I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1995
To provide for the protection of farmland at the Point Reyes National
Seashore, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 19, 1997
Ms. WOOLSEY (for herself, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. CAMPBELL,
Mr. DOOLEY of California, and Mr. CONDIT) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Resources
A BILL
To provide for the protection of farmland at the Point Reyes
National Seashore, 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 ‘‘Point Reyes National
Seashore Farmland Protection Act of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are to—
(1) protect the pastoral nature of the land adja-
cent to the Point Reyes National Seashore from de-
velopment that would be incompatible with the char-
acter, integrity, and visitor experience of the park;
(2) create a model public/private partnership
among the Federal, State, and local governments, as
well as organizations and citizens that will preserve
and enhance the agricultural lands along Tomales
and Bodega Bay Watersheds;
(3) protect the substantial Federal investment
in Point Reyes National Seashore by protecting land
and water resources and maintaining the relatively
undeveloped nature of the land surrounding Tomales
and Bodega Bays; and
(4) preserve productive uses of lands and wa-
ters in Marin and Sonoma counties adjacent to
Point Reyes National Seashore, primarily by main-
taining the land in private ownership restricted by
conservation easements.
SEC. 3. ADDITION OF FARMLAND PROTECTION AREA TO
POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE AND AC-
QUISITION OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS.
(a) ADDITION.—Section 2 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act
to establish the Point Reyes National Seashore in the
State of California, and for other purposes’’ (16 U.S.C.
459c–1) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(c) The Point Reyes National Seashore shall also
include the Farmland Protection Area depicted on the
map numbered 612/60,163 and dated July, 1995. Such
map shall be on file and available for public inspection
in the Offices of the National Park Service, Department
of the Interior, Washington, District of Columbia.
‘‘(d) Within the Farmland Protection Area depicted
on the map referred to in section 2(c) of this Act the pri-
mary objective shall be to maintain agricultural land in
private ownership protected from nonagricultural develop-
ment by conservation easements.’’
(b) AUTHORITY FOR FARMLAND ACQUISITION AND
MANAGEMENT.—Section 3 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 459c–
2) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(d)(1) Notwithstanding subsections (a) through (c)
of this section, the Secretary, to encourage continued agri-
cultural use, may acquire lands or interests in lands from
the owners of such lands within the Farmland Protection
Area depicted on the map referred to in section 2(c) of
this Act. Except as provided in paragraph (3), lands and
interests in lands may only be acquired under this sub-
section by donation, purchase with donated or appro-
priated funds, or exchange. Lands acquired under this
subsection by exchange may be exchanged for lands lo-
cated outside of the State of California, notwithstanding
section 206(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Manage-
ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(b)).
‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall give priority to (i) ac-
quiring interests in lands through the purchase of develop-
ment rights and conservation easements, (ii) acquiring
lands and interests therein from nonprofit corporations
operating primarily for conservation purposes, and (iii) ac-
quiring lands and interests therein by donation or ex-
change.
‘‘(B) The Secretary shall not acquire any conserva-
tion easements on land within the Farmland Protection
Area from nonprofit organizations which were acquired by
such nonprofit organizations prior to January 1, 1997.
‘‘(C) For the purpose of managing, in the most cost
effective manner, interests in lands acquired under this
subsection, and for the purpose of maintaining continuity
with lands that have existing easements, the Secretary
shall enter into cooperative agreements with public agen-
cies or nonprofit organizations having substantial experi-
ence holding, monitoring, and managing conservation
easements on agricultural land in the region, such as the
Marin Agricultural Land Trust, the Sonoma County Agri-
cultural Preservation and Open Space District, and the
Sonoma Land Trust.
‘‘(3)(A) Within the boundaries of the Farmland Pro-
tection Area depicted on the map referred to in section
2(c), absent an acquisition of privately owned lands or in-
terests therein by the United States, nothing in this Act
shall authorize any Federal agency or official to regulate
the use or enjoyment of privately owned lands, including
lands currently subject to easements held by the Marin
Agricultural Land Trust, the Sonoma County Agricultural
Preservation and Open Space District, and the Sonoma
Land Trust, and such privately owned lands shall continue
under the jurisdiction of the State and political subdivi-
sions within which they are located.
‘‘(B) The Secretary may permit, or lease, lands ac-
quired in fee under this subsection. Any such permit or
lease shall be consistent with the purposes of the Point
Reyes National Seashore Farmland Protection Act of
1997. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, reve-
nues derived from any such permit, or lease, may be re-
tained by the Secretary, and such revenues shall be avail-
able, without further appropriation, for expenditure to fur-
ther the goals and objectives of agricultural preservation
within the boundaries of the area depicted on the map re-
ferred to in section 2(c).
‘‘(C) Lands, and interests in lands, within the area
depicted on the map referred to in section 2(c) of this Act
which are owned by the State of California, or any political
subdivision thereof, may be acquired only by donation or
exchange.
‘‘(4) Section 5 shall not apply with respect to lands
and interests in lands acquired under this subsection.’’.
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section
9 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 459c–7) is amended by adding
at the end the following: ‘‘In addition to the sums author-
ized to be appropriated by this section before the enact-
ment of the Point Reyes National Seashore Farmland
Protection Act of 1997, there is authorized to be appro-
priated $30,000,000 to be used on a matching basis to
acquire lands and interests in lands under section 3(d).
The Federal share of the costs for acquiring land and in-
terests in lands under section 3(d) shall be one half of
the total costs of such acquisition. The non-Federal share
of such acquisition costs may be in the form of property,
monies, services, or in-kind contributions, fairly valued.
For such purposes, any lands or interests in lands that
are within the boundaries of the area depicted on the map
referred to in section 2(c), that are currently held under
a conservation easement by the Marin Agricultural Land
Trust, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and
Open Space District, the Sonoma Land Trust, or any
other land protection agency or by the State of California
or any political subdivision thereof shall be considered a
matching contribution from non-Federal sources in an
amount equal to the fair market value of such lands or
interests in land, as determined by the Secretary.’’.
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