II
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3907
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JULY 30, 1996
Received
AN ACT
To facilitate the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in the State
of Utah at the Snowbasin Ski Area, to provide for the
acquisition of lands within the Sterling Forest Reserve,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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TITLE I—SNOWBASIN SKI AREA
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘2002 Winter Olympic
Games Facilitation Act’’.
SEC. 102. FINDINGS AND DETERMINATION.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) in June 1995, Salt Lake City, Utah, was
selected to host the 2002 Winter Olympic Games,
and the Snowbasin Ski Resort, which is owned by
the Sun Valley Company, was identified as the site
of six Olympic events: the men’s and women’s
downhills, men’s and women’s Super-Gs, and men’s
and women’s combined downhills;
(2) in order to adequately accommodate these
events, which are traditionally among the most pop-
ular and heavily attended at the Winter Olympic
Games, major new skiing, visitor, and support facili-
ties will have to be constructed at the Snowbasin Ski
Resort on land currently administered by the United
States Forest Service;
(3) while certain of these new facilities can be
accommodated on National Forest land under tradi-
tional Forest Service permitting authorities, the base
area facilities necessary to host visitors to the ski
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area and the Winter Olympics are of such a nature
that they should logically be located on private land;
(4) land exchanges have been routinely utilized
by the Forest Service to transfer base area lands to
many other ski areas, and the Forest Service and
the Sun Valley Company have concluded that a land
exchange to transfer base area lands at the
Snowbasin Ski Resort to the Sun Valley Company is
both logical and advisable;
(5) an environmental impact statement and nu-
merous resource studies have been completed by the
Forest Service and the Sun Valley Company for the
lands proposed to be transferred to the Sun Valley
Company by this title;
(6) the Sun Valley Company has assembled
lands with outstanding environmental, recreational,
and other values to convey to the Forest Service in
return for the lands it will receive in the exchange,
and the Forest Service has identified such lands as
desirable for acquisition by the United States; and
(7) completion of a land exchange and approval
of a development plan for Olympic related facilities
at the Snowbasin Ski Resort is essential to ensure
that all necessary facilities can be constructed, test-
ed for safety and other purposes, and become fully
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operational in advance of the 2002 Winter Olympics
and earlier pre-Olympic events.
(b) DETERMINATION.—The Congress has reviewed
the previous analyses and studies of the lands to be ex-
changed and developed pursuant to this title, and has
made its own review of these lands and issues involved,
and on the basis of those reviews hereby finds and deter-
mines that a legislated land exchange and development
plan approval is necessary to meet Olympic goals and
timetables.
SEC. 103. SNOWBASIN LAND EXCHANGE.
(a) PURPOSE AND INTENT.—The purpose of this sec-
tion is to authorize and direct the Secretary to exchange
1,320 acres of federally-owned land within the Cache Na-
tional Forest in the State of Utah for lands of approxi-
mately equal value owned by the Sun Valley Company. It
is the intent of Congress that this exchange be completed
without delay within the period specified by subsection (d).
(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
(1) The term ‘‘Sun Valley Company’’ means the
Sun Valley Company, a division of Sinclair Oil Cor-
poration, a Wyoming Corporation, or its successors
or assigns.
(2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
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(c) EXCHANGE.—
(1) FEDERAL SELECTED LANDS.—(A) Not later
than 45 days after the final determination of value
of the Federal selected lands, the Secretary shall,
subject to this section, transfer all right, title, and
interest of the United States in and to the lands re-
ferred to in subparagraph (B) to the Sun Valley
Company.
(B) The lands referred to in subparagraph (A)
are certain lands within the Cache National Forest
in the State of Utah comprising 1,320 acres, more
or less, as generally depicted on the map entitled
‘‘Snowbasin Land Exchange—Proposed’’ and dated
October 1995.
(2) NON-FEDERAL
OFFERED
LANDS.—Upon
transfer of the Federal selected lands under para-
graph (1), and in exchange for those lands, the Sun
Valley Company shall simultaneously convey to the
Secretary all right, title and interest of the Sun Val-
ley Company in and to so much of the following of-
fered lands which have been previously identified by
the United States Forest Service as desirable by the
United States, or which are identified pursuant to
subparagraph (E) prior to the transfer of lands
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under paragraph (1), as are of approximate equal
value to the Federal selected lands:
(A) Certain lands located within the exte-
rior boundaries of the Cache National Forest in
Weber County, Utah, which comprise approxi-
mately 640 acres and are generally depicted on
a map entitled ‘‘Lightning Ridge Offered
Lands’’, dated October 1995.
(B) Certain lands located within the Cache
National Forest in Weber County, Utah, which
comprise approximately 635 acres and are gen-
erally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Wheeler
Creek Watershed Offered Lands—Section 21’’
dated October 1995.
(C) Certain lands located within the exte-
rior boundaries of the Cache National Forest in
Weber County, Utah, and lying immediately ad-
jacent to the outskirts of the City of Ogden,
Utah, which comprise approximately 800 acres
and are generally depicted on a map entitled
‘‘Taylor Canyon Offered Lands’’, dated October
1995.
(D) Certain lands located within the exte-
rior boundaries of the Cache National Forest in
Weber County, Utah, which comprise approxi-
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mately 2,040 acres and are generally depicted
on a map entitled ‘‘North Fork Ogden River—
Devil’s Gate Valley’’, dated October 1995.
(E) Such additional offered lands in the
State of Utah as may be necessary to make the
values of the lands exchanged pursuant to this
section approximately equal, and which are ac-
ceptable to the Secretary.
(3) SUBSTITUTION
OF
OFFERED
LANDS.—If
one or more of the precise offered land parcels iden-
tified in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of para-
graph (2) is unable to be conveyed to the United
States due to appraisal or other reasons, or if the
Secretary and the Sun Valley Company mutually
agree and the Secretary determines that an alter-
native offered land package would better serve long
term public needs and objectives, the Sun Valley
Company may simultaneously convey to the United
States alternative offered lands in the State of Utah
acceptable to the Secretary in lieu of any or all of
the lands identified in subparagraphs (A) through
(D) of paragraph (2).
(4) VALUATION AND APPRAISALS.—(A) Values
of the lands to be exchanged pursuant to this section
shall be equal as determined by the Secretary utiliz-
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ing nationally recognized appraisal standards and in
accordance with section 206 of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976. The appraisal
reports shall be written to Federal standards as de-
fined in the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Fed-
eral Land Acquisitions. If, due to size, location, or
use of lands exchanged under this section, the values
are not exactly equal, they shall be equalized by the
payment of cash equalization money to the Secretary
or the Sun Valley Company as appropriate in ac-
cordance with section 206(b) of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1716(b)). In order to expedite the consummation of
the exchange directed by this section, the Sun Valley
Company shall arrange and pay for appraisals of the
offered and selected lands by a qualified appraiser
with experience in appraising similar properties and
who is mutually acceptable to the Sun Valley Com-
pany and the Secretary. The appraisal of the Fed-
eral selected lands shall be completed and submitted
to the Secretary for technical review and approval no
later than 120 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, and the Secretary shall make a determina-
tion of value not later than 30 days after receipt of
the appraisal. In the event the Secretary and the
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Sun Valley Company are unable to agree to the ap-
praised value of a certain tract or tracts of land, the
appraisal, appraisals, or appraisal issues in dispute
and a final determination of value shall be resolved
through a process of bargaining or submission to ar-
bitration in accordance with section 206(d) of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
(43 U.S.C. 1716(d)).
(B) In order to expedite the appraisal of the
Federal selected lands, such appraisal shall—
(i) value the land in its unimproved state,
as a single entity for its highest and best use
as if in private ownership and as of the date of
enactment of this Act;
(ii) consider the Federal lands as an inde-
pendent property as though in the private mar-
ketplace and suitable for development to its
highest and best use;
(iii) consider in the appraisal any encum-
brance on the title anticipated to be in the con-
veyance to Sun Valley Company and reflect its
effect on the fair market value of the property;
and
(iv) not reflect any enhancement in value
to the Federal selected lands based on the exist-
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ence of private lands owned by the Sun Valley
Company in the vicinity of the Snowbasin Ski
Resort, and shall assume that private lands
owned by the Sun Valley Company are not
available for use in conjunction with the Fed-
eral selected lands.
(d) GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE EX-
CHANGE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The exchange authorized by
this section shall be subject to the following terms
and conditions:
(A) RESERVED
RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—In any
deed issued pursuant to subsection (c)(1), the
Secretary shall reserve in the United States a
right of reasonable access across the conveyed
property for public access and for administra-
tive purposes of the United States necessary to
manage adjacent federally-owned lands. The
terms of such reservation shall be prescribed by
the Secretary within 30 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(B) RIGHT OF RESCISSION.—This section
shall not be binding on either the United States
or the Sun Valley Company if, within 30 days
after the final determination of value of the
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Federal selected lands, the Sun Valley Company
submits to the Secretary a duly authorized and
executed resolution of the Company stating its
intention not to enter into the exchange author-
ized by this section.
(2) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing
rights, effective on the date of enactment of this Act,
the Federal selected lands described in subsection
(c)(1) and all National Forest System lands cur-
rently under special use permit to the Sun Valley
Company at the Snowbasin Ski Resort are hereby
withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the
public land laws (including the mining laws) and
from disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral
and geothermal leasing.
(3) DEED.—The conveyance of the offered
lands to the United States under this section shall
be by general warranty or other deed acceptable to
the Secretary and in conformity with applicable title
standards of the Attorney General of the United
States.
(4) STATUS OF LANDS.—Upon acceptance of
title by the Secretary, the land conveyed to the Unit-
ed States pursuant to this section shall become part
of the Wasatch or Cache National Forests as appro-
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priate, and the boundaries of such National Forests
shall be adjusted to encompass such lands. Once
conveyed, such lands shall be managed in accordance
with the Act of March 1, 1911, as amended (com-
monly known as the ‘‘Weeks Act’’), and in accord-
ance with the other laws, rules and regulations ap-
plicable to National Forest System lands. This para-
graph does not limit the Secretary’s authority to ad-
just the boundaries pursuant to section 11 of the
Act of March 1, 1911 (‘‘Weeks Act’’). For the pur-
poses of section 7 of the Land and Water Conserva-
tion Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 4601–9), the
boundaries of the Wasatch and Cache National For-
ests, as adjusted by this section, shall be considered
to be boundaries of the forests as of January 1,
1965.
(e) PHASE FACILITY CONSTRUCTION
AND OPER-
ATION.—
(1) PHASE I FACILITY FINDING AND REVIEW.—
(A) The Congress has reviewed the Snowbasin Ski
Area Master Development Plan dated October 1995
(hereinafter in this subsection referred to as the
‘‘Master Plan’’). On the basis of such review, and re-
view of previously completed environmental and
other resource studies for the Snowbasin Ski Area,
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Congress hereby finds that the ‘‘Phase I’’ facilities
referred to in the Master Plan to be located on Na-
tional Forest System land after consummation of the
land exchange directed by this section are limited in
size and scope, are reasonable and necessary to ac-
commodate the 2002 Olympics, and in some cases
are required to provide for the safety of skiing com-
petitors and spectators.
(B) Within 60 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary and the Sun Valley Com-
pany shall review the Master Plan insofar as such
plan pertains to Phase I facilities which are to be
constructed and operated wholly or partially on Na-
tional Forest System lands retained by the Secretary
after consummation of the land exchange directed by
this section. The Secretary may modify such Phase
I facilities upon mutual agreement with the Sun Val-
ley Company or by imposing conditions pursuant to
paragraph (2) of this subsection.
(C) Within 90 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit the reviewed
Master Plan on the Phase I facilities, including any
modifications made thereto pursuant to subpara-
graph (B), to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the United States Senate and the Com-
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mittee on Resources of the United States House of
Representatives for a 30-day review period. At the
end of the 30-day period, unless otherwise directed
by Act of Congress, the Secretary may issue all nec-
essary authorizations for construction and operation
of such facilities or modifications thereof in accord-
ance with the procedures and provisions of para-
graph (2) of this subsection.
(2) PHASE I FACILITY APPROVAL, CONDITIONS,
AND TIMETABLE.—Within 120 days of receipt of an
application by the Sun Valley Company to authorize
construction and operation of any particular Phase
I facility, facilities, or group of facilities, the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Sun Valley Com-
pany, shall authorize construction and operation of
such facility, facilities, or group of facilities, subject
to the general policies of the Forest Service pertain-
ing to the construction and operation of ski area fa-
cilities on National Forest System lands and subject
to reasonable conditions to protect National Forest
System resources. In providing authorization to con-
struct and operate a facility, facilities, or group of
facilities, the Secretary may not impose any condi-
tion that would significantly change the location,
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size, or scope of the applied for Phase I facility un-
less—
(A) the modification is mutually agreed to
by the Secretary and the Sun Valley Company;
or
(B) the modification is necessary to protect
health and safety.
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to af-
fect the Secretary’s responsibility to monitor and as-
sure compliance with the conditions set forth in the
construction and operation authorization.
(3) CONGRESSIONAL
DIRECTIONS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, Congress finds
that consummation of the land exchange directed by
this section and all determinations, authorizations,
and actions taken by the Secretary pursuant to this
section pertaining to Phase I facilities on National
Forest System lands, or any modifications thereof,
to be nondiscretionary actions authorized and di-
rected by Congress and hence to comply with all pro-
cedural and other requirements of the laws of the
United States. Such determinations, authorizations,
and actions shall not be subject to administrative or
judicial review.
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(f) 
NO
PRECEDENT.—Nothing 
in 
subsection
(c)(4)(B) of this section relating to conditions or limita-
tions on the appraisal of the Federal lands, or any provi-
sion of subsection (e), relating to the approval by the Con-
gress or the Forest Service of facilities on National Forest
System lands, shall be construed as a precedent for subse-
quent legislation.
TITLE II—STERLING FOREST
SEC. 201. FUNDING FOR PALISADES INTERSTATE PARK
COMMISSION.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to provide
funding to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission to
be used for the acquisition of lands and interests in lands
within the area generally depicted on the map entitled
‘‘Boundary Map, Sterling Forest Reserve’’, numbered
SFR–60,001 and dated July 1, 1994. There are author-
ized to be appropriated for purposes of this section not
more than $17,500,000. No funds made available under
this section may be used for the acquisition of any lands
or interest in lands without the consent of the owner there-
of.
SEC. 202. LAND EXCHANGE.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to ex-
change unreserved unappropriated Federal lands under
the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for the
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lands comprising approximately 2,220 acres depicted on
the map entitled ‘‘Sterling Forest, Proposed Sale of Ster-
ling Forest Lands’’ and dated July 25, 1996. The Sec-
retary shall consult with the Governor of any State in
which such unreserved unappropriated lands are located
prior to carrying out such exchange. The lands acquired
by the Secretary under this section shall be transferred
to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission to be in-
cluded within the Sterling Forest Reserve. The lands ex-
changed under this section shall be of equal value, as de-
termined by the Secretary utilizing nationally recognized
appraisal standards. The authority to exchange lands
under this section shall expire on the date 18 months after
the date of enactment of this Act.
TITLE 
III—ANAKTUVUK 
PASS
LAND EXCHANGE AND WIL-
DERNESS REDESIGNATION
SEC. 301. ANAKTUVUK PASS LAND EXCHANGE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress makes the following
findings:
(1) The Alaska National Interest Lands Con-
servation Act (94 Stat. 2371), enacted on December
2, 1980, established Gates of the Arctic National
Park and Preserve and Gates of the Arctic Wilder-
ness. The village of Anaktuvuk Pass, located in the
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highlands of the central Brooks Range, is virtually
surrounded by these national park and wilderness
lands and is the only Native village located within
the boundary of a National Park System unit in
Alaska.
(2) Unlike most other Alaskan Native commu-
nities, the village of Anaktuvuk Pass is not located
on a major river, lake, or coastline that can be used
as a means of access. The residents of Anaktuvuk
Pass have relied increasingly on snow machines in
winter and all-terrain vehicles in summer as their
primary means of access to pursue caribou and
other subsistence resources.
(3) In a 1983 land exchange agreement, linear
easements were reserved by the Inupiat Eskimo peo-
ple for use of all-terrain vehicles across certain na-
tional park lands, mostly along stream and river
banks. These linear easements proved unsatisfactory,
because they provided inadequate access to subsist-
ence resources while causing excessive environmental
impact from concentrated use.
(4) The National Park Service and the
Nunamiut Corporation initiated discussions in 1985
to address concerns over the use of all-terrain vehi-
cles on park and wilderness land. These discussions
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resulted in an agreement, originally executed in
1992 and thereafter amended in 1993 and 1994,
among the National Park Service, Nunamiut Cor-
poration, the City of Anaktuvuk Pass, and Arctic
Slope Regional Corporation. Full effectuation of this
agreement, as amended, by its terms requires ratifi-
cation by the Congress.
(b) RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENT.—
(1) RATIFICATION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—The terms, conditions,
procedures, covenants, reservations and other
provisions set forth in the document entitled
‘‘Donation, Exchange of Lands and Interests in
Lands and Wilderness Redesignation Agree-
ment Among Arctic Slope Regional Corpora-
tion, Nunamiut Corporation, City of Anaktuvuk
Pass and the United States of America’’ (here-
inafter referred to in this section as ‘‘the Agree-
ment’’), executed by the parties on December
17, 1992, as amended, are hereby incorporated
in this title, are ratified and confirmed, and set
forth the obligations and commitments of the
United States, Arctic Slope Regional Corpora-
tion, Nunamiut Corporation and the City of
Anaktuvuk Pass, as a matter of Federal law.
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(B) LAND ACQUISITION.—Lands acquired
by the United States pursuant to the Agree-
ment shall be administered by the Secretary of
the Interior (hereinafter referred to as the
‘‘Secretary’’) as part of Gates of the Arctic Na-
tional Park and Preserve, subject to the laws
and regulations applicable thereto.
(2) MAPS.—The maps set forth as Exhibits C1,
C2, and D through I to the Agreement depict the
lands subject to the conveyances, retention of sur-
face access rights, access easements and all-terrain
vehicle easements. These lands are depicted in great-
er detail on a map entitled ‘‘Land Exchange Actions,
Proposed Anaktuvuk Pass Land Exchange and Wil-
derness Redesignation, Gates of the Arctic National
Park and Preserve’’, Map No. 185/80,039, dated
April 1994, and on file at the Alaska Regional Office
of the National Park Service and the offices of
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in
Fairbanks, Alaska. Written legal descriptions of
these lands shall be prepared and made available in
the above offices. In case of any discrepancies, Map
No. 185/80,039 shall be controlling.
(c) NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM WILDERNESS.—
(1) GATES OF THE ARCTIC WILDERNESS.—
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(A) REDESIGNATION.—Section 701(2) of
the Alaska National Interest Lands Conserva-
tion Act (94 Stat. 2371, 2417) establishing the
Gates of the Arctic Wilderness is hereby
amended with the addition of approximately
56,825 acres as wilderness and the rescission of
approximately 73,993 acres as wilderness, thus
revising the Gates of the Arctic Wilderness to
approximately 7,034,832 acres.
(B) MAP.—The lands redesignated by sub-
paragraph (A) are depicted on a map entitled
‘‘Wilderness Actions, Proposed Anaktuvuk Pass
Land Exchange and Wilderness Redesignation,
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Pre-
serve’’, Map No. 185/80,040, dated April 1994,
and on file at the Alaska Regional Office of the
National Park Service and the office of Gates
of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in
Fairbanks, Alaska.
(2) NOATAK
NATIONAL
PRESERVE.—Section
201(8)(a) of the Alaska National Interest Land
Conservation Act (94 Stat. 2380) is amended by—
(A) striking ‘‘approximately six million
four hundred and sixty thousand acres’’ and in-
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serting 
in 
lieu 
thereof 
‘‘approximately
6,477,168 acres’’; and
(B) inserting ‘‘and the map entitled
‘‘Noatak National Preserve and Noatak Wilder-
ness Addition’’ dated September 1994’’ after
‘‘July 1980’’.
(3) NOATAK WILDERNESS.—Section 701(7) of
the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation
Act (94 Stat. 2417) is amended by striking ‘‘ap-
proximately five million eight hundred thousand
acres’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘approximately
5,817,168 acres’’.
(d) CONFORMANCE WITH OTHER LAW.—
(1) ALASKA
NATIVE
CLAIMS
SETTLEMENT
ACT.—All of the lands, or interests therein, conveyed
to and received by Arctic Slope Regional Corporation
or Nunamiut Corporation pursuant to the Agree-
ment shall be deemed conveyed and received pursu-
ant to exchanges under section 22(f) of the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended (43
U.S.C. 1601, 1621(f)). All of the lands or interests
in lands conveyed pursuant to the Agreement shall
be conveyed subject to valid existing rights.
(2) ALASKA NATIONAL INTEREST LANDS CON-
SERVATION ACT.—Except to the extent specifically
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Rights established in subsection (b), and if such
Federal property to be exchanged is not generating
receipts to the Federal Government in excess of
$1,000,000 per year, then the Secretary may ex-
change the Federal property for that portion of the
Selection Rights having a value equal to that of the
Federal property. The remaining selection rights
shall remain available for additional exchanges.
(C) For the purposes of any exchange to be
consummated under this section, if less than all the
selection rights are being exchanged, then the value
of the selection rights being exchanged shall be equal
to the number of acres of selection rights being ex-
changed multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of
which is the value of all the selection rights as deter-
mined pursuant to subsection (b) hereof and the de-
nominator of which is the total number of acres of
selection rights.
(2) ADDITIONAL
EXCHANGES.—If, after 10
years from the date of the enactment of this section,
the Secretary was unable to conclude such exchanges
as may be required to acquire all of the selection
rights, he shall conclude exchanges for the remaining
selection rights for such Federal property as may be
identified by Koniag, which property is available for