HR 3830 RS
Certain State school trust lands within the Monu-
ment, like the Federal lands comprising the Monu-
ment, have substantial noneconomic scientific, his-
toric, cultural, scenic, recreational, and natural re-
sources, including ancient Native American archeo-
logical sites and rare plant and animal communities.
(3) Development of surface and mineral re-
sources on State school trust lands within the monu-
ment could be incompatible with the preservation of
these scientific and historic resources for which the
monument was established. Federal acquisition of
State school trust lands within the monument would
eliminate this potential incompatibility, and would
enhance management of the Grand Staircase-
Escalante National Monument.
(4) The United States owns lands and interest
in lands outside of the monument that can be trans-
ferred to the State of Utah in exchange for the
monument inholdings without jeopardizing Federal
management objectives or needs.
(5) In 1993, Congress passed and the President
signed Public Law 103–93, which contained a proc-
ess for exchanging State of Utah school trust
inholdings in the National Park System, the Na-
tional Forest System, and certain Indian reserva-
HR 3830 RS
tions in Utah. Among other things, it identified var-
ious Federal lands and interests in land that were
available to exchange for these State inholdings.
(6) Although Public Law 103–93 offered the
hope of a prompt, orderly exchange of State
inholdings for Federal lands elsewhere, implementa-
tion of the legislation has been very slow. Comple-
tion of this process is realistically estimated to be
many years away, at great expense to both the State
and the United States in the form of expert wit-
nesses, lawyers, appraisers, and other litigation
costs.
(7) The State also owns approximately 2,560
acres of land in or near the Alton coal field which
has been declared an area unsuitable for coal mining
under the terms of the Surface Mining Control and
Reclamation Act. This land is also administered by
the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Ad-
ministration, but its use is limited given this dec-
laration.
(8) The large presence of State school trust
land inholdings in the monument, national parks,
national forests, and Indian reservations make land
and resource management in these areas difficult,
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costly, and controversial for both the State of Utah
and the United States.
(9) It is in the public interest to reach agree-
ment on exchange of inholdings, on terms fair to
both the State and the United States. Agreement
saves much time and delay in meeting the expecta-
tions of the State school and institutional trusts, in
simplifying management of Federal and Indian lands
and resources, and in avoiding expensive, protracted
litigation under Public Law 103–93.
(10) The State of Utah and the United States
have reached an agreement under which the State
would exchange of all its State school trust lands
within the monument, and specified inholdings in
national parks, forests, and Indian reservations that
are subject to Public Law 103–93, for various Fed-
eral lands and interests in lands located outside the
monument, including Federal lands and interests
identified as available for exchange in Public Law
103–93 and additional Federal lands and interests
in lands.
(11) The State school trust lands to be con-
veyed to the Federal Government include properties
within units of the National Park System, the Na-
tional Forest System, and the Grand Staircase-
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Escalante National Monument. The Federal assets
made available for exchange with the State were se-
lected with a great sensitivity to environmental con-
cerns and a belief and expectation by both parties
that Federal assets to be conveyed to the State
would be unlikely to trigger significant environ-
mental controversy.
(12) The parties agreed at the outset of nego-
tiations to avoid identifying Federal assets for con-
veyance to the State where any of the following was
known to exist or likely to be an issue as a result
of foreseeable future uses of the land: significant
wildlife resources, endangered species habitat, sig-
nificant archaeological resources, areas of critical en-
vironmental concern, coal resources requiring sur-
face mining to extract the mineral deposits, wilder-
ness study areas, significant recreational areas, or
any other lands known to raise significant environ-
mental concerns of any kind.
(13) The parties further agreed that the use of
any mineral interests obtained by the State of Utah
where the Federal Government retains surface and
other interest, will not conflict with established Fed-
eral land and environmental management objectives,
and shall be fully subject to all environmental regu-
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lations applicable to development of non-Federal
mineral interest on Federal lands.
(14) Because the inholdings to be acquired by
the Federal Government include properties within
the boundaries of some of the most renowned con-
servation land units in the United States, and be-
cause a mission of the Utah School and Institutional
Trust Lands Administration is to produce economic
benefits for Utah’s public schools and other bene-
ficiary institutions, the exchange of lands called for
in this agreement will resolve many longstanding en-
vironmental conflicts and further the interest of the
State trust lands, the school children of Utah, and
these conservation resources.
(15) The Congress finds that, under this Agree-
ment taken as a whole, the State interests to be con-
veyed to the United States by the State of Utah,
and the Federal interests and payments to be con-
veyed to the State of Utah by the United States, are
approximately equal in value.
(16) The purpose of this legislation is to enact
into law and direct prompt implementation of this
historic agreement.
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SEC. 3. RATIFICATION OF AGREED EXCHANGE BETWEEN
THE STATE OF UTAH AND THE DEPARTMENT
OF THE INTERIOR.
(a) AGREEMENT.—The State of Utah and the De-
partment of the Interior have agreed to exchange certain
Federal lands, Federal mineral interests, and payment of
money for lands and mineral interests managed by the
Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administra-
tion, lands and mineral interests of approximately equal
value inheld within the Grand Staircase-Escalante Na-
tional Monument the Goshute and Navajo Indian Reserva-
tions, units of the national park system, the national for-
est system, and the Alton coal fields.
(b) RATIFICATION.—All terms, conditions, proce-
dures, covenants, reservations, and other provisions set
forth in the document entitled ‘‘Agreement to Exchange
Utah School Trust Lands Between the State of Utah and
the United States of America’’ (herein referred to as ‘‘the
Agreement’’) are hereby incorporated in this title, are rati-
fied and confirmed, and set forth the obligations and com-
mitments of the United States, the State of Utah, and
Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administra-
tion (herein referred to as ‘‘SITLA’’), as a matter of Fed-
eral law.