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 Sec-
retary 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 Con-
ference.
(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 Cali-
fornia; 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 para-
graph (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.