II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2136

To provide for the exchange of certain land in the State of Washington.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 5, 1998

Mr. GORTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To provide for the exchange of certain land in the State

of Washington.

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 ‘‘Interstate 90 Land

5 Exchange Act of 1998’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) certain parcels of private land located in

9 central and southwest Washington are intermingled

10 with National Forest System land owned by the

11 United States and administered by the Secretary of
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1 Agriculture as parts of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie

2 National Forest, Wenatchee National Forest, and

3 Gifford Pinchot National Forest;

4 (2) the private land is owned by the Plum

5 Creek Timber Company, L.P. in an intermingled

6 checkerboard pattern, with the United States or

7 Plum Creek owning alternate square mile sections of

8 land or fractions of square mile sections;

9 (3) the checkerboard land ownership pattern in

10 the area has frustrated sound and efficient land

11 management on both private land and national for12 est land by complicating fish and wildlife habitat

13 management, watershed protection, recreation use,

14 road construction and timber harvest, boundary ad15 ministration, and protection and management of

16 threatened and endangered species and old growth

17 forest habitat;

18 (4) acquisition by the United States of certain

19 parcels of land that have been offered by Plum

20 Creek for addition to the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie Na21 tional Forest, Wenatchee National Forest, and Gif22 ford Pinchot National Forest would serve important

23 public objectives, including—

24 (A) enhancement of public access, aesthet25 ics, and recreation opportunities within or near
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1 areas of very heavy public recreational use, in2 cluding—

3 (i) the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area;

4 (ii) the Pacific Crest Trail;

5 (iii) Snoqualmie Pass;

6 (iv) Cle Elum Lake, Kachess Lake,

7 and Keechulus Lake; and

8 (v) other popular recreation areas

9 along the Interstate 90 corridor east of the

10 Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area;

11 (B) protection and enhancement of old

12 growth forests and habitat for threatened, en13 dangered, and sensitive species, including a net

14 gain of approximately 22,000 acres of critical

15 habitat for the northern spotted owl;

16 (C) consolidation of national forest hold17 ings for more efficient administration and to

18 meet a broad array of ecosystem protection and

19 other public land management goals, including

20 net public gains of approximately 173 miles of

21 stream ownership, 14 miles of the route of the

22 Pacific Crest Trail, 12,800 acres of unroaded

23 land, and 4,000 acres of riparian land; and

24 (D) a significant reduction in administra25 tive costs to the United States through—
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1 (i) consolidation of Federal land hold2 ings for more efficient land management

3 and planning;

4 (ii) elimination of approximately 300

5 miles of boundary identification and post6 ing;

7 (iii) reduced right-of-way, special use,

8 and other permit processing and issuance

9 for roads and other facilities on National

10 Forest System land; and

11 (iv) other administrative cost savings;

12 (5) Plum Creek has selected certain parcels of

13 National Forest System land that are logical for

14 consolidation into Plum Creek ownership via a land

15 exchange because the parcels—

16 (A) are intermingled with parcels owned by

17 Plum Creek; and

18 (B)(i) are generally located in less environ19 mentally sensitive areas than the Plum Creek

20 offered land; and

21 (ii) have lower public recreation and other

22 public values than the Plum Creek offered land;

23 (6) time is of the essence in consummating a

24 land exchange because delays may force Plum Creek

25 to road or log the offered land and thereby diminish
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1 the public values for which the offered land is to be

2 acquired; and

3 (7) it is in the public interest to complete the

4 land exchange at the earliest practicable date so that

5 the offered land can be acquired and preserved by

6 the United States for permanent public manage7 ment, use, and enjoyment.

8 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to further

9 the public interest by authorizing, directing, facilitating,

10 and expediting the consummation of the Interstate 90

11 land exchange so as to ensure that the offered land is ex12 peditiously acquired for permanent public use and enjoy13 ment.

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

15 In this Act:

16 (1) OFFERED LAND.—The term ‘‘offered land’’

17 means the land described in section 4(b) to be con18 veyed into the public ownership of the United States

19 under this Act.

20 (2) PLUM CREEK.—The term ‘‘Plum Creek’’

21 means the Plum Creek Timber Company, L.P., a

22 Delaware Limited Partnership, or its successors,

23 heirs, or assigns.

24 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

25 the Secretary of Agriculture.
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1 (4) SELECTED LAND.—The term ‘‘selected

2 land’’ means the land described in section 4(c) to be

3 conveyed into the private ownership of Plum Creek

4 under this Act.

5 SEC. 4. LAND EXCHANGE.

6 (a) CONDITION.—The exchange directed by this sec7 tion shall be consummated if, not later than 180 days

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, Plum Creek offers

9 to transfer to the United States the offered land.

10 (b) CONVEYANCE OF OFFERED LAND BY PLUM

11 CREEK.—In accordance with this Act, Plum Creek shall

12 convey to the United States by deed acceptable to the Sec13 retary all right, title, and interest of Plum Creek in and

14 to the following offered land:

15 (1) Certain land comprising approximately

16 6,460 acres and located within the exterior bound17 aries of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest,

18 Washington, as generally depicted on a map entitled

19 ‘‘Interstate 90 Land Exchange’’, dated April 1998.

20 (2) Certain land comprising approximately

21 53,530 acres and located within or adjacent to the

22 exterior boundaries of the Wenatchee National For23 est, Washington, as generally depicted on a map en24 titled ‘‘Interstate 90 Land Exchange’’, dated April

25 1998.
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1 (3) Certain land comprising approximately 400

2 acres and located within the exterior boundaries of

3 the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington, as

4 generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Interstate 90

5 Land Exchange’’, dated April 1998.

6 (c) CONVEYANCE OF SELECTED LAND BY THE

7 UNITED STATES.—On receipt of title to the offered land,

8 the Secretary shall simultaneously convey to Plum Creek

9 all right, title and interest of the United States, subject

10 to valid existing rights, in and to the following selected

11 land:

12 (1) Certain land administered, as of the date of

13 enactment of this Act, by the Secretary of Agri14 culture as part of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie Na15 tional Forest, Washington, and comprising approxi16 mately 12,305 acres, as generally depicted on a map

17 entitled ‘‘Interstate 90 Land Exchange’’, dated April

18 1998.

19 (2) Certain land administered, as of the date of

20 enactment of this Act, by the Secretary of Agri21 culture as part of the Wenatchee National Forest,

22 Washington, and comprising approximately 14,665

23 acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled

24 ‘‘Interstate 90 Land Exchange’’, dated April 1998.
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1 (3) Certain land administered, as of the date of

2 enactment of this Act, by the Secretary of Agri3 culture as part of the Gifford Pinchot National For4 est, Washington, and comprising approximately

5 13,520 acres, as generally depicted on a map enti6 tled ‘‘Interstate 90 Land Exchange’’, dated April

7 1998.

8 SEC. 5. EXCHANGE VALUATION, APPRAISALS, AND EQUALI9 ZATION.

10 (a) EQUAL VALUE EXCHANGE.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The values of the offered

12 land and selected land—

13 (A) shall be equal; or

14 (B) if the values are not equal, shall be

15 equalized in accordance with subsection (c).

16 (2) APPRAISALS.—The values of the offered

17 land and selected land shall be determined by ap18 praisals using nationally recognized appraisal stand19 ards, including, to the extent appropriate, the Uni20 form Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisi21 tions (1992), the Uniform Standards of Professional

22 Appraisal Practice, and section 206(d) of the Fed23 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43

24 U.S.C. 1716(d)).
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1 (3) APPROVAL BY THE SECRETARY.—The ap2 praisals, if not completed by the date of enactment

3 of this Act, shall be completed and submitted to the

4 Secretary for approval not later than 90 days after

5 the date of enactment of this Act.

6 (4) RESOLUTION OF DISAGREEMENT.—If the

7 Secretary and Plum Creek are unable to agree on

8 the appraised value of a parcel of land, the appraisal

9 or the appraisal issue in dispute shall be resolved in

10 accordance with section 206(d) of the Federal Land

11 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.

12 1716(d)).

13 (b) APPRAISAL ASSUMPTION.—

14 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

15 (A) many of the parcels of offered land

16 and selected land are located in areas that have

17 been or may be designated as critical habitat

18 for species determined to be threatened or en19 dangered under the Endangered Species Act of

20 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and

21 (B) such a designation can make tradi22 tional appraisals of land difficult absent specific

23 guidance from Congress due to present and fu24 ture uncertainties relating to the duration,

25 scope, and nature of restrictions that may be
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1 imposed on the offered land or selected land as

2 a result of such a designation with respect to

3 future timber harvest and other development

4 activities.

5 (2) APPRAISAL AT HIGHEST AND BEST USE

6 VALUE.—In order to ensure the equitable and uni7 form appraisal of both the offered and selected lands

8 directed for exchange by this Act, all appraisals

9 under subsection (a) shall determine the highest and

10 best use of the offered land and selected land in ac11 cordance with applicable provisions of the Washing12 ton State Forest Practices Act, including alternative

13 measures for protecting critical habitat under Wash14 ington Administrative Code 222–16–080–(6).

15 (c) APPRAISAL PERIOD.—After the final appraised

16 values of the offered land and selected land or any portion

17 of the land has been approved by the Secretary or other18 wise determined under section 206(d) of the Federal Land

19 Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1716(d)), the

20 value shall not be reappraised or updated before con21 summation of the land exchange under section 4, except

22 for any adjustments in value as may be required under

23 subsection (d).

24 (d) INTERIM TIMBER HARVEST.—The fair market

25 value of any timber harvested on the offered land or se-
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1 lected land (as determined by the appraisal required under

2 subsection (a)) shall be deducted from the final approved

3 appraised value of the land for purposes of value equali4 zation under subsection (a).

5 (e) EQUALIZATION IF SURPLUS OF OFFERED

6 LAND.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the final appraised value

8 of the offered land exceeds the final appraised value

9 of the selected land—

10 (A) the Secretary shall make a cash equali11 zation payment to Plum Creek subject to the 25

12 percent limitation under section 206(b) of the

13 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of

14 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(d)); or

15 (B) if the Secretary does not have suffi16 cient funds available to make the required cash

17 equalization payment, Plum Creek shall delete

18 offered land from the exchange in the order

19 stated in paragraph (2) until the values are ap20 proximately equal.

21 (2) ORDER OF DELETION.—Deletions under

22 paragraph (1) shall be made in the following order:

23 (A) Township ll North, Range ll

24 East, Section ll, Willamette Meridian.
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1 (B) Township ll North, Range ll

2 East, Section ll, Willamette Meridian.

3 (C) Township ll North, Range ll

4 East, Section ll, Willamette Meridian.

5 (D) Township ll North, Range ll

6 East, Section ll, Willamette Meridian.

7 (f) EQUALIZATION IF SURPLUS OF SELECTED

8 LAND.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the final appraised value

10 of the selected land exceeds the final appraised value

11 of the offered land—

12 (A) the Secretary shall delete selected land

13 from the exchange in the order stated in para14 graph (2) until the values are approximately

15 equal; or

16 (B) at the election of Plum Creek, Plum

17 Creek shall receive conveyance of the land that

18 the Secretary proposes to delete under subpara19 graph (A) and equalize the exchange values by

20 making a cash equalization payment to the

21 United States, subject to the 25 percent limita22 tion of section 206(b) under the Federal Land

23 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.

24 1716(d)).
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1 (2) ORDER OF DELETION.—Deletions under

2 paragraph (1) shall be made in the following order:

3 (A) Township ll North, Range ll

4 East, Section ll; Willamette Meridian.

5 (B) Township ll North, Range ll

6 East, Section ll; Willamette Meridian.

7 (C) Township ll North, Range ll

8 East, Section ll; Willamette Meridian.

9 (g) USE OF PROCEEDS BY THE SECRETARY.—The

10 amount of any cash equalization payment received by the

11 Secretary under this section shall be retained by the Sec12 retary and may be used by the Secretary to purchase land

13 from willing sellers in the State of Washington for addi14 tion to the National Forest System.

15 SEC. 6. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

16 (a) STATUS OF LAND AFTER EXCHANGE.—

17 (1) LAND ACQUIRED BY THE SECRETARY.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Land acquired by the

19 Secretary under this Act shall become part of

20 the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie Forest, Wenatchee

21 Forest, or Gifford Pinchot National Forests, as

22 determined by the Secretary.

23 (B) MODIFICATION OF BOUNDARIES.—If

24 any land acquired by the Secretary lies outside

25 the exterior boundaries of the national forests
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1 identified in subparagraph (A), the Secretary

2 shall modify the boundaries of the appropriate

3 forest to include the land.

4 (C) MANAGEMENT.—Land acquired by the

5 Secretary under this Act shall be managed in

6 accordance with the Act of March 1, 1911

7 (commonly known as the ‘‘Weeks Law’’), and

8 with the other laws (including regulations) ap9 plicable to the National Forest System.

10 (2) LAND ACQUIRED BY PLUM CREEK.—Land

11 acquired by Plum Creek under this Act shall become

12 private land for all purposes of law, unless the pat13 ent by which conveyance is made to Plum Creek con14 tains a specific reservation.

15 (b) ACCESS TO LAND ACQUIRED BY PLUM CREEK.—

16 (1) PARCELS TO WHICH EXISTING ACCESS IS

17 ADEQUATE.—

18 (A) FINDING.—Except with respect to par19 cels of land described in paragraph (2), Con20 gress finds that Plum Creek will have adequate

21 post-exchange access to the selected land over

22 existing primary, secondary, or other national

23 forest routes or over existing Plum Creek roads.

24 (B) ROAD CLOSING.—If the Secretary de25 termines to close any such existing national for-
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1 est road to general public use, the Secretary

2 shall, if requested by Plum Creek—

3 (i) keep the road open for use by

4 Plum Creek; or

5 (ii) if the road is closed, shall, before

6 the road is closed, provide Plum Creek

7 with an alternative access road that is ac8 ceptable to Plum Creek.

9 (2) PARCELS NEEDING ADDITIONAL ACCESS.—

10 (A) FINDING.—Congress finds that with

11 respect to the following parcels of selected land,

12 the Secretary should grant post-exchange road

13 access to Plum Creek through the following ad14 jacent or nearby identified parcels of National

15 Forest System land that will remain in Federal

16 ownership:

17 (i) SELECTED LAND SECTION.—

18 TllN, RllE, Sec. ll, Willamette

19 Meridian.

20 (ii) ADJACENT OR NEARBY NFS SEC21 TION.—TllN, RllE, Sec. ll, Wil22 lamette Meridian.

23 (B) EASEMENT.—Simultaneously with the

24 conveyance of the land sections described in

25 subparagraph (A)(i) to Plum Creek, the Sec-
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1 retary shall, without consideration, grant Plum

2 Creek a permanent road access easement and

3 preapproved road route through the adjacent or

4 nearby National Forest System land section or

5 sections described in subparagraph (A)(ii).

6 (C) EFFECT ON APPRAISALS.—For pur7 poses of the appraisals under section 5, the se8 lected land sections described in subparagraph

9 (A)(i) shall be appraised as having available,

10 but unbuilt, road access.

11 (D) CONSTRUCTION STANDARD.—Unless

12 the Secretary requests otherwise or Plum Creek

13 uses its adjacent lands for other than commer14 cial timber purposes, roads constructed by

15 Plum Creek on easements granted under this

16 subsection—

17 (i) shall be built to a minimum stand18 ard necessary to accommodate ingress and

19 egress for purposes of commercial timber

20 harvest on the adjacent Plum Creek lands;

21 and

22 (ii) shall be closed to public use.

23 (c) ACCESS TO LAND ACQUIRED BY UNITED

24 STATES.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Simultaneously with the

2 transfer of the offered land to the United States,

3 Plum Creek shall grant the United States, without

4 consideration, such permanent easements as may be

5 necessary to secure to the United States access for

6 reasonable public use and enjoyment of the offered

7 lands acquired by the United States.

8 (2) LOCATION.—Unless the Secretary and Plum

9 Creek agree otherwise, an easement under this sec10 tion shall be located to the extent practicable along

11 roads that are in existence as of the date of enact12 ment of this Act.

13 (d) TIMING.—It is the intent of Congress that the

14 land exchange under this Act be consummated not later

15 than 120 days after the date on which Plum Creek makes

16 the Secretary an offer to exchange under section 3(a), un17 less the Secretary and Plum Creek agree to extend the

18 consummation date.

19 (e) WITHDRAWAL OF SELECTED LAND.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Effective until the date de21 scribed in paragraph (2), Congress withdraws from

22 all forms of entry and appropriation under the pub23 lic land laws (including the mining laws) any parcel

24 of selected land—
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1 (A) with respect to which such a with2 drawal by the Secretary of the Interior has not

3 been made before the date of enactment of this

4 Act; or

5 (B) with respect to which such a with6 drawal that the Secretary of the Interior has

7 made expires before the date described in para8 graph (2).

9 (2) DATE DESCRIBED.—With respect to any

10 parcel of land described in paragraph (1), the date

11 described in this paragraph is the date on which—

12 (A) the parcel is deleted from the exchange

13 under section 4(d) or 5(b)(2); or

14 (B) the land exchange under this Act is

15 consummated.

Æ