I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 714 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease certain lands in Virgin 

Islands National Park, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 27, 2009 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease certain 

lands in Virgin Islands National Park, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. CANEEL BAY LEASE AUTHORIZATION. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the Virgin 

6 Islands National Park. 

7 (2) RESORT.—The term ‘‘resort’’ means the 

8 Caneel Bay resort on the island of St. John in the 

9 Park. 


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1 (3) RETAINED USE ESTATE.—The term ‘‘re2 tained use estate’’ means the retained use estate for 

3 the Caneel Bay property on the island of St. John 

4 entered into between the Jackson Hole Preserve and 

5 the United States on September 30, 1983. 

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

7 the Secretary of the Interior. 

8 (b) LEASE AUTHORIZATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines 

10 that the long-term benefit to the Park would be 

11 greater by entering into a lease with the owner of 

12 the retained use estate than by authorizing a conces13 sion contract upon the termination of the retained 

14 use estate, the Secretary may enter into a lease for 

15 the operation and management of the resort. 

16 (2) ACQUISITIONS.—The Secretary may— 

17 (A) acquire associated property from the 

18 owner of the retained use estate; and 

19 (B) on the acquisition of property under 

20 subparagraph (A), administer the property as 

21 part of the Park. 

22 (3) AUTHORITY.—Except as otherwise provided 

23 by this section, a lease shall be in accordance with 

24 subsection (k) of section 3 of Public Law 91–383 


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1 (16 U.S.C. 1a–2(k)), notwithstanding paragraph (2) 

2 of that subsection. 

3 (4) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A lease author4 ized under this section shall— 

5 (A) be for the minimum number of years 

6 practicable, taking into consideration the need 

7 for the lessee to secure financing for necessary 

8 capital improvements to the resort, but in no 

9 event shall the term of the lease exceed 40 

10 years; 

11 (B) prohibit any transfer, assignment, or 

12 sale of the lease or otherwise convey or pledge 

13 any interest in the lease with prior written noti14 fication to, and approval by the Secretary; 

15 (C) ensure that the general character of 

16 the resort property remains unchanged, includ17 ing a prohibition against— 

18 (i) any increase in the overall size of 

19 the resort; or 

20 (ii) any increase in the number of 

21 guest accommodations available at the re22 sort; 

23 (D) prohibit the sale of partial ownership 

24 shares or timeshares in the resort; and 


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1 (E) include any other provisions deter2 mined by the Secretary to be necessary to pro3 tect the Park and the public interest. 

4 (5) RENTAL AMOUNTS.—In determining the 

5 fair market value rental of the lease required under 

6 section 3(k)(4) of Public Law 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 

7 1a–2(k)(4)), the Secretary shall take into consider8 ation— 

9 (A) the value of any associated property 

10 conveyed to the United States; and 

11 (B) the value, if any, of the relinquished 

12 term of the retained use estate. 

13 (6) USE OF PROCEEDS.—Rental amounts paid 

14 to the United States under a lease shall be available 

15 to the Secretary, without further appropriation, for 

16 visitor services and resource protection within the 

17 Park. 

18 (7) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The Sec19 retary shall submit a proposed lease under this sec20 tion to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re21 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 

22 Resources of the House of Representatives at least 

23 60 days before the effective date of the lease. 

24 (8) RENEWAL.—A lease entered into under this 

25 section may not be extended or renewed. 


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1 (9) TERMINATION.—Upon the termination of a 

2 lease entered into under this section, if the Secretary 

3 determines the continuation of commercial services 

4 at the resort to be appropriate, the services shall be 

5 provided in accordance with the National Park Serv6 ice Concessions Management Improvement Act of 

7 1998 (16 U.S.C. 5951 et seq.). 

8 (c) RETAINED USE ESTATE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of the lease, 

10 the owner of the retained use estate shall terminate, 

11 extinguish, and relinquish to the Secretary all rights 

12 under the retained use estate and shall transfer, 

13 without consideration, ownership of improvements 

14 on the retained use estate to the National Park 

15 Service. 

16 (2) APPRAISAL.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall re18 quire an appraisal by an independent, qualified 

19 appraiser that is agreed to by the Secretary and 

20 the owner of the retained use estate to deter21 mine the value, if any, of the relinquished term 

22 of the retained use estate. 

23 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—An appraisal under 

24 paragraph (1) shall be conducted in accordance 

25 with— 


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1 (i) the Uniform Appraisal Standards 

2 for Federal Land Acquisitions; and 

3 (ii) the Uniform Standards of Profes4 sional Appraisal Practice. 

Æ 


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