II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 584 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to allow the continued occupancy 

and use of certain land and improvements within Rocky Mountain National Park. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 9, 2005 

Mr. SALAZAR introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to allow the continued occupancy and use of certain land and improvements 

within Rocky Mountain National Park. 

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 ‘‘Betty Dick Residence 

5 Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 
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1 (1) before their divorce, Fred and Marilyn 

2 Dick, owned as tenants in common a tract of land 

3 that included the property described in section 5(b); 

4 (2) when Fred and Marilyn Dick divorced, 

5 Marilyn Dick became the sole owner of the tract of 

6 land, but Fred Dick retained the right of first re7 fusal to acquire the tract of land; 

8 (3) in 1977, Marilyn Dick sold the tract to the 

9 United States for addition to Rocky Mountain Na10 tional Park, but Fred Dick, asserting his right of 

11 first refusal, sued to cancel the transaction; 

12 (4) in 1980, the lawsuit was settled through an 

13 agreement between the National Park Service, Fred 

14 Dick, and the heirs, successors, and assigns of Fred 

15 Dick; 

16 (5) under the 1980 settlement agreement, Fred 

17 Dick and his wife, Betty Dick, were allowed to lease 

18 and occupy the 23 acres comprising the property de19 scribed in section 5(b) for 25 years; 

20 (6) Fred Dick died in 1992, but Betty Dick has 

21 continued to lease and occupy the property described 

22 in section 5(b) under the terms of the settlement 

23 agreement; 

24 (7) Betty Dick’s right to lease and occupy the 

25 property described in section 5(b) will expire on July 
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1 16, 2005, at which time Betty Dick will be 83 years 

2 old; 

3 (8) Betty Dick wishes to continue to occupy the 

4 property for the remainder of her life and has 

5 sought to enter into a new agreement with the Na6 tional Park Service that would allow her to continue 

7 to occupy the property; 

8 (9) the National Park Service has not been will9 ing to enter into a new agreement with Betty Dick 

10 and is demanding that she vacate the property by 

11 July 16, 2005; 

12 (10) since 1980, Betty Dick— 

13 (A) has consistently occupied the property 

14 described in section 5(b) as a summer resi15 dence; 

16 (B) has made the property available for 

17 community events; and 

18 (C) has been a good steward of the prop19 erty; 

20 (11) Betty Dick’s occupancy of the property 

21 has not— 

22 (A) been detrimental to the resources and 

23 values of Rocky Mountain National Park; or 

24 (B) created problems for the National 

25 Park Service or the public; and 
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1 (12) under the circumstances, it is appropriate 

2 for Betty Dick to be allowed to continue her occu3 pancy of the property described in section 5(b) for 

4 the remainder of her natural life under the terms 

5 and conditions applicable to her occupancy of the 

6 property since 1980. 

7 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

8 The purpose of this Act is to require the Secretary 

9 of the Interior to permit the continued occupancy and use 

10 of the property described in section 5(b) by Betty Dick 

11 for the remainder of her natural life. 

12 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ 

15 means the agreement between the National Park 

16 Service and Fred Dick entitled ‘‘Settlement Agree17 ment’’ and dated July 17, 1980. 

18 (2) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map en19 titled ‘‘Betty Dick Residence and Barn’’ and dated 

20 January 2005. 

21 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

22 the Secretary of the Interior. 

23 SEC. 5. RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall allow Betty 

25 Dick to continue to occupy and use the property described 
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1 in subsection (b) for the remainder of the natural life of 

2 Betty Dick, subject to the requirements of this Act. 

3 (b) DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.—The property re4 ferred to in subsection (a) is the land and any improve5 ments to the land within the boundaries of Rocky Moun6 tain National Park identified on the map as ‘‘residence’’, 

7 ‘‘occupancy area’’, and ‘‘barn’’. 

8 (c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), the occupancy and use of the property 

11 identified in subsection (b) by Betty Dick shall be 

12 subject to the same terms and conditions specified in 

13 the Agreement. 

14 (2) PAYMENT.—In exchange for the continued 

15 use and occupancy of the property, Betty Dick shall 

16 annually pay to the Secretary an amount equal to 

1 17 ⁄25 of the amount specified in section 3(B) of the 

18 Agreement. 

19 (d) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act— 

20 (1) allows the construction of any structure on 

21 the property described in subsection (b) not in exist22 ence on November 30, 2004; or 
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1 (2) applies to the occupancy or use of the prop2 erty described in subsection (b) by any person other 

3 than Betty Dick. 

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