I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5237
To declare that the United States holds certain public domain lands in
trust for the Pueblos of San Ildefonso and Santa Clara.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 25, 2002
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Resources
A BILL
To declare that the United States holds certain public do-
main lands in trust for the Pueblos of San Ildefonso
and Santa Clara.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. TRANSFER OF LANDS INTO TRUST FOR PUEB-
LOS OF SAN ILDEFONSO AND SANTA CLARA,
NEW MEXICO.
(a) LANDS HELD IN TRUST FOR PUEBLO OF SANTA
CLARA.—All right, title, and interest of the United States
in the lands described in subsection (b), including all im-
provements thereon and appurtenances thereto and rights
to all minerals, including oil and gas, are hereby declared
within Rio Arriba and Santa Fe Counties, New Mexico,
and are more particularly described as follows:
That portion of Section 22, Township 20
North, Range 7 East, New Mexico Principal Merid-
ian, that is south of the line established in accord-
ance with the provisions of Section 2 (a) of this Act.
That portion of Section 26, Township 20
North, Range 7 East, New Mexico Principal Merid-
ian, that is south and west of the line established in
accordance with the provisions of Section 2(a) of
this Act.
That portion of Section 27, Township 20
North, Range 7 East, New Mexico Principal Merid-
ian, that is south of the line established in accord-
ance with the provisions of Section 2(a) of this Act.
All of Section 34, Township 20 North, Range
7 East, New Mexico Principal Meridian.
That portion of Section 35, Township 20
North, Range 7 East, New Mexico Principal Merid-
ian, that is not included within the San Ildefonso
Pueblo Grant.
SEC. 2. SURVEY OF BOUNDARY LINE; PUBLICATION OF DE-
SCRIPTION IN FEDERAL REGISTER.
(a) SURVEY OF BOUNDARY LINE.—In order to accu-
rately establish on the ground the boundary of the lands
declared to be held in trust for the Pueblo of Santa Clara
and the boundary of the lands declared to be held in trust
for the Pueblo of San Ildefonso as described in section
1 of this Act, the Secretary of Interior shall, by the date
that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
cause a survey to be conducted by the Office of Cadastral
Survey of the Bureau of Land Management of the bound-
ary lines established under the provisions of the Agree-
ment to Affirm Boundary Between Pueblo of Santa Clara
and Pueblo of San Ildefonso Aboriginal Lands Within
Garcia Canyon Tract, that was executed on December 20,
2000, by the respective Governors of the two Pueblos,
which survey shall be undertaken in accordance with the
provisions of such Agreement.
(b) PUBLICATION OF LAND DESCRIPTIONS IN FED-
ERAL REGISTER.—Upon completion of the survey de-
scribed in subsection (a), and its acceptance by the respec-
tive Governors of the 2 Pueblos, the Secretary shall cause
the full metes and bounds description of the lines thus
established, together with a full and accurate description
of the lands declared to be held in trust for each Pueblo
by Section 1 of this Act, respectively, to be published in
the Federal Register, and such descriptions shall, upon
their publication, constitute the official descriptions of the
lands transferred into trust hereunder. In preparing such
publication, the Secretary is authorized to correct any
technical errors in the legal descriptions contained in this
Act, so as to make the descriptions of the lands declared
to be held in trust for the two Pueblos consistent with
the terms of the Agreement described in subsection (a).
SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION OF LANDS DECLARED TO BE
HELD IN TRUST.
Upon the enactment of this Act, and subject to the
other provisions of this Act, the lands described in section
1(b) are hereby declared to be part of the Pueblo of Santa
Clara’s reservation and the lands described in section 1(d)
are hereby declared to be part of the Pueblo of San
Ildefonso’s reservation. All lands described in Section 1
shall be administered in accordance with the laws and
rules of law generally applicable to property held in trust
by the United States for Indian tribes.
SEC. 4. VALID EXISTING RIGHTS PRESERVED.
Nothing in this Act shall deprive any person (other
than the United States) of any legal existing right-of-way,
lease, permit, mining claim, grazing permit, water right,
or any other right or interest which such person may have
in any of the trust lands within the purview of this Act
on the date preceding the date of enactment of this Act.
No existing right or claim of either Pueblo to any lands
or interest in lands based upon Aboriginal or Indian title
shall be enlarged, impaired or other wise affected by this
Act.
SEC. 5. LANDS SUBJECT TO SECTION 17 OF PUEBLO LANDS
ACT.
The lands described in section 1, and all lands owned
or acquired by the Pueblo of Santa Clara within the Santa
Clara Pueblo Grant, and all lands owned or acquired by
the Pueblo of San Ildefonso within the San Ildefonso
Pueblo Grant, shall be fully subject to the provisions of
Section 17 of the Act of June 7, 1924 (43 Stat. 641; com-
monly referred to as the ‘‘Pueblo Lands Act’’).
SEC. 6. USE OF LANDS.
Land conveyed under this Act may only be used for
traditional and customary uses or stewardship conserva-
tion for the benefit of the Pueblo of San Ildefonso or the
Pueblo of Sanat Clara for whom the land is held in trust.
The Secretary of the Interior shall work with the Pueblos
to develop appropriate criteria for use of the land to en-
sure that the land is preserved for traditional and cus-
tomary uses or stewardship conservation.
SEC. 7. WATER.
Nothing in this Act shall constitute or be construed
to constitute—
(1) an express or implied reservation of water
or water rights with respect to the land conveyed
under this Act; or
(2) a creation, recognition, disclaimer, relin-
quishment, or reduction of any water rights of Pueb-
lo of San Ildefonso or the Pueblo Santa Clara exist-
ing prior to the date of the enactment of this Act.
Æ