I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 708

To require the conveyance of certain National Forest System lands in 

Mendocino National Forest, California, to provide for the use of the 

proceeds from such conveyance for National Forest purposes, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 11, 2003

Mr. THOMPSON of California introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To require the conveyance of certain National Forest System 

lands in Mendocino National Forest, California, to provide for the use of the proceeds from such conveyance 

for National Forest purposes, 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. LAND CONVEYANCE, FARAWAY RANCH, 

4 MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, CALI5 FORNIA. 

6 (a) CONVEYANCE REQUIRED.—Subject to subsection 

7 (b), the Secretary of Agriculture shall convey to the owner 

8 of the property known as the Faraway Ranch in Lake 
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1 County, California (in this section referred to as the ‘‘re2 cipient’’), by quitclaim deed, all right, title, and interest 

3 of the United States in and to the following National For4 est System lands in Mendocino National Forest in Lake 

5 County, California: 

6 (1) ‘‘Faraway Ranch, Tract 39’’ (approximately 

7 15.8 acres), consisting of a portion of lot 6 of sec8 tion 4, township 18 north, range 10 west, Mount 

9 Diablo base and meridian, as generally depicted on 

10 the map entitled ‘‘Faraway Ranch, Tracts 39 and 

11 40’’ and dated June 30, 2002. 

12 (2) ‘‘Faraway Ranch, Tract 40’’ (approximately 

13 105.1 acres) consisting of a portion of the N1/

14 2SW1/4 and lot 7 of section 4, and a portion of lots 

15 15 and 16 of section 5, township 18 north, range 10 

16 west, Mount Diablo base and meridian, as generally 

17 depicted on the map referred to in paragraph (1). 

18 (b) TIME FOR CONVEYANCE.—The Secretary shall 

19 make the conveyance under subsection (a) not later than 

20 120 days after the date on which the recipient deposits 

21 sufficient funds with the Bureau of Land Management, 

22 California State Office, Branch of Geographic Services, to 

23 cover survey work costs and with the Forest Service, 

24 Mendocino National Forest, to cover Forest Service direct 

25 transaction costs described in subsection (e). 
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1 (c) CORRECTIONS.—With the agreement of the re2 cipient, the Secretary may make minor corrections to the 

3 legal descriptions and map of the lands to be conveyed 

4 pursuant to this section. 

5 (d) CONSIDERATION.—As consideration for the con6 veyance under subsection (a), the recipient shall pay to 

7 the Secretary an amount equal to the fair market value 

8 of the National Forest System lands conveyed under such 

9 subsection. The fair market value of such lands shall be 

10 determined by an appraisal that is acceptable to the Sec11 retary and conforms with the Federal appraisal standards, 

12 as defined in the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Fed13 eral Land Acquisitions developed by the Interagency Land 

14 Acquisition Conference. 

15 (e) PAYMENT OF COSTS.—All direct transaction costs 

16 associated with the conveyance under section (a), includ17 ing the costs of appraisal, title, and survey work, shall be 

18 paid by the recipient. 

19 (f) USE OF PROCEEDS.—

20 (1) DEPOSIT.—The Secretary shall deposit the 

21 amounts received by the Secretary as consideration 

22 under subsection (d) in the fund established by Pub23 lic Law 90–171 (commonly known as the Sisk Act; 

24 16 U.S.C. 484a). 
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1 (2) USE.—Funds deposited under paragraph 

2 (1) shall be available to the Secretary until ex3 pended, without further appropriation—

4 (A) for the acquisition of land and inter5 ests in land for National Forest System pur6 poses in the State of California; and 

7 (B) for reimbursement of costs incurred by 

8 the Forest Service in making the conveyance 

9 under subsection (a). 

10 (3) STATUS OF ACQUIRED LAND.—Notwith11 standing Public Law 85–862 (16 U.S.C. 521a), any 

12 lands acquired under paragraph (2)(A) shall be 

13 managed as lands acquired under the Act of March 

14 1, 1911 (commonly known as the Weeks Act; 16 

15 U.S.C. 480, 500, 515 et seq.), regardless of whether 

16 any of the lands conveyed under subsection (a) were 

17 reserved from the public domain. 

18 (g) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 

19 the lands to be conveyed under subsection (a) are hereby 

20 withdrawn from all forms of location, entry, and patent 

21 under the public land laws and the mining and mineral 

22 leasing laws of the United States.

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