106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2102

AN ACT

To provide to the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe a permanent

land base within its aboriginal homeland, 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. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Timbisha Shoshone

5 Homeland Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Since time immemorial, the Timbisha Sho4 shone Tribe has lived in portions of California and

5 Nevada. The Tribe’s ancestral homeland includes the

6 area that now comprises Death Valley National Park

7 and other areas of California and Nevada now ad8 ministered by the Bureau of Land Management.

9 (2) Since 1936, the Tribe has lived and gov10 erned the affairs of the Tribe on approximately 40

11 acres of land near Furnace Creek in the Park.

12 (3) The Tribe achieved Federal recognition in

13 1983 but does not have a land base within the

14 Tribe’s ancestral homeland.

15 (4) Since the Tribe commenced use and occu16 pancy of the Furnace Creek area, the Tribe’s mem17 bership has grown. Tribal members have a desire

18 and need for housing, government and administra19 tive facilities, cultural facilities, and sustainable eco20 nomic development to provide decent, safe, and

21 healthy conditions for themselves and their families.

22 (5) The interests of both the Tribe and the Na23 tional Park Service would be enhanced by recog24 nizing their coexistence on the same land and by es25 tablishing partnerships for compatible land uses and
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1 for the interpretation of the Tribe’s history and cul2 ture for visitors to the Park.

3 (6) The interests of both the Tribe and the

4 United States would be enhanced by the establish5 ment of a land base for the Tribe and by further de6 lineation of the rights and obligations of each with

7 respect to the Furnace Creek area and to the Park

8 as a whole.

9 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

10 Consistent with the recommendations of the report

11 required by section 705(b) of the California Desert Protec12 tion Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–433; 108 Stat. 4498),

13 the purposes of this Act are—

14 (1) to provide in trust to the Tribe land on

15 which the Tribe can live permanently and govern the

16 Tribe’s affairs in a modern community within the

17 ancestral homeland of the Tribe outside and within

18 the Park;

19 (2) to formally recognize the contributions by

20 the Tribe to the history, culture, and ecology of the

21 Park and surrounding area;

22 (3) to ensure that the resources within the Park

23 are protected and enhanced by—

24 (A) cooperative activities within the Tribe’s

25 ancestral homeland; and
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1 (B) partnerships between the Tribe and

2 the National Park Service and partnerships in3 volving the Bureau of Land Management;

4 (4) to ensure that such activities are not in

5 derogation of the purposes and values for which the

6 Park was established;

7 (5) to provide opportunities for a richer visitor

8 experience at the Park through direct interactions

9 between visitors and the Tribe including guided

10 tours, interpretation, and the establishment of a

11 tribal museum and cultural center;

12 (6) to provide appropriate opportunities for eco13 nomically viable and ecologically sustainable visitor14 related development, by the Tribe within the Park,

15 that is not in derogation of the purposes and values

16 for which the Park was established; and

17 (7) to provide trust lands for the Tribe in 4

18 separate parcels of land that is now managed by the

19 Bureau of Land Management and authorize the pur20 chase of 2 parcels now held in private ownership to

21 be taken into trust for the Tribe.

22 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

23 In this Act:
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1 (1) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means Death

2 Valley National Park, including any additions to

3 that Park.

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

5 the Secretary of the Interior or the designee of the

6 Secretary.

7 (3) TRIBAL.—The term ‘‘tribal’’ means of or

8 pertaining to the Tribe.

9 (4) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the

10 Timbisha Shoshone Tribe, a tribe of American Indi11 ans recognized by the United States pursuant to

12 part 83 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (or

13 any corresponding similar regulation or ruling).

14 (5) TRUST LANDS.—The term ‘‘trust lands’’

15 means those lands taken into trust pursuant to this

16 Act.

17 SEC. 5. TRIBAL RIGHTS AND AUTHORITY ON THE TIMBISHA

18 SHOSHONE HOMELAND.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights

20 (existing on the date of enactment of this Act), all right,

21 title, and interest of the United States in and to the lands,

22 including improvements and appurtenances, described in

23 subsection (b) are declared to be held in trust by the

24 United States for the benefit of the Tribe. All maps re25 ferred to in subsection (b) shall be on file and available
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1 for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Na2 tional Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

3 (b) PARK LANDS AND BUREAU OF LAND MANAGE4 MENT LANDS DESCRIBED.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The following lands and

6 water shall be held in trust for the Tribe pursuant

7 to subsection (a):

8 (A) Furnace Creek, Death Valley National

9 Park, California, an area of 313.99 acres for

10 community development, residential develop11 ment, historic restoration, and visitor-related

12 economic development, depicted as Tract 37 on

13 the map of Township 27 North, Range 1 East,

14 of the San Bernardino Meridian, California,

15 numbered Map #1 and dated December 2,

16 1999, together with 92 acre feet per annum of

17 surface and ground water for the purposes as18 sociated with the transfer of such lands. This

19 area shall include a 25-acre, nondevelopment

20 zone at the north end of the area and an Adobe

21 Restoration zone containing several historic

22 adobe homes, which shall be managed by the

23 Tribe as a tribal historic district.

24 (B) Death Valley Junction, California, an

25 area of approximately 1,000 acres, as generally
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1 depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Death Valley

2 Junction, California’’, numbered Map #2 and

3 dated April 12, 2000, together with 15.1 acre

4 feet per annum of ground water for the pur5 poses associated with the transfer of such

6 lands.

7 (C)(i) Centennial, California, an area of

8 approximately 640 acres, as generally depicted

9 on the map entitled ‘‘Centennial, California’’,

10 numbered Map #3 and dated April 12, 2000,

11 together with an amount of ground water not to

12 exceed 10 acre feet per annum for the purposes

13 associated with the transfer of such lands.

14 (ii) If the Secretary determines that there

15 is insufficient ground water available on the

16 lands described in clause (i) to satisfy the

17 Tribe’s right to ground water to fulfill the pur18 poses associated with the transfer of such

19 lands, then the Tribe and the Secretary shall,

20 within 2 years of such determination, identify

21 approximately 640 acres of land that are ad22 ministered by the Bureau of Land Management

23 in that portion of Inyo County, California, to

24 the north and east of the China Lake Naval

25 Weapons Center, to be a mutually agreed upon
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1 substitute for the lands described in clause (i).

2 If the Secretary determines that sufficient

3 water is available to fulfill the purposes associ4 ated with the transfer of the lands described in

5 the preceding sentence, then the Tribe shall re6 quest that the Secretary accept such lands into

7 trust for the benefit of the Timbisha Shoshone

8 Tribe, and the Secretary shall accept such

9 lands, together with an amount of water not to

10 exceed 10 acre feet per annum, into trust for

11 the Tribe as a substitute for the lands described

12 in clause (i).

13 (D) Scotty’s Junction, Nevada, an area of

14 approximately 2,800 acres, as generally de15 picted on the map entitled ‘‘Scotty’s Junction,

16 Nevada’’, numbered Map #4 and dated April

17 12, 2000, together with 375.5 acre feet per

18 annum of ground water for the purposes associ19 ated with the transfer of such lands.

20 (E) Lida, Nevada, Community Parcel, an

21 area of approximately 3,000 acres, as generally

22 depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Lida, Nevada,

23 Community Parcel’’, numbered Map #5 and

24 dated April 12, 2000, together with 14.7 acre

25 feet per annum of ground water for the pur-
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1 poses associated with the transfer of such

2 lands.

3 (2) WATER RIGHTS.—The priority date of the

4 Federal water rights described in subparagraphs (A)

5 through (E) of paragraph (1) shall be the date of

6 enactment of this Act, and such Federal water

7 rights shall be junior to Federal and State water

8 rights existing on such date of enactment. Such

9 Federal water rights shall not be subject to relin10 quishment, forfeiture or abandonment.

11 (3) LIMITATIONS ON FURNACE CREEK AREA

12 DEVELOPMENT.—

13 (A) DEVELOPMENT.—Recognizing the mu14 tual interests and responsibilities of the Tribe

15 and the National Park Service in and for the

16 conservation and protection of the resources in

17 the area described in paragraph (1), develop18 ment in the area shall be limited to—

19 (i) for purposes of community and

20 residential development—

21 (I) a maximum of 50 single-fam22 ily residences; and

23 (II) a tribal community center

24 with space for tribal offices, recreation

25 facilities, a multipurpose room and
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1 kitchen, and senior and youth facili2 ties;

3 (ii) for purposes of economic

4 development—

5 (I) a small-to-moderate desert

6 inn; and

7 (II) a tribal museum and cultural

8 center with a gift shop; and

9 (iii) the infrastructure necessary to

10 support the level of development described

11 in clauses (i) and (ii).

12 (B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the

13 provisions of subparagraph (A)(ii), the National

14 Park Service and the Tribe are authorized to

15 negotiate mutually agreed upon, visitor-related

16 economic development in lieu of the develop17 ment set forth in that subparagraph if such al18 ternative development will have no greater envi19 ronmental impact than the development set

20 forth in that subparagraph.

21 (C) RIGHT-OF-WAY.—The Tribe shall have

22 a right-of-way for ingress and egress on High23 way 190 in California.

24 (4) LIMITATIONS ON IMPACT ON MINING

25 CLAIMS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed as
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1 terminating any valid mining claim existing on the

2 date of enactment of this Act on the land described

3 in paragraph (1)(E). Any person with such an exist4 ing mining claim shall have all the rights incident to

5 mining claims, including the rights of ingress and

6 egress on the land described in paragraph (1)(E).

7 Any person with such an existing mining claim shall

8 have the right to occupy and use so much of the sur9 face of the land as is required for all purposes rea10 sonably necessary to mine and remove the minerals

11 from the land, including the removal of timber for

12 mining purposes. Such a mining claim shall termi13 nate when the claim is determined to be invalid or

14 is abandoned.

15 (c) LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.—Not later than 1 year

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

17 file a legal description of the areas described in subsection

18 (b) with the Committee on Resources of the House of Rep19 resentatives and with the Committee on Indian Affairs

20 and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of

21 the Senate. Such legal description shall have the same

22 force and effect as if the information contained in the de23 scription were included in that subsection except that the

24 Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors in

25 such legal description and in the maps referred to in the
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1 legal description. The legal description shall be on file and

2 available for public inspection in the offices of the Na3 tional Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

4 (d) ADDITIONAL TRUST RESOURCES.—The Sec5 retary may purchase from willing sellers the following par6 cels and appurtenant water rights, or the water rights sep7 arately, to be taken into trust for the Tribe:

8 (1) Indian Rancheria Site, California, an area

9 of approximately 120 acres, as generally depicted on

10 the map entitled ‘‘Indian Rancheria Site, California’’

11 numbered Map #6 and dated December 3, 1999.

12 (2) Lida Ranch, Nevada, an area of approxi13 mately 2,340 acres, as generally depicted on the

14 map entitled ‘‘Lida Ranch’’ numbered Map #7 and

15 dated April 6, 2000, or another parcel mutually

16 agreed upon by the Secretary and the Tribe.

17 (e) SPECIAL USE AREAS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The areas described in this

19 subsection shall be nonexclusive special use areas for

20 the Tribe, subject to other Federal law. Members of

21 the Tribe are authorized to use these areas for low

22 impact, ecologically sustainable, traditional practices

23 pursuant to a jointly established management plan

24 mutually agreed upon by the Tribe, and by the Na25 tional Park Service or the Bureau of Land Manage-
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1 ment, as appropriate. All maps referred to in para2 graph (4) shall be on file and available for public in3 spection in the offices of the National Park Service

4 and Bureau of Land Management.

5 (2) RECOGNITION OF THE HISTORY AND CUL6 TURE OF THE TRIBE.—In the special use areas, in

7 recognition of the significant contributions the Tribe

8 has made to the history, ecology, and culture of the

9 Park and to ensure that the visitor experience in the

10 Park will be enhanced by the increased and contin11 ued presence of the Tribe, the Secretary shall permit

12 the Tribe’s continued use of Park resources for tra13 ditional tribal purposes, practices, and activities.

14 (3) RESOURCE USE BY THE TRIBE.—In the

15 special use areas, any use of Park resources by the

16 Tribe for traditional purposes, practices, and activi17 ties shall not include the taking of wildlife and shall

18 not be in derogation of purposes and values for

19 which the Park was established.

20 (4) SPECIFIC AREAS.—The following areas are

21 designated special use areas pursuant to paragraph

22 (1):

23 (A) MESQUITE USE AREA.—The area gen24 erally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Mesquite

25 Use Area’’ numbered Map #8 and dated April
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1 12, 2000. The Tribe may use this area for

2 processing mesquite using traditional plant

3 management techniques such as thinning, prun4 ing, harvesting, removing excess sand, and re5 moving exotic species. The National Park Serv6 ice may limit and condition, but not prohibit

7 entirely, public use of this area or parts of this

8 area, in consultation with the Tribe. This area

9 shall be managed in accordance with the jointly

10 established management plan referred to in

11 paragraph (1).

12 (B) BUFFER AREA.—An area of approxi13 mately 1,500 acres, as generally depicted on the

14 map entitled ‘‘Buffer Area’’ numbered Map #8

15 and dated April 12, 2000. The National Park

16 Service shall restrict visitor use of this area to

17 protect the privacy of the Tribe and to provide

18 an opportunity for the Tribe to conduct commu19 nity affairs without undue disruption from the

20 public.

21 (C) TIMBISHA SHOSHONE NATURAL AND

22 CULTURAL PRESERVATION AREA.—An area that

23 primarily consists of Park lands and also a

24 small portion of Bureau of Land Management

25 land in California, as generally depicted on the
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1 map entitled ‘‘Timbisha Shoshone Natural and

2 Cultural Preservation Area’’ numbered Map #9

3 and dated April 12, 2000.

4 (5) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.—With respect to

5 the Timbisha Shoshone Natural and Cultural Pres6 ervation Area designated in paragraph (4)(C)—

7 (A) the Tribe may establish and maintain

8 a tribal resource management field office, ga9 rage, and storage area, all within the area of

10 the existing ranger station at Wildrose (existing

11 as of the date of enactment of this Act);

12 (B) the Tribe also may use traditional

13 camps for tribal members at Wildrose and

14 Hunter Mountain in accordance with the jointly

15 established management plan referred to in

16 paragraph (1);

17 (C) the area shall be depicted on maps of

18 the Park and Bureau of Land Management

19 that are provided for general visitor use;

20 (D) the National Park Service and the Bu21 reau of Land Management shall accommodate

22 access by the Tribe to and use by the Tribe

23 of—

24 (i) the area (including portions de25 scribed in subparagraph (E)) for tradi-
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1 tional cultural and religious activities, in a

2 manner consistent with the purpose and

3 intent of Public Law 95–341 (commonly

4 known as the ‘‘American Indian Religious

5 Freedom Act’’) (42 U.S.C. 1996 et seq.);

6 and

7 (ii) areas designated as wilderness (in8 cluding portions described in subparagraph

9 (E)), in a manner consistent with the pur10 pose and intent of the Wilderness Act (16

11 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.); and

12 (E)(i) on the request of the Tribe, the Na13 tional Park Service and the Bureau of Land

14 Management shall temporarily close to the gen15 eral public, 1 or more specific portions of the

16 area in order to protect the privacy of tribal

17 members engaging in traditional cultural and

18 religious activities in those portions; and

19 (ii) any such closure shall be made in a

20 manner that affects the smallest practicable

21 area for the minimum period necessary for the

22 purposes described in clause (i).

23 (f) ACCESS AND USE.—Members of the Tribe shall

24 have the right to enter and use the Park without payment

25 of any fee for admission into the Park.
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1 (g) ADMINISTRATION.—The trust lands shall con2 stitute the Timbisha Shoshone Reservation and shall be

3 administered pursuant to the laws and regulations appli4 cable to other Indian trust lands, except as otherwise pro5 vided in this Act.

6 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS.

7 (a) GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT AGREE8 MENTS.—In order to fulfill the purposes of this Act and

9 to establish cooperative partnerships for purposes of this

10 Act, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Man11 agement, and the Tribe shall enter into government-to12 government consultations and shall develop protocols to

13 review planned development in the Park. The National

14 Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management are

15 authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with the

16 Tribe for the purpose of providing training on the inter17 pretation, management, protection, and preservation of

18 the natural and cultural resources of the areas designated

19 for special uses by the Tribe in section 5(e)(4).

20 (b) STANDARDS.—The National Park Service and the

21 Tribe shall develop mutually agreed upon standards for

22 size, impact, and design for use in planning, resource pro23 tection, and development of the Furnace Creek area and

24 for the facilities at Wildrose. The standards shall be based

25 on standards for recognized best practices for environ-
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1 mental sustainability and shall not be less restrictive than

2 the environmental standards applied within the National

3 Park System at any given time. Development in the area

4 shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the stand5 ards, which shall be reviewed periodically and revised as

6 necessary.

7 (c) WATER MONITORING.—The Secretary and the

8 Tribe shall develop mutually agreed upon standards for

9 a water monitoring system to assess the effects of water

10 use at Scotty’s Junction and at Death Valley Junction on

11 the tribal trust lands described in subparagraphs (A), (B),

12 and (D) of section 5(b)(1), and on the Park. Water moni13 toring shall be conducted in a manner that is consistent

14 with such standards, which shall be reviewed periodically

15 and revised as necessary.

16 SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

17 (a) TRIBAL EMPLOYMENT.—In employing individuals

18 to perform any construction, maintenance, interpretation,

19 or other service in the Park, the Secretary shall, insofar

20 as practicable, give first preference to qualified members

21 of the Tribe.

22 (b) GAMING.—Gaming as defined and regulated by

23 the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et

24 seq.) shall be prohibited on trust lands within the Park.
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1 (c) INITIAL RESERVATION.—Lands taken into trust

2 for the Tribe pursuant to section 5, except for the Park

3 land described in subsections (b)(1)(A) and (d)(1) of such

4 section, shall be considered to be the Tribe’s initial res5 ervation for purposes of section 20(b)(1)(B)(ii) of the In6 dian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C.

7 2719(b)(1)(B)(ii)).

8 (d) TRIBAL JURISDICTION OVER TRUST LANDS.—All

9 trust lands that are transferred under this Act and located

10 within California shall be exempt from section 1162 of

11 title 18, United States Code, and section 1360 of title 28,

12 United States Code, upon the certification by the Sec13 retary, after consultation with the Attorney General, that

14 the law enforcement system in place for such lands will

15 be adequate to provide for the public safety and the public

16 interest, except that no such certification may take effect

17 until the expiration of the 3-year period beginning on the

18 date of enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

3 this Act such sums as may be necessary.

Passed the Senate July 19, 2000.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2102

AN ACT

To provide to the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe a permanent land base within its aboriginal homeland,

and for other purposes.