHANGES

EIGHTMILE/WEST PINE (WILSON)

(Gallatin NF)

Parcel &

map # Legal description County Rangerdistrict Acres

T5S, R8E, Sec 6, Lots

1–7, S1⁄2NE1⁄4,

SE1⁄4NW1⁄4,

E1⁄2SW1⁄4, SE1⁄4.

Park ........... Livingston 643.62

Total ....................... ..................... ..................... 643.62

WAPITI (KELSEY)

(Gallatin NF)

Parcel &

map # Legal description County Rangerdistrict Acres

1 T9S, R4E, Sec 9,

SW1⁄4SW1⁄4.

Gallatin ...... Hebgen Lake 40

2 T9S, R4E, Sec 7, Lot 3

(portion S. of T. Fork

Rd.) Lot 4,

SW1⁄4SW1⁄4,

E1⁄2SE1⁄4SW1⁄4.

Gallatin ...... Hebgen Lake * 77

3 T9S, R3E, Sec 12,

SE1⁄4NE1⁄4NW1⁄4,

NW1⁄4SE1⁄4, S1⁄2SE1⁄4.

Gallatin ...... Hebgen Lake 130

Total .................... ..................... ..................... * 247

Total Federal

(NFS) lands in facilitated exchanges.

..................... ..................... * 891

* Acres approximate—Survey needed.

NON-FEDERAL LANDS IN FACILITATED

EXCHANGES

EIGHTMILE/WEST PINE (WILSON)

(Gallatin NF)

Parcel &

map # Legal description County Acres

T4S, R8E, Sec 7, all ...................... Park ................... 640.00

Total .................................... ............................. 640.00
31

S 1719 RS

WAPITI (KELSEY)

(Gallatin NF)

Parcel &

map # Legal description County Acres

T9S, R3E, Sec 25, S1⁄2 .................. Gallatin .............. 320.00

Total .................................... ............................. 320.00

Total non-Federal lands in

facilitated exchanges.

............................. * 960

Total BSL and other nonFederal lands.............................. * 55,097

* Approximate.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘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.’’.