S. 1629

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,

the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand

An Act

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

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Oregon Land Exchange Act

of 2000’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that—

(1) certain parcels of private land located in northeast

Oregon are intermingled with land owned by the United States

and administered—

(A) by the Secretary of the Interior as part of the

Central Oregon Resource Area in the Prineville Bureau

of Land Management District and the Baker Resource Area

in the Vale Bureau of Land Management District; and

(B) by the Secretary of Agriculture as part of the

Malheur National Forest, the Wallowa-Whitman National

Forest, and the Umatilla National Forest;

(2) the surface estate of the private land described in

paragraph (1) is intermingled with parcels of land that are

owned by the United States or contain valuable fisheries and

wildlife habitat desired by the United States;

(3) the consolidation of land ownerships will facilitate sound

and efficient management for both public and private lands;

(4) the improvement of management efficiency through the

land tenure adjustment program of the Department of the

Interior, which disposes of small isolated tracts having low

public resource values within larger blocks of contiguous parcels

of land, would serve important public objectives, including—

(A) the enhancement of public access, aesthetics, and

recreation opportunities within or adjacent to designated

wild and scenic river corridors;

(B) the protection and enhancement of habitat for

threatened, endangered, and sensitive species within unified landscapes under Federal management; and

(C) the consolidation of holdings of the Bureau of Land

Management and the Forest Service—

(i) to facilitate more efficient administration,

including a reduction in administrative costs to the

United States; and
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(ii) to reduce right-of-way, special use, and other

permit processing and issuance for roads and other

facilities on Federal land;

(5) time is of the essence in completing a land exchange

because further delays may force the identified landowners

to construct roads in, log, develop, or sell the private land

and thereby diminish the public values for which the private

land is to be acquired; and

(6) it is in the public interest to complete the land

exchanges at the earliest practicable date so that the land

acquired by the United States can be preserved for—

(A) protection of threatened and endangered species

habitat; and

(B) permanent public use and enjoyment.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

As used in this Act—

(1) the term ‘‘Clearwater’’ means Clearwater Land

Exchange—Oregon, an Oregon partnership that signed the

document entitled ‘‘Assembled Land Exchange Agreement

between the Bureau of Land Management and Clearwater Land

Exchange—Oregon for the Northeast Oregon Assembled Lands

Exchange, OR 51858’’, dated October 30, 1996, and the document entitled ‘‘Agreement to initiate’’ with the Forest Service,

dated June 30, 1995, or its successors or assigns;

(2) the term ‘‘identified landowners’’ means private landowners identified by Clearwater and willing to exchange private

land for Federal land in accordance with this Act;

(3) the term ‘‘map’’ means the map entitled ‘‘Northeast

Oregon Assembled Land Exchange/Triangle Land Exchange’’,

dated November 5, 1999; and

(4) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior

or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate.

SEC. 4. BLM—NORTHEAST OREGON ASSEMBLED LAND EXCHANGE.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of Clearwater, on behalf

of the appropriate identified landowners, the Secretary of the

Interior shall exchange the Federal lands described in subsection

(b) for the private lands described in subsection (c), as provided

in section 6.

(b) BLM LANDS TO BE CONVEYED.—The parcels of Federal

lands to be conveyed by the Secretary to the appropriate identified

landowners are as follows—

(1) the parcel comprising approximately 45,824 acres

located in Grant County, Oregon, within the Central Oregon

Resource Area in the Prineville District of the Bureau of Land

Management, as generally depicted on the map;

(2) the parcel comprising approximately 2,755 acres located

in Wheeler County, Oregon, within the Central Oregon

Resource Area in the Prineville District of the Bureau of Land

Management, as generally depicted on the map;

(3) the parcel comprising approximately 726 acres located

in Morrow County, Oregon, within the Baker Resource Area

of the Vale District of Land Management, as generally depicted

on the map; and

(4) the parcel comprising approximately 1,015 acres located

in Umatilla County, Oregon, within the Baker Resource Area
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in the Vale District of the Bureau of Land Management, as

generally depicted on the map.

(c) PRIVATE LANDS TO BE ACQUIRED.—The parcel of private

lands to be conveyed by the appropriate identified landowners to

the Secretary are as follows—

(1) the parcel comprising approximately 31,646 acres

located in Grant County, Oregon, within the Central Oregon

Resource Area in the Prineville District of the Bureau of Land

Management, as generally depicted on the map;

(2) the parcel comprising approximately 1,960 acres located

in Morrow County, Oregon, within the Baker Resource Area

in the Vale District of the Bureau of Land Management, as

generally depicted on the map; and

(3) the parcel comprising approximately 10,544 acres

located in Umatilla County, Oregon, within the Baker Resource

Area in the Vale District of the Bureau of Land Management,

as generally depicted on the map.

SEC. 5. FOREST SERVICE—TRIANGLE LAND EXCHANGE.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of Clearwater, on behalf

of the appropriate identified landowners, the Secretary of Agriculture shall exchange the Federal lands described in subsection

(b) for the private lands described in subsection (c), as provided

in section 6.

(b) FOREST SERVICE LANDS TO BE CONVEYED.—The National

Forest System lands to be conveyed by the Secretary to the appropriate identified landowners comprise approximately 3,901 acres

located in Grant and Harney Counties, Oregon, within the Malheur

National Forest, as generally depicted on the map.

(c) PRIVATE LANDS TO BE ACQUIRED.—The parcels of private

lands to be conveyed by the appropriate identified landowners to

the Secretary are as follows—

(1) the parcel comprising approximately 3,752 acres located

in Grant and Harney Counties, Oregon, within the Malheur

National Forest, as generally depicted on the map;

(2) the parcel comprising approximately 1,702 acres located

in Baker and Grant Counties, Oregon, within the WallowaWhitman National Forest, as generally depicted on the map;

and

(3) the parcel comprising approximately 246 acres located

in Grant and Wallowa Counties, Oregon, within or adjacent

to the Umatilla National Forest, as generally depicted on the

map.

SEC. 6. LAND EXCHANGE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in this Act,

the land exchanges implemented by this Act shall be conducted

in accordance with section 206 of the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1716) and other applicable laws.

(b) MULTIPLE TRANSACTIONS.—The Secretary of the Interior

and the Secretary of Agriculture may carry out a single or multiple

transactions to complete the land exchanges authorized in this

Act.

(c) COMPLETION OF EXCHANGES.—Any land exchange under

this Act shall be completed not later than 90 days after the Secretary and Clearwater reach an agreement on the final appraised

values of the lands to be exchanged.
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(d) APPRAISALS.—(1) The values of the lands to be exchanged

under this Act shall be determined by appraisals using nationally

recognized appraisal standards, including as appropriate—

(A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land

Acquisitions (1992); and

(B) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.

(2) To ensure the equitable and uniform appraisal of the lands

to be exchanged under this Act, all appraisals shall determine

the best use of the lands in accordance with the law of the State

of Oregon, including use for the protection of wild and scenic river

characteristics as provided in the Oregon Administrative Code.

(3)(A) all appraisals of lands to be exchanged under this Act

shall be completed, reviewed and submitted to the Secretary not

later than 90 days after the date Clearwater requests the exchange.

(B) Not less than 45 days before an exchange of lands under

this Act is completed, a comprehensive summary of each appraisal

for the specific lands to be exchanged shall be available for public

inspection in the appropriate Oregon offices of the Secretary, for

a 15-day period.

(4) After the Secretary approves the final appraised values

of any parcel of the lands to be conveyed under this Act, the

value of such parcel shall not be reappraised or updated before

the completion of the applicable land exchange, except for any

adjustments in value that may be required under subsection (e)(2).

(e) EQUAL VALUE LAND EXCHANGE.—(1)(A) The value of the

lands to be exchanged under this Act shall be equal, or if the

values are not equal, they shall be equalized in accordance with

section 206(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act

(43 U.S.C. 1716(b)) or this subsection.

(B) The Secretary shall retain any cash equalization payments

received under subparagraph (A) to use, without further appropriation, to purchase land from willing sellers in the State of Oregon

for addition to lands under the administration of the Bureau of

Land Management or the Forest Service, as appropriate.

(2) If the value of the private lands exceeds the value of the

Federal lands by 25 percent or more, Clearwater, after consultation

with the affected identified landowners and the Secretary, shall

withdraw a portion of the private lands necessary to equalize the

values of the lands to be exchanged.

(3) If any of the private lands to be acquired do not include

the rights to the subsurface estate, the Secretary may reserve

the subsurface estate in the Federal lands to be exchanged.

(f) LAND TITLES.—(1) Title to the private lands to be conveyed

to the Secretary shall be in a form acceptable to the Secretary.

(2) The Secretary shall convey all right, title, and interest

of the United States in the Federal lands to the appropriate identified landowners, except to the extent the Secretary reserves the

subsurface estate under subsection (c)(2).

(g) MANAGEMENT OF LANDS.—(1) Lands acquired by the Secretary of the Interior under this Act shall be administered in

accordance with sections 205(c) of the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1715(c)), and lands acquired by the

Secretary of Agriculture shall be administered in accordance with

sections 205(d) of such Act (43 U.S.C. 1715(d)).

(2) Lands acquired by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant

to section 4 which are within the North Fork of the John Day
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subwatershed shall be administered in accordance with section

205(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C.

1715(c)), but shall be managed primarily for the protection of native

fish and wildlife habitat, and for public recreation. The Secretary

may permit other authorized uses within the subwatershed if the

Secretary determines, through the appropriate land use planning

process, that such uses are consistent with, and do not diminish

these management purposes.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may

be necessary to carry out this Act.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.