H. R. 708

One Hundred Eighth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the twentieth day of January, two thousand and four

An Act

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.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. LAND CONVEYANCE, FARAWAY RANCH, MENDOCINO

NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA.

(a) CONVEYANCE REQUIRED.—Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture shall convey to the owner of the property

known as the Faraway Ranch in Lake County, California (in this

section referred to as the ‘‘recipient’’), by quitclaim deed, all right,

title, and interest of the United States in and to the following

National Forest System lands in Mendocino National Forest in

Lake County, California:

(1) ‘‘Faraway Ranch, Tract 39’’ (approximately 15.8 acres),

consisting of a portion of lot 6 of section 4, township 18 north,

range 10 west, Mount Diablo base and meridian, as generally

depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Faraway Ranch, Tracts 39 and

40’’ and dated June 30, 2002.

(2) ‘‘Faraway Ranch, Tract 40’’ (approximately 105.1 acres)

consisting of a portion of the N1/2SW1/4 and lot 7 of section

4, and a portion of lots 15 and 16 of section 5, township

18 north, range 10 west, Mount Diablo base and meridian,

as generally depicted on the map referred to in paragraph

(1).

(b) TIME FOR CONVEYANCE.—The Secretary shall make the

conveyance under subsection (a) not later than 120 days after

the date on which the recipient deposits sufficient funds with the

Bureau of Land Management, California State Office, Branch of

Geographic Services, to cover survey work costs and with the Forest

Service, Mendocino National Forest, to cover Forest Service direct

transaction costs described in subsection (e).

(c) CORRECTIONS.—With the agreement of the recipient, the

Secretary may make minor corrections to the legal descriptions

and map of the lands to be conveyed pursuant to this section.

(d) CONSIDERATION.—As consideration for the conveyance under

subsection (a), the recipient shall pay to the Secretary an amount

equal to the fair market value of the National Forest System

lands conveyed under such subsection. The fair market value of

such lands shall be determined by an appraisal that is acceptable

to the Secretary and conforms with the Federal appraisal standards,

as defined in the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land
H. R. 708—2

Acquisitions developed by the Interagency Land Acquisition Conference.

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

with the conveyance under subsection (a), including the costs of

appraisal, title, and survey work, shall be paid by the recipient.

(f) USE OF PROCEEDS.—

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

received by the Secretary as consideration under subsection

(d) in the fund established by Public Law 90–171 (commonly

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

(2) USE.—Funds deposited under paragraph (1) shall be

available to the Secretary until expended, without further

appropriation—

(A) for the acquisition of land and interests in land

for National Forest System purposes in the State of California; and

(B) for reimbursement of costs incurred by the Forest

Service in making the conveyance under subsection (a).

(3) STATUS OF ACQUIRED LAND.—Notwithstanding Public

Law 85–862 (16 U.S.C. 521a), any lands acquired under paragraph (2)(A) shall be managed as lands acquired under the

Act of March 1, 1911 (commonly known as the Weeks Act;

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

of the lands conveyed under subsection (a) were reserved from

the public domain.

SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL.

Subject to valid existing rights, the lands to be conveyed under

subsection (a) of section 1 are hereby withdrawn from all forms

of location, entry, and patent under the public land laws and

the mining and mineral leasing laws of the United States.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.