I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1961 
To provide for the conveyance of certain land to Washington County, Utah, 
to authorize the exchange of Federal land and non-Federal land in 
the State of Utah, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 5, 2017 
Mr. STEWART introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To provide for the conveyance of certain land to Washington 
County, Utah, to authorize the exchange of Federal land 
and non-Federal land in the State of Utah, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southern Utah Open 
OHV Areas Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means 
Washington County, Utah. 
(2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 
means land owned and managed by the Bureau of 
Land Management in the County that is identified 
on the map as ‘‘Federal Lands Proposed to Transfer 
to SITLA’’. 
(3) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map 
prepared by the State of Utah School and Institu-
tional Trust Lands Administration entitled ‘‘Sand 
Mountain Exchange Washington County, Utah’’ and 
dated June 19, 2015. 
(4) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘non-Fed-
eral land’’ means the State land identified on the 
map as ‘‘SITLA Lands Proposed to Transfer to 
Federal’’. 
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior. 
(6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 
of Utah. 
SEC. 3. EXCHANGE OF FEDERAL LAND AND NON-FEDERAL 
LAND. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—If the State offers to convey to 
the United States title to the non-Federal land, the Sec-
retary shall— 
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(1) accept the offer; and 
(2) on receipt of all right, title, and interest in 
and to the non-Federal land, convey to the State all 
right, title, and interest of the United States in and 
to the Federal land. 
(b) VALID EXISTING RIGHTS.—The exchange author-
ized under subsection (a) shall be subject to valid existing 
rights. 
(c) TITLE APPROVAL.—Title to the Federal land and 
non-Federal land to be exchanged under this section shall 
be in a format acceptable to the Secretary and the State. 
(d) APPRAISALS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The value of the Federal 
land and the non-Federal land to be exchanged 
under this section shall be determined by appraisals 
conducted by one or more independent appraisers re-
tained by the State, with the consent of the Sec-
retary. 
(2) APPLICABLE LAW.—The appraisals under 
paragraph (1) shall be conducted in accordance with 
nationally recognized appraisal standards, including, 
as appropriate, the Uniform Appraisal Standards for 
Federal Land Acquisitions. 
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(3) 
APPROVAL.—The 
appraisals 
conducted 
under paragraph (1) shall be submitted to the Sec-
retary and the State for approval. 
(4) REIMBURSEMENT OF STATE COSTS.—The 
Secretary shall reimburse the State in an amount 
equal to 50 percent of the costs incurred by the 
State in retaining independent appraisers under 
paragraph (1). 
(e) EQUAL VALUE EXCHANGE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The value of the Federal 
land and non-Federal land to be exchanged under 
this section— 
(A) shall be equal; or 
(B) shall be made equal in accordance with 
paragraph (2). 
(2) EQUALIZATION.— 
(A) SURPLUS OF FEDERAL LAND.—If the 
value of the Federal land exceeds the value of 
the non-Federal land, the value of the Federal 
land and non-Federal land shall be equalized, 
as determined to be appropriate and acceptable 
by the Secretary and the State— 
(i) by reducing the acreage of the 
Federal land to be conveyed; 
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SEC. 4. CONVEYANCE OF LAND TO WASHINGTON COUNTY, 
UTAH. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after noti-
fication by the County and subject to valid existing rights, 
the Secretary shall convey to the County, without consid-
eration, all right, title, and interest of the United States 
in and to the land described in subsection (b). 
(b) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The land referred to in 
subsection (a) consists of the land managed by the Bureau 
of Land Management that is generally depicted on the 
map as ‘‘Hurricane Sand Dunes (NRA)’’. 
(c) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall finalize the legal description of the land to be 
conveyed to the County under this section. 
(2) MINOR ERRORS.—The Secretary may cor-
rect any minor error in— 
(A) the map; or 
(B) the legal description. 
(3) AVAILABILITY.—The map and legal descrip-
tion shall be on file and available for public inspec-
tion in the appropriate offices of the Bureau of 
Land Management. 
(d) USE OF CONVEYED LAND.—The land conveyed 
under this section shall be used only— 
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(1) as an open riding area for the use of off- 
highway vehicles; or 
(2) for any other public purpose consistent with 
uses allowed under the Act of June 14, 1926 (com-
monly known as the ‘‘Recreation and Public Pur-
poses Act’’) (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.). 
(e) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Secretary shall 
require the County to pay all survey costs and other ad-
ministrative costs necessary for the preparation and com-
pletion of any patents for, and transfers of title to, the 
land described in subsection (b). 
(f) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of the conveyance 
under subsection (a), the County shall agree— 
(1) to pay any administrative costs associated 
with the conveyance including the costs of any envi-
ronmental, wildlife, cultural, or historical resources 
studies; 
(2) to release and indemnify the United States 
from any claims or liabilities that may arise from 
uses carried out on the land described in subsection 
(b) on or before the date of enactment of this Act 
by the United States or any person; and 
(3) to accept such reasonable terms and condi-
tions as the Secretary determines necessary. 
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(g) REVERSION.—If the land conveyed under this sec-
tion ceases to be used for a public purpose in accordance 
with subsection (d), the land shall, at the discretion of the 
Secretary, revert to the United States. 
Æ 
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