I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2324 

To provide for the conveyance of small parcels of National Forest System 

land and small parcels of public lands administered by the Bureau 

of Land Management to private landowners, State, county, and local 

governments, or Indian tribes whose lands share a boundary with the 

National Forest System land or public lands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 14, 2015 

Mr. AMODEI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 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 committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for the conveyance of small parcels of National 

Forest System land and small parcels of public lands 

administered by the Bureau of Land Management to 

private landowners, State, county, and local governments, 

or Indian tribes whose lands share a boundary with 

the National Forest System land or public lands, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Lands Tracts 

3 Conveyance Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SPECIAL CONVEYANCE AUTHORITY REGARDING 

5 SMALL PARCELS OF NATIONAL FOREST SYS6 TEM LAND AND PUBLIC LANDS. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) ADJACENT LANDHOLDER.—The term ‘‘ad9 jacent landholder’’ means any holder of non-Federal 

10 land (including a holder that is a State, county, or 

11 local government or any agency thereof, or an In12 dian tribe) that shares one or more boundaries with 

13 an eligible Federal lands parcel and who makes a re14 quest to purchase an eligible Federal lands parcel. 

15 (2) DIRECTOR CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Direc16 tor concerned’’ means the Director of the Bureau of 

17 Land Management for a State. 

18 (3) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL LANDS PARCEL.—The 

19 term ‘‘eligible Federal lands parcel’’ means a parcel 

20 of National Forest System land or the public lands 

21 that— 

22 (A) shares one or more boundaries with 

23 non-Federal land; 

24 (B) is located within the boundaries of an 

25 incorporated or unincorporated area with a pop26 ulation of at least 500 residents; 


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1 (C) is not subject to existing rights held by 

2 a non-Federal entity; 

3 (D) does not contain an exceptional re4 source; and 

5 (E) is not habitat for an endangered spe6 cies or a threatened species determined under 

7 section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 

8 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533). 

9 (4) EXCEPTIONAL RESOURCE.—The term ‘‘ex10 ceptional resource’’ means a resource of scientific, 

11 historic, cultural, or recreational value on a parcel of 

12 public lands that the Director concerned or Regional 

13 Forester concerned determines, on the record and 

14 after an opportunity for a hearing— 

15 (A) is documented by a Federal, State, or 

16 local governmental authority; and 

17 (B) requires extraordinary conservation 

18 and protection to maintain the resource for the 

19 benefit of the public. 

20 (5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

21 has the meaning given that term in section 102 of 

22 the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 

23 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a). 

24 (6) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘National 

2 Forest System land’’ means land within the Na3 tional Forest System, as defined in section 

4 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 

5 Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

6 1609(a)), including the National Grasslands 

7 and land utilization projects designated as Na8 tional Grasslands administered pursuant to the 

9 Act of July 22, 1937 (7 U.S.C. 1010–1012). 

10 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term does not in11 clude any land managed by the Forest Service 

12 that is included in a national monument, an 

13 area of critical environmental concern, a na14 tional conservation area, a national riparian 

15 conservation area, a national recreation area, a 

16 national scenic area, a research natural area, a 

17 national outstanding natural area, a national 

18 natural landmark, a wilderness area, a wilder19 ness study area, the national wild and scenic 

20 rivers system, the national system of trails, or 

21 land held in trust by the United States for the 

22 benefit of any Indian tribe. 

23 (7) PUBLIC LANDS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘public 

25 lands’’ has the meaning given that term in secVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:52 May 16, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2324.IH H2324

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1 tion 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and 

2 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)). 

3 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term does not in4 clude any land managed by the Bureau of Land 

5 Management that is included in a national 

6 monument, an area of critical environmental 

7 concern, a national conservation area, a na8 tional riparian conservation area, a national 

9 recreation area, a national scenic area, a re10 search natural area, a national outstanding nat11 ural area, a national natural landmark, a wil12 derness area, a wilderness study area, the na13 tional wild and scenic rivers system, the na14 tional system of trails, or land held in trust by 

15 the United States for the benefit of any Indian 

16 tribe. 

17 (8) REGIONAL FORESTER CONCERNED.—The 

18 term ‘‘Regional Forester concerned’’ means the Re19 gional Forester with jurisdiction over the National 

20 Forest System land of a specific Forest Service Re21 gion. 

22 (b) SELECTION OF PARCELS FOR CONVEYANCE.— 

23 (1) TWO SELECTION METHODS.—The Director 

24 concerned or the Regional Forester concerned shall 


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1 select an eligible Federal lands parcel for conveyance 

2 under this section— 

3 (A) in response to a request submitted by 

4 an adjacent landholder; or 

5 (B) upon the recommendation of the Dis6 trict Office of the Bureau of Land Management 

7 or unit of the National Forest System exer8 cising administration over the parcel. 

9 (2) ADJACENT LANDHOLDER REQUEST.— 

10 (A) PROCESS REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

11 of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior 

12 each shall create a process by which an adja13 cent landholder may request to purchase an eli14 gible Federal lands parcel. 

15 (B) GUIDELINES.—To the maximum ex16 tent practicable, the process shall be consistent 

17 with other public purchase request processes 

18 used by the Forest Service and the Bureau of 

19 Land Management to convey Federal land 

20 under their respective statutory and regulatory 

21 authority. 

22 (C) PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY.—The process 

23 shall be open to the public and available on the 

24 internet. 


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1 (D) DEADLINE.—The process shall be 

2 available to the public within 90 days of the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (3) REVIEW OF ADJACENT LANDHOLDER RE5 QUEST.—When an adjacent landholder submits a re6 quest under paragraph (1)(A) for conveyance of a 

7 parcel of National Forest System land or public 

8 lands, the Director concerned or the Regional For9 ester concerned shall review the parcel and deter10 mine, within 30 days after receipt of the request, 

11 whether the parcel satisfies the definition of eligible 

12 Federal lands parcel for conveyance. 

13 (4) REJECTION OF ADJACENT LANDHOLDER

14 REQUEST.—If the Director concerned or the Re15 gional Forester concerned determines under para16 graph (2) that all or a portion of the parcel of Na17 tional Forest System land or public lands covered by 

18 an adjacent landholder request under paragraph 

19 (1)(A) fails to satisfy the definition of eligible Fed20 eral lands parcel, the Director concerned or the Re21 gional Forester concerned shall give the landowner— 

22 (A) a written explanation of the reasons 

23 for the rejection, which specifies— 

24 (i) which of the elements of the defini25 tion of eligible Federal lands parcel the 


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1 parcel fails to satisfy and how and why the 

2 parcel fails to satisfy that element; 

3 (ii) how the continued administration 

4 of the parcel by the Bureau of Land Man5 agement or the Forest Service would im6 pact the parcel and surrounding economy; 

7 and 

8 (iii) why the Federal Government 

9 needs to maintain ownership of the parcel 

10 and would be the best land ownership 

11 steward of the parcel; and 

12 (B) an opportunity to appeal the rejection 

13 under subsection (e). 

14 (c) PARCEL AND ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.— 

15 (1) ACREAGE.—An eligible Federal lands parcel 

16 conveyed under this section may not exceed 160 

17 acres unless a request for additional acreage is ap18 proved by the Director concerned or the Regional 

19 Forester concerned. 

20 (2) NUMBER OF PARCELS.—An adjacent land21 holder may only acquire one eligible Federal lands 

22 parcel under this section per year, except that, if the 

23 parcel is less than 160 acres in size, the adjacent 

24 landholder may acquire additional eligible Federal 

25 lands parcels during that year so long as the total 


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1 acreage acquired does not exceed 160 acres unless a 

2 request for additional acreage is approved by the Di3 rector concerned or the Regional Forester concerned. 

4 (d) CONVEYANCE PROCESS.— 

5 (1) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Director concerned 

6 or the Regional Forester concerned shall provide 

7 public notice of the availability of an eligible Federal 

8 lands parcel, even in cases in which the parcel 

9 shares a boundary with only a single parcel of non10 Federal land or with multiple parcels owned by the 

11 same adjacent landholder. The notice shall state that 

12 the parcel satisfies the definition of eligible Federal 

13 lands parcel for conveyance. 

14 (2) SINGLE ADJACENT LANDHOLDER.—If the 

15 eligible Federal lands parcel shares a boundary with 

16 only a single parcel of non-Federal land or with mul17 tiple parcels owned by the same adjacent landholder, 

18 the Director concerned or the Regional Forester con19 cerned shall carry out a negotiated sale of the eligi20 ble Federal lands parcel with the adjacent land21 holder. 

22 (3) MULTIPLE ADJACENT LANDHOLDERS.—If 

23 multiple parcels of non-Federal land, owned by dif24 ferent adjacent landholders, share a boundary with 

25 an eligible public lands parcel, the sale of the eligible 


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1 public lands parcel under this section shall be con2 ducted using competitive bidding procedures estab3 lished under section 203(f) of the Federal Land Pol4 icy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

5 1713(f)). 

6 (4) REJECTION OF OFFERS.—The Director con7 cerned or the Regional Forester concerned may re8 ject any offer made under this subsection that does 

9 not offer the minimum consideration required by 

10 subsection (f). The adjacent landholder shall be 

11 given an opportunity to appeal the rejection under 

12 subsection (e). 

13 (5) COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL PLANNING AND

14 ZONING.—As a condition of the conveyance of an eli15 gible public lands parcel under this section, the Di16 rector concerned or the Regional Forester concerned 

17 shall require the purchaser of the parcel to agree to 

18 comply with all local land use ordinances and any 

19 master zoning plan applicable to the parcel or the 

20 adjacent non-Federal land of the purchaser. 

21 (6) FORM OF CONVEYANCE.—When an eligible 

22 Federal lands parcel is to be sold under this section, 

23 the Director concerned or the Regional Forester con24 cerned shall convey, by quitclaim deed, all right, 


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1 title, and interest, including the mineral estate, of 

2 the United States in and to the parcel. 

3 (e) APPEALS PROCESS.— 

4 (1) AVAILABILITY OF APPEAL.—If the Director 

5 concerned or the Regional Forester concerned rejects 

6 an adjacent landholder request under subsection 

7 (b)(1)(A) for selection of a parcel of National Forest 

8 System land or public lands for conveyance under 

9 this section or rejects an adjacent landholder offer 

10 for purchase of an eligible Federal lands parcel 

11 under subsection (d), the Director concerned or the 

12 Regional Forester concerned shall provide an ap13 peals process for reconsideration of the rejection 

14 using the expedited Forest Service appeals process 

15 available under section 322(d) of Public Law 102– 

16 381 (16 U.S.C. 1612 note). 

17 (2) ADMINISTERING OFFICIAL.—For purposes 

18 of applying section 322(d) of Public Law 102–381 

19 (16 U.S.C. 1612 note), references to the Chief of the 

20 Forest Service or the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

21 be deemed to mean the Director concerned or the 

22 Regional Forester concerned. 

23 (f) CONSIDERATION.— 

24 (1) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—As consideration for 

25 the sale of an eligible Federal lands parcel under 


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1 this section, the Director concerned or the Regional 

2 Forester concerned shall require a cash payment in 

3 an amount that is equal to not less than the fair 

4 market value of the parcel, including the mineral es5 tate, being conveyed by the Director concerned or 

6 the Regional Forester concerned. 

7 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The fair market value 

8 of an eligible Federal lands parcel shall be estab9 lished by an appraisal submitted by the adjacent 

10 landholder seeking to purchase the parcel, unless the 

11 Director concerned or the Regional Forester con12 cerned rejects such appraisal within 45 days after 

13 submission. In the case of the rejection of the ap14 praisal, the Director concerned or the Regional For15 ester concerned shall cause another appraisal to be 

16 conducted, within 30 days, in accordance with the 

17 regulations regarding appraisals issued under section 

18 206(f) of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

19 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(f)). 

20 (g) TREATMENT OF PROCEEDS.— 

21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUND.—The Secretary 

22 of the Treasury shall establish in the Treasury of 

23 the United States a special fund to provide for the 

24 collection and distribution of funds under this sub25 section. 


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1 (2) COLLECTION.—Funds collected from the 

2 conveyance of an eligible Federal lands parcel under 

3 this section shall be deposited into the Treasury 

4 fund created under paragraph (1). 

5 (3) DISTRIBUTION.—Funds collected under this 

6 subsection shall be distributed annually to those 

7 States in which the Federal Government owns more 

8 than 33 percent of the land area of that State ac9 cording to the calculation provided in paragraph (4). 

10 (4) CALCULATION OF DISTRIBUTION.—From 

11 amounts collected and deposited under this section— 

12 (A) 50 percent of the amount collected 

13 from a conveyance shall be distributed to the 

14 State in which the conveyance took place; and 

15 (B) the remaining 50 percent shall be dis16 tributed equally between the remaining States 

17 identified under paragraph (3). 

18 (5) LIMITATION OF USE.—As a condition of re19 ceipt of funds under this subsection, a State receiv20 ing such funds shall agree to use the funds only for 

21 the following purposes: 

22 (A) PURCHASE.—To purchase additional 

23 eligible Federal lands parcels, that are con24 sistent with land use management under the 


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1 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

2 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701). 

3 (B) COMPLIANCE.—To comply with a Fed4 eral requirement under— 

5 (i) Endangered Species Act of 1973 

6 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

7 (ii) Federal Water Pollution Control 

8 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); or 

9 (iii) National Environmental Policy 

10 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

11 (h) PAYMENT OF COSTS OF CONVEYANCE.— 

12 (1) PAYMENT OF COSTS REQUIRED.—The Di13 rector concerned or the Regional Forester concerned 

14 shall require the purchaser to cover the costs to be 

15 incurred, or to reimburse the Director concerned or 

16 the Regional Forester concerned for costs incurred, 

17 to carry out the conveyance, including survey and 

18 appraisal costs, costs for environmental documenta19 tion, and any other administrative costs related to 

20 the conveyance. 

21 (2) REFUND OF EXCESS.—If amounts are col22 lected from the purchaser in advance of the Director 

23 concerned or the Regional Forester concerned incur24 ring the actual costs, and the amount collected ex25 ceeds the costs actually incurred by the Director 


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1 concerned or the Regional Forester concerned to 

2 carry out the conveyance, the Director concerned or 

3 the Regional Forester concerned shall refund the ex4 cess amount to the purchaser. 

5 (3) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS RECEIVED.— 

6 Amounts received as reimbursement under para7 graph (1) shall be credited to the fund or account 

8 that was used to cover those costs in carrying out 

9 the conveyance. Amounts so credited shall be merged 

10 with amounts in such fund or account, and shall be 

11 available for the same purposes, and subject to the 

12 same conditions and limitations, as amounts in such 

13 fund or account. 

14 (i) TIME FOR CONVEYANCE.—It is the intent of the 

15 Congress that the conveyance of an eligible Federal lands 

16 parcel under this section, from selection of the parcel for 

17 conveyance through completion of the sale, should take no 

18 more than 18 months. 

19 (j) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—Because the scope of 

20 a conveyance is limited and excluded from any exceptional 

21 resource, a conveyance of an eligible Federal lands parcel 

22 under this section is categorically excluded from the re23 quirement to prepare an environmental assessment or an 

24 environmental impact statement under the National Envi25 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 


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1 (k) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—The conveyance au2 thority provided by this section is in addition to the sale 

3 authority provided by section 203 of the Federal Land 

4 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1713) 

5 or any other provision of law. 

Æ 


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