II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3537 

To provide for certain land exchanges in Gunnison County, Colorado, and 

Uintah County, Utah. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2010 

Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. BENNET, and Mr. 

HATCH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for certain land exchanges in Gunnison County, 

Colorado, and Uintah County, Utah. 

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 ‘‘Central Rockies Land 

5 Exchange and National Park System Enhancement Act 

6 of 2010’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of this Act are— 


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1 (1) to authorize, direct, expedite, and facilitate 

2 two land exchanges in central Colorado and eastern 

3 Utah; 

4 (2) to enhance the National Park System by 

5 National Park Service acquisition of important lands 

6 in Colorado and Utah; 

7 (3) to protect the open space and natural values 

8 of certain lands conveyed out of Federal ownership 

9 through a permanent conservation easement; and 

10 (4) to provide for improved public access to cer11 tain lands in Gunnison County, Colorado. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) BEAR RANCH.—The term ‘‘Bear Ranch’’ 

15 means the Bear Ranch, LLC, a Colorado Limited 

16 Liability Corporation. 

17 (2) DARIEN RANCH.—The term ‘‘Darien 

18 Ranch’’ means the ranch operated by Larry and 

19 Dana Darien of 2880 County Road 3, Marble, Colo20 rado. 

21 (3) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

22 means the land or right-of-way to be conveyed by 

23 the United States in the land exchanges under this 

24 Act. 


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1 (4) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘non-Fed2 eral land’’ means land to be conveyed to the United 

3 States in the land exchanges under this Act. 

4 (5) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec5 retary concerned’’ means the Secretary of the Inte6 rior or Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate. 

7 SEC. 4. BEAR RANCH AND DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

8 LAND EXCHANGE, GUNNISON COUNTY, COLO9 RADO, AND UINTAH COUNTY, UTAH. 

10 (a) LAND EXCHANGE REQUIRED.—If the Bear 

11 Ranch offers to convey to the Secretary of the Interior 

12 all right, title, and interest of the Bear Ranch in and to 

13 the non-Federal parcels identified in subsection (b) for in14 clusion in the National Park System— 

15 (1) the Secretary of the Interior shall accept 

16 the offer; and 

17 (2) the Secretary of the Interior and Agri18 culture shall simultaneously convey to the Bear 

19 Ranch all right, title, and interest of the United 

20 States in and to approximately 1,846 acres of Fed21 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of 

22 Land Management or the United States Forest 

23 Service, as applicable, comprising separate land par24 cels, as generally depicted and numbered on a map 

25 entitled ‘‘Central Rockies Land Exchange—Federal 


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1 Parcels 1–6—Bear Ranch’’ and dated February 

2 2010. 

3 (b) NON-FEDERAL LAND DESCRIBED.—The non4 Federal land to be conveyed under this section consists 

5 of— 

6 (1) approximately 911 acres of land within the 

7 Curecanti National Recreation Area in Gunnison 

8 County, Colorado, and generally depicted on the map 

9 entitled ‘‘Central Rockies Land Exchange—Non10 Federal parcel—Sapinero Mesa’’ and dated Feb11 ruary 2010; and 

12 (2) approximately 80 acres of land within Dino13 saur National Monument in Uintah County, Utah, 

14 and generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Central 

15 Rockies Land Exchange—Non-Federal parcel—Or16 chid Draw’’ and dated February 2010. 

17 (c) LAND TITLE.—Title to the non-Federal land con18 veyed to the Secretary of the Interior under this section 

19 shall be acceptable to the Secretary and shall conform to 

20 the title approval standards of the Attorney General of 

21 the United States applicable to land acquisitions by the 

22 Federal Government. 


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1 SEC. 5. DARIEN RANCH AND FOREST SERVICE LAND EX2 CHANGE, GUNNISON COUNTY, COLORADO. 

3 (a) LAND EXCHANGE REQUIRED.—If the Darien 

4 Ranch offers to convey all right, title, and interest of the 

5 Darien Ranch in and to the approximately 0.42 acres of 

6 non-Federal land in Gunnison County, Colorado, as gen7 erally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Central Rockies Land 

8 Exchange—Non-Federal parcel—Lily Lake Trailhead’’ 

9 and dated February 2010, the Secretary of Agriculture 

10 shall— 

11 (1) accept the offer; and 

12 (2) upon receipt of the non-Federal land, simul13 taneously convey to the Darien Ranch a permanent 

14 right-of-way no more than 200 feet in width for a 

15 water intake on Rapid Creek and water pipeline 

16 (and access to such water intake and pipeline) gen17 erally running along an existing irrigation ditch 

18 from Rapid Creek to private land on the route gen19 erally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Central Rockies 

20 Land Exchange—Darien Ranch Right-of-Way’’ and 

21 dated February 2010. 

22 (b) LAND TITLE.—Title to the non-Federal land con23 veyed to the Secretary of Agriculture under this section 

24 shall be acceptable to the Secretary and shall conform to 

25 the title approval standards of the Attorney General of 


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1 the United States applicable to land acquisitions by the 

2 Federal Government. 

3 SEC. 6. EQUAL VALUE EXCHANGE AND APPRAISALS. 

4 (a) EQUAL VALUE EXCHANGE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The values of the Federal 

6 and non-Federal land in each separate land ex7 change under this Act shall be equal. If the values 

8 are not equal in one or both of the land exchanges, 

9 the values of the Federal and non-Federal land at 

10 issue shall be equalized in the manner provided by 

11 this subsection. 

12 (2) SURPLUS OF FEDERAL LAND VALUE.—If 

13 the final appraised value of the Federal land in a 

14 land exchange under this Act exceeds the final ap15 praised value of the non-Federal land in that ex16 change, the non-Federal party in that exchange shall 

17 make a cash equalization payment to the Secretary 

18 concerned as necessary to achieve equal value, in19 cluding, if necessary, an amount in excess of that 

20 authorized pursuant to section 206(b) of the Federal 

21 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

22 U.S.C. 1716(b)). 

23 (3) SURPLUS OF NON-FEDERAL LAND VALUE.— 

24 If the final appraised value of the non-Federal land 

25 in a land exchange under this Act exceeds the final 


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1 appraised value of the Federal land in that ex2 change— 

3 (A) the United States shall not make a 

4 cash equalization payment to the non-Federal 

5 party in that exchange; and 

6 (B) the surplus value of the non-Federal 

7 land shall be considered a donation by the non8 Federal party in that exchange to the United 

9 States. 

10 (b) USE OF CASH EQUALIZATION PAYMENT.— 

11 (1) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.—Any 

12 cash equalization payment received by the Secretary 

13 of the Interior under subsection (a) shall be depos14 ited in the Federal Land Disposal Account estab15 lished pursuant to the Federal Land Transaction 

16 Facilitation Act (43 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) and shall 

17 be available for use by the Bureau of Land Manage18 ment, without further appropriation, for the acquisi19 tion of lands or interests in land from willing sellers 

20 in Gunnison County, Colorado, or lands within the 

21 area managed by the Uncompahgre Field Office of 

22 the Bureau of Land Management. 

23 (2) FOREST SERVICE.—Any cash equalization 

24 payment received by the Secretary of Agriculture 

25 under subsection (a) shall be deposited in the fund 


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1 established by Public Law 90–171 (commonly known 

2 as the Sisk Act; 16 U.S.C. 484a). 

3 (c) APPRAISALS.— 

4 (1) PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.—The values of 

5 the lands to be exchanged shall be determined by the 

6 Secretary concerned through concurrent appraisals 

7 performed in accordance with— 

8 (A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for 

9 Federal Land Acquisitions; 

10 (B) the Uniform Standards of Professional 

11 Appraisal Practice (USPAP); and 

12 (C) appraisal instructions issued by the 

13 Secretary concerned. 

14 (2) APPRAISER SELECTION.—The appraisals 

15 shall be performed by an appraiser mutually agreed 

16 to by the Secretary concerned and the Bear Ranch 

17 or Darien Ranch, as applicable. 

18 (3) AVAILABILITY TO PUBLIC.—After reviewing 

19 and approving the appraisals, but before consum20 mating an exchange, the Secretary concerned shall 

21 make a summary of the appraisals available for pub22 lic review. 

23 (4) APPRAISAL EXCLUSION.—The appraisal of 

24 the Federal land parcels under this Act shall not re25 flect any diminution in value due to the conservation 


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1 easement requirements of section 7(a), which con2 servation easement shall be considered a donation 

3 for all purposes of law. 

4 (5) APPRAISAL OF PARCEL.—If the Secretary 

5 of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture deter6 mine it appropriate, the Secretary of the Interior 

7 may determine the value of Federal Parcel 6—Bear 

8 Ranch, as identified on the map referenced in sub9 section 4(a). 

10 SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

11 (a) CONSERVATION EASEMENTS.—As a condition of 

12 the land exchange under section 4, and before consum13 mating the exchange, the Bear Ranch shall deliver to the 

14 Secretary an executed document granting a permanent 

15 conservation easement on Federal Parcels 1–5, Bear 

16 Ranch, as identified on the map referenced in section 4(a) 

17 to a qualified unit of government or organization as speci18 fied in section 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986. The conservation easement shall limit future use of 

20 the Federal land parcels to agricultural, recreational, open 

21 space, and wildlife conservation purposes. 

22 (b) WITHDRAWAL PROVISIONS.— 

23 (1) WITHDRAWAL.—Without further action by 

24 the Secretary concerned, lands acquired by the 

25 United States under this Act shall be permanently 


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1 withdrawn from all forms of appropriation and dis2 posal under the public land laws (including the min3 ing and mineral leasing laws) and the Geothermal 

4 Steam Act of 1930 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 

5 (2) WITHDRAWAL REVOCATION.—Any public 

6 land order that withdraws the Federal lands from 

7 appropriation or disposal under a public land law 

8 shall be revoked to the extent necessary to permit 

9 disposal of the Federal land parcels in the exchanges 

10 under this Act. 

11 (3) WITHDRAWAL OF FEDERAL LAND.—All 

12 Federal land to be exchanged under this Act, if not 

13 already withdrawn or segregated from appropriation 

14 or disposal under the public land laws upon enact15 ment of this Act, is hereby so withdrawn, subject to 

16 valid existing rights, until— 

17 (A) the date of conveyance of the Federal 

18 land to the Bear Ranch or Darien Ranch, as 

19 applicable; or 

20 (B) such time as the Secretary concerned 

21 and the non-Federal party may determine not 

22 to proceed with the exchange concerned. 

23 (c) POSTEXCHANGE LAND MANAGEMENT.— 

24 (1) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.—Land 

25 acquired by the Secretary of the Interior under secVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:49 Jun 26, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3537.IS S3537

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1 tion 4 shall become part of the Curecanti National 

2 Recreation Area or Dinosaur National Monument, 

3 as applicable, and shall be managed by the National 

4 Park Service in accordance with the laws, rules, and 

5 regulations applicable to the unit. 

6 (2) FOREST SERVICE.—Land acquired by the 

7 Secretary of Agriculture under section 5 shall be8 come part of the unit of the National Forest System 

9 within which the land is located and shall be admin10 istered in accordance with the laws, rules, and regu11 lations applicable to the National Forest System. 

12 For purposes of section 7 of the Land and Water 

13 Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–9), 

14 the boundaries of the unit of the National Forest 

15 System in which the land is located shall be deemed 

16 to be the boundaries of that unit as of January 1, 

17 1965. 

18 (d) BEAR RANCH AREA ACCESS.— 

19 (1) TRAVEL MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later 

20 than 3 years after consummating the land exchange 

21 under section 4, the Secretary concerned shall pre22 pare and implement a travel management plan in 

23 consultation with Gunnison County, Colorado, for 

24 the design, construction, improvement, replacement, 

25 or other siting of roads, trails, and trailheads in the 


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1 area shown as the ‘‘Planning Area’’ on the map enti2 tled ‘‘Central Rockies Land Exchange—Anthracite3 Spring Creek Travel Planning Area’’ and dated Feb4 ruary 2010. Such plan— 

5 (A) may incorporate any travel manage6 ment plans, or applicable provisions thereof, 

7 that cover the Travel Planning Area and may 

8 have already been completed by the Secretary 

9 concerned; 

10 (B) may, at the discretion of the Secretary 

11 concerned, update any existing plans to provide 

12 for any enhanced public access, roads, trails, 

13 and trailheads as may be enabled by the fund14 ing under paragraph (3); and 

15 (C) shall determine, in consultation with 

16 Gunnison County, whether the reservation of 

17 paragraph (2)(B) should be terminated because 

18 adequate or preferable replacement access is to 

19 be provided under this paragraph. 

20 (2) INTERIM ACCESS.—The conveyance of Fed21 eral parcel 1 to the Bear Ranch pursuant to section 

22 4 shall be subject to— 

23 (A) the existing right-of-way for Gunnison 

24 County Road 2 as shown on the map depicted 

25 in paragraph (1); and 


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1 (B) a reservation of nonmotorized public 

2 access from County Road 2 to the Deep Creek 

3 area as shown on the map referenced in para4 graph (1). 

5 (3) ACCESS FUNDING.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Before the consumma7 tion of the land exchange under section 4, the 

8 Bear Ranch shall deposit with the Secretary of 

9 the Interior the sum of $50,000, which may be 

10 used by the Secretary of the Interior and the 

11 Secretary of Agriculture, as they jointly deter12 mine appropriate, without further appropria13 tion, for road, trail, and trailhead work and 

14 purposes specified in paragraph (1). 

15 (B) EFFECT OF PLAN.—If the plan under 

16 paragraph (1) determines that the paragraph 

17 (2)(B) reservation should be terminated, the 

18 Bear Ranch shall pay to the Secretary of the 

19 Interior an additional sum of $200,000, which 

20 may be utilized by the Secretary of the Interior 

21 and the Secretary of Agriculture, as they jointly 

22 determine appropriate, without further appro23 priation, for paragraph (1) road, trail, and 

24 trailhead work and purposes. Upon completion 


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1 of such work, the paragraph (2)(B) reservation 

2 shall be terminated. 

3 (e) EXCHANGE TIMETABLE.—It is the intent of Con4 gress that the land exchanges directed by this Act be con5 summated not later than 1 year after the date of the en6 actment of this Act. 

7 (f) MAPS, ESTIMATES, AND DESCRIPTIONS.— 

8 (1) MINOR ERRORS.—The Secretary concerned 

9 and the Bear Ranch or Darien Ranch may by mu10 tual agreement make minor boundary adjustments 

11 to any land parcel or the right-of-way involved in the 

12 exchange concerned, and may correct any minor er13 rors in any map, acreage estimate, or description of 

14 any land or right-of-way to be exchanged. 

15 (2) CONFLICT.—If there is a conflict between a 

16 map, an acreage estimate, or a description of any 

17 land or right-of-way under this Act, the map shall 

18 control unless the Secretary concerned and the Bear 

19 Ranch or Darien Ranch mutually agree otherwise. 

20 (3) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary concerned 

21 shall file and make available for public inspection in 

22 the appropriate field offices of the Bureau of Land 

23 Management, the Curecanti National Recreation 

24 Area, Dinosaur National Monument, and White 


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1 River and Gunnison National Forests a copy of the 

2 pertinent maps referred to in this Act. 

Æ 


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