II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1913

To require the Secretary of the Interior to sell leaseholds at the Canyon

Ferry Reservoir in the State of Montana and to establish a trust and

fund for the conservation of fish and wildlife and enhancement of public

hunting and fishing opportunities in the State.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 2, 1998

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

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public

Works

A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Interior to sell leaseholds

at the Canyon Ferry Reservoir in the State of Montana

and to establish a trust and fund for the conservation

of fish and wildlife and enhancement of public hunting

and fishing opportunities in the State.

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 ‘‘Montana Fish and

5 Wildlife Conservation Act of 1998’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) it is in the interest of the United States for

2 the Secretary of the Interior to sell leaseholds at

3 Canyon Ferry Reservoir in the State of Montana for

4 fair market value if the proceeds from the sale are

5 used—

6 (A) to establish a trust to provide a perma7 nent source of funding to acquire access or

8 other property interests from willing sellers to

9 conserve fish and wildlife and to enhance public

10 hunting and fishing opportunities at the Res11 ervoir and along the Missouri River;

12 (B) to establish a fund to be used to ac13 quire access or other property interests from

14 willing sellers to increase public access to Fed15 eral land in the State of Montana and to en16 hance hunting and fishing opportunities; and

17 (C) to reduce the Pick-Sloan project debt

18 for the Canyon Ferry Unit;

19 (2) existing trusts in the State of Montana, in20 cluding the Rock Creek Trust and the Montana

21 Power Company Missouri-Madison Trust, have pro22 vided substantial public benefits by conserving fish

23 and wildlife and by enhancing public hunting and

24 fishing opportunities in the State of Montana;
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1 (3) many Federal lands in the State of Mon2 tana do not have suitable public access, and estab3 lishing a fund to acquire easements to those lands

4 from willing sellers would enhance public hunting

5 and fishing opportunities in the State of Montana;

6 (4) the sale of the leaseholds at the Reservoir

7 will reduce Federal payments in lieu of taxes and as8 sociated management expenditures in connection

9 with the ownership by the Federal Government of

10 the leaseholds while increasing local tax revenues

11 from the new owners of the leased lots; and

12 (5) the sale of the leaseholds at the Reservoir

13 will reduce expensive and contentious disputes be14 tween the Federal Government and leaseholders,

15 while ensuring that the Federal Government receives

16 full and fair value for the acquisition of the prop17 erty.

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

19 In this Act:

20 (1) CFRA.—The term ‘‘CFRA’’ means the

21 Canyon Ferry Recreation Association, Incorporated,

22 a Montana corporation.

23 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Mon24 tana Hunter and Fisherman Access Fund estab25 lished under section 6(a).
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1 (3) LESSEE.—The term ‘‘lessee’’ means the

2 holder of a leasehold described in section 4(b) as of

3 the date of enactment of this Act, and the holder’s

4 heirs, executors, and assigns of the holder’s lease5 hold interest.

6 (4) PURCHASER.—The term ‘‘Purchaser’’

7 means the person or entity that purchases the 265

8 leaseholds under section 4.

9 (5) RESERVOIR.—The term ‘‘Reservoir’’ means

10 the Canyon Ferry Reservoir in the State of Mon11 tana.

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

13 the Secretary of the Interior.

14 (7) TRUST.—The term ‘‘Trust’’ means the Can15 yon Ferry-Missouri River Trust established under

16 section 5(a).

17 SEC. 4. SALE OF LEASEHOLDS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c) and not19 withstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary

20 shall sell at fair market value—

21 (1) all right, title, and interest of the United

22 States in and to all (but not fewer than all) of the

23 leaseholds described in subsection (b), subject to

24 valid existing rights; and

25 (2) easements for—
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1 (A) vehicular access to each leasehold;

2 (B) access to and the use of 1 dock per

3 leasehold; and

4 (C) access to and the use of all boathouses,

5 ramps, retaining walls, and other improvements

6 for which access is provided in the leases as of

7 the date of this Act.

8 (b) DESCRIPTION OF LEASEHOLDS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The leaseholds to be con10 veyed are—

11 (A) the 265 cabin sites of the Bureau of

12 Reclamation located along the northern portion

13 of the Reservoir in portions of sections 2, 11,

14 12, 13, 15, 22, 23, and 26, Township 10 North,

15 Range 1 West; plus

16 (B) any small parcels contiguous to the

17 leaseholds (not including shoreline property or

18 property needed to provide public access to the

19 shoreline of the Reservoir) that the Secretary

20 determines should be conveyed in order to elimi21 nate inholdings and facilitate administration of

22 surrounding land remaining in Federal owner23 ship.
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1 (2) ACREAGE; LEGAL DESCRIPTION.—The acre2 age and legal description of each property shall be

3 agreed on by the Secretary and the Purchaser.

4 (c) PURCHASE PROCESS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—

6 (A) solicit sealed bids for all of the lease7 holds; and

8 (B) subject to paragraph (2), sell the

9 leaseholds to the bidder that submits the high10 est bid above the minimum bid determined

11 under paragraph (2).

12 (2) MINIMUM BID.—Before accepting bids, the

13 Secretary, in consultation with interested bidders,

14 shall establish a minimum bid based on an appraisal

15 of the fair market value of the leaseholds, exclusive

16 of the value of private improvements made by the

17 leaseholders before the date of the conveyance, by

18 means of an appraisal conducted in accordance with

19 the appraisal procedures used under Federal law, in20 cluding, to the extent practicable, the procedures

21 specified in sections 2201.3 through 2201.3–5 of

22 title 43, Code of Federal Regulations.

23 (3) RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL.—If the highest

24 bidder is other CFRA, CFRA shall have the right to
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1 match the highest bid and purchase the leaseholds

2 at a price equal to the amount of that bid.

3 (d) CONDITIONS.—

4 (1) CONSIDERATION.—As consideration for the

5 conveyance under subsection (a), the Purchaser

6 shall—

7 (A) contribute to the Trust the amount

8 that is equal to 45 percent of the purchase

9 price of the leaseholds;

10 (B) contribute to the Fund the amount

11 that is equal to 45 percent of the purchase

12 price of the leaseholds; and

13 (C) pay the Secretary for deposit in the

14 Treasury of the United States an amount that

15 is equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of

16 the leaseholds.

17 (2) NO CHARITABLE DEDUCTION.—The Pur18 chaser, any owner, member, or other interest holder

19 in the Purchaser, and any leaseholder shall not be

20 entitled to a charitable deduction under the Internal

21 Revenue Code of 1986 by reason of the making of

22 the contribution under subparagraph (A) or (B) of

23 paragraph (1).

24 (3) OPTION TO PURCHASE.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Purchaser shall

2 give each leaseholder of record of a leasehold

3 conveyed under this section an option to pur4 chase the leasehold at fair market value.

5 (B) NONPURCHASING LESSEES.—

6 (i) RIGHT TO CONTINUE LEASE.—A

7 lessee that is unable or unwilling to pur8 chase a property shall be permitted to con9 tinue to lease the property for fair market

10 value rent under the same terms and con11 ditions as the existing leases, including the

12 right to renew the term of the existing

13 lease for 2 consecutive 5-year terms.

14 (ii) COMPENSATION FOR IMPROVE15 MENTS.—If a lessee declines to purchase a

16 leasehold, the Purchaser shall compensate

17 the lessee for the full market value of the

18 improvements made to the leasehold.

19 (4) HISTORICAL USE.—The Purchaser shall

20 honor the existing property descriptions and histori21 cal use restrictions for the leaseholds, as determined

22 by the Bureau of Reclamation.

23 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Any administrative

24 cost incurred by the Secretary incident to the conveyance
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1 under subsection (a) shall be reimbursed by the Pur2 chaser.

3 SEC. 5. CANYON FERRY-MISSOURI RIVER TRUST.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall encour5 age establishment of a nonprofit charitable permanent

6 perpetual trust, similar in structure and purpose to the

7 existing trusts referred to in section 1(2), to be known

8 as the ‘‘Canyon Ferry-Missouri River Trust’’, to provide

9 a permanent source of funding to acquire land and inter10 ests in land from willing sellers at fair market value to

11 conserve fish and wildlife, enhance public hunting and

12 fishing opportunities, and improve public access at the

13 Reservoir and along the Missouri River and its tributaries

14 from the confluence of the Madison River, Gallatin River,

15 and Jefferson River downstream to the Reservoir.

16 (b) BOARD OF TRUSTEES.—

17 (1) MEMBERSHIP.—The trust referred to in

18 subsection (a) shall have a Board of Trustees con19 sisting of 1 representative of each of—

20 (A) local agricultural landowners;

21 (B) a local hunting organization;

22 (C) a statewide hunting organization;

23 (D) a fisheries conservation organization;

24 and
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1 (E) a nonprofit land trust or environ2 mental organization.

3 (2) CONSULTATION.—In managing the Trust,

4 the Board of Directors shall consult with representa5 tives of—

6 (A) the Bureau of Reclamation;

7 (B) the Forest Service;

8 (C) the Bureau of Land Management;

9 (D) the United States Fish and Wildlife

10 Service;

11 (E) the Montana Department of Fish,

12 Wildlife, and Parks;

13 (F) the Montana Science Institute at Can14 yon Ferry, Montana; and

15 (G) local governmental bodies (including

16 the Lewis and Clark and Broadwater County

17 Commissioners).

18 (c) USE.—

19 (1) PRINCIPAL.—The principal amount of the

20 Trust shall be inviolate.

21 (2) EARNINGS.—Earnings on amounts in the

22 Trust shall be used to carry out subsection (a) and

23 to administer the Trust.
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1 (d) MANAGEMENT.—Land and interests in land ac2 quired under this section shall be managed for the pur3 poses described in subsection (a).

4 SEC. 6. MONTANA HUNTER AND FISHERMAN ACCESS FUND.

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

6 Treasury of the United States an interest-bearing account,

7 to be known as the ‘‘Montana Hunter and Fisherman Ac8 cess Fund’’, for the purpose of acquiring land and inter9 ests in land in the State of Montana from willing sellers

10 at fair market value to—

11 (1) improve public access to Federal land in the

12 State of Montana for hunting or fishing; and

13 (2) enhance public hunting and fishing opportu14 nities in the State of Montana through the conserva15 tion of fish and wildlife.

16 (b) USE.—

17 (1) PRINCIPAL.—The principal amount of the

18 Fund shall be inviolate.

19 (2) EARNINGS.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Earnings on amounts

21 in the Fund shall be used to carry out sub22 section (a).

23 (B) ADMINISTRATION.—The earnings shall

24 be used at the joint direction of—

25 (i) the Chief of the Forest Service;
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1 (ii) the Director of the Bureau of

2 Land Management; and

3 (iii) the Director of the United States

4 Fish and Wildlife Service.

5 (c) MANAGEMENT.—Land and interests in land ac6 quired under this section shall be managed for the pur7 poses described in subsection (a).

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