I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3769
To provide for the conditional transfer of the Oregon and California Railroad
Grant Lands, the Coos Bay Military Wagon Road Grant Lands, and
related public domain lands to the State of Oregon
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 10, 1996
Mr. BUNN of Oregon introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agri-
culture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide for the conditional transfer of the Oregon and
California Railroad Grant Lands, the Coos Bay Military
Wagon Road Grant Lands, and related public domain
lands to the State of Oregon
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘O&C Forest Transfer Act.’’
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
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Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Findings.
Sec. 4. Transfer of railroad grant lands and wagon road grant lands to the
State of Oregon.
Sec. 5. Qualifying resolution of assent.
Sec. 6. New Management Plans.
Sec. 7. Suspension of laws rendered obsolete by transfer of railroad grant lands
and wagon road grant lands.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Railroad Grant Lands’’ means
the Oregon and California Railroad Grant Lands.
(2) The term ‘‘Wagon Road Grant Lands’’
means the Coos Bay Military Wagon Road Grant
Lands.
(3) The term ‘‘O&C counties’’ means 18 coun-
ties in the State of Oregon within which the Rail-
road Grant Lands and Wagon Road Grant Lands
are situated.
(4) The term ‘‘controverted lands’’ means those
parcels of the Railroad Grant Lands that are in-
cluded within the boundaries of the National Forest
System and managed by the Department of Agri-
culture, subject to certain obligations to the
O&C Counties under the Act of August 28, 1937
(43 U.S.C. 1181a–1181f).
(5) The term ‘‘qualifying resolution of assent’’
means legislation adopted by the State of Oregon to
effectuate the transfer of the Railroad Grant Lands,
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the Wagon Road Grant Lands and certain, related
public domain lands pursuant to this Act.
(6) The term ‘‘O&C Lands Fund’’ means the
fund established by the State of Oregon pursuant to
section 5(a)(5) of this Act.
(7) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(8) The term ‘‘blocking up’’ or ‘‘blocked up’’
means the act or result of consolidation of ownership
by two or more owners of multiple, scattered parcels
to ownership of a smaller number of contiguous, ad-
joining larger parcels through trades or other such
transfers between owners.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Oregon and California Railroad Grant
Lands and the Coos Bay Military Wagon Road
Grants Lands were originally conveyed by the Unit-
ed States into private ownership by the Act of July
25, 1866 (as amended by the Acts of June 25,
1868, and April 10, 1869), the Act of March 3,
1869, and the Act of May 4, 1870, to promote, in
conjunction with construction of a wagon road and
railway for military and other national purposes, the
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economic development of the State of Oregon and its
communities.
(2) The railway and the wagon road were build
and the national purposes of the grants were satis-
fied. The lands were in private ownership and under
the jurisdiction of the sovereign State of Oregon and
were carried on the property tax rolls for up to 30
years. But conditions in the original grants intended
to facilitate community development were not com-
plied with and on February 14, 1907, the State of
Oregon petitioned the Congress of the United States
by legislative memorial to take steps necessary to
compel action in furtherance of the local purposes
of the original grants.
(3) The Railroad Grant Lands and Wagon
Road Grant Lands were revested to the United
States by the Act of June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218),
and the Act of February 26, 1919 (40 Stat. 1179),
for the purposes of management and redisposition to
promote the original goal of economic development
in the O&C Counties.
(4) The United States ceased reconveying the
grant lands back into private ownership and, in-
stead, Congress placed the Railroad Grant lands by
the Act of August 28, 1937 (43 U.S.C. 1181a–
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(7) Beginning in 1953 and thereafter, the O&C
Counties voluntarily relinquished revenues from the
Railroad Grant Lands to which they were otherwise
entitled so that the Secretary of the Interior could
use such revenues for the management and develop-
ment of the Railroad Grant Lands.
(8) As a result of the voluntarily relinquishment
of revenues, the O&C Counties have invested funds,
the 
1996 
value 
of 
which 
is 
approximately
$2,000,000,000, in fire protection, recreation facili-
ties, roads, bridges, buildings, reforestation, and
other projects to enhance the usefulness and produc-
tivity of the Railroad Grant Lands, all with the ex-
pectation that their investment would be repaid
through permanent management of the Railroad
Grant Lands for the sustained yield of timber and
future timber harvests and other purposes author-
ized by the Act of August 28, 1937 (43 U.S.C.
1181a–1181f).
(9) As a result of the nature of the original
grants, the Railroad Grant Lands and the Wagon
Road Grant Lands are scattered in a checkerboard
pattern across the O&C Counties, interspersed pri-
marily with private and State-owned lands and scat-
tered parcels of other Federally owned timberlands
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managed within the Department of the Interior by
the Bureau of Land Management in coordination
with the Railroad Grant Lands.
(10) The scattered checkerboard pattern of
Federal ownership of the Railroad Grant Lands and
Wagon Road Grant Lands results in economic ineffi-
ciencies in the management of such lands and the
interspersed private and State-owned lands and
interferes with coordinated management across the
landscape to achieve conservation goals.
(11) The Railroad Grant Lands and the Wagon
Road Grant Lands were managed by the Secretary
of the Interior for 50 years primarily for the sus-
tained yield of timber as required by law, but such
lands are not now being managed for that purpose.
(12) The Railroad Grant Lands, Wagon Road
Grant 
Lands 
and 
related 
federally 
owned
timberlands managed by the Bureau of Land Man-
agement are biologically capable of producing in ex-
cess of 1,600,000,000 board feet of timber per year
on a sustained-yield basis to meet local and national
needs.
(13) In 1995, the Legislative Assembly of the
State of Oregon petitioned Congress to pass such
legislation as may be necessary to transfer title to
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the Railroad Grant Lands to the State of Oregon,
subject to such terms and conditions as are nec-
essary to assure management in perpetuity for the
sustained yield of timber to stabilize and support the
O&C counties, conserve watersheds, and provide
recreation opportunities to all citizens.
(14) The State of Oregon is actively engaged in
the management, for itself and for the benefit of
others, of large tracts of timberland and possesses
the regulatory infrastructure and technical, sci-
entific, and management expertise to efficiently and
competently manage additional timberlands in a
manner that effectively balances environmental pro-
tection with economic necessity. Oregon law pro-
hibits the export of timber from lands owned by the
State of Oregon, thereby helping to maintain the
supply of raw materials for domestic processing.
(15) The State of Oregon is capable of manag-
ing the Railroad and Wagon Road Grant Lands effi-
ciently while maintaining a high level of wildlife and
ecosystem protection. State management of these
lands would enable the demonstration of the prin-
ciples and promise of adaptive forest and watershed
management in areas with an intricate mixture of
public and private land. Oregon can be a laboratory
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for finding creative ways of managing forests and
watersheds under multiple owners to meet a balance
of environmental and commodity goals.
(16) There is a strong national interest in
maintaining a stable and dependable domestic tim-
ber supply, particularly from lands, such as the Rail-
road Grant Lands and Wagon Road Grant Lands,
already dedicated to that purpose.
(17) It is in the national interest to reduce the
size of the Bureau of Land Management, reduce the
burden on the Federal Treasury of managing the
Railroad Grant Lands, Wagon Road Grant Lands
and related federally owned timberlands, and trans-
fer control of and land management authority over
such lands to the most local level of government ca-
pable of effectively and efficiently managing the
lands.
(18) There is a strong national interest in pro-
tecting and conserving all of the natural resources,
including fish and wildlife, found on the Railroad
Grant Lands, Wagon Road Grant Lands, and relat-
ed federally owned timberlands.
(19) National, State, and local interests both
public and private, and both economic and ecologic,
would be best served if the checkerboard pattern of
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property ownership in the O&C counties in the area
of the Railroad Grant Lands and Wagon Road
Grant Lands was transformed through a process of
blocking up ownerships.
(20) National, State, and local interests in the
Railroad Grant Lands and the Wagon Road Grant
Lands would be best served if these lands and relat-
ed federally owned timberlands managed by the Bu-
reau of Land Management were transferred to the
State of Oregon, subject to terms and conditions
necessary to assure their management consistent
with the intent of this Act.
SEC. 4. TRANSFER OF RAILROAD GRANT LANDS AND
WAGON ROAD GRANT LANDS TO THE STATE
OF OREGON.
(a) TRANSFER REQUIRED.—Within three years fol-
lowing receipt of a qualifying resolution of assent that sat-
isfies the conditions specified in section 5(a), and provided
that the qualifying resolution of assent is filed on or before
December 31, 1999, the Secretary of the Interior shall
transfer to the State of Oregon all right, title, and interest
of the United States in and to all of the real property
described in subsection (b), including the resources and
water rights associated with such property, if any. The
transfer shall also include all data, documents, draft plans,
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plans, maps, agreements, and all other papers or electroni-
cally stored information relating to ownership or manage-
ment of such real property.
(b) DESCRIPTION OF REAL PROPERTY SUBJECT TO
TRANSFER.—The real property to be transferred to the
State of Oregon under subsection (a) shall consist of the
following:
(1) The Railroad Grant Lands, consisting of all
lands revested to the United States pursuant to the
Act of June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218), but not includ-
ing the controverted lands.
(2) All lands acquired by the United States
after June 9, 1916, including the Wagon Road
Grant Lands, and managed within the Department
of the Interior by the Bureau of Land Management
under the Act of August 28, 1937 (43 U.S.C.
1181a–1181f).
(3) All federally owned lands managed within
the Department of the Interior by the Bureau of
Land Management, classified as timberland, and
lying within one or more of the O&C counties.
(4) The land and structures both owned by the
United States in the State of Oregon and utilized,
as of the date of enactment of this Act, by the Bu-
reau of Land Management as district or resource
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consultation with the O&C counties and the Governor of
the State of Oregon to ensure that such descriptions and
maps accurately reflect the lands to be transferred. The
Secretary is not required to conduct a survey of any lands
prior to transferring such lands under this Act.
(d) EFFECT OF TRANSFER ON SPECIAL REVENUE-
SHARING REQUIREMENTS.—If the transfer of lands under
subsection (a) is completed prior to October 1, 2003, the
O&C counties shall nevertheless continue to receive the
special payment amounts under section 13983 of the Om-
nibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Public Law
103–66; 43 U.S.C. 1181f note) or any amendments there-
to through September 30, 2003, but in any event such
payments under that Act will cease after payments for fis-
cal year 2003 are complete.
(e) TIME FOR TRANSFER.—The Secretary shall com-
plete the land transfer required by subsection (a) not later
than three years after the date on which the Secretary
receives a qualifying resolution of assent.
(f) NOTICE
OF TRANSFER
TO CONGRESS.—Upon
completion of the land transfer required by subsection (a),
the Secretary shall submit to Congress written notice de-
scribing the lands subject to the transfer. The notice shall
include a copy of the qualifying resolution of assent and
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a copy of the final legal descriptions and maps prepared
under subsection (c).
SEC. 5. QUALIFYING RESOLUTION OF ASSENT.
(a) CONDITIONS PREREQUISITE TO TRANSFER.—To
satisfy the conditions necessary for transfer of the Rail-
road Grant Lands, Wagon Road Grant Lands, inter-
spersed federally owned timberlands managed by the Bu-
reau of Land Management, and related property under
section 4, the resolution of assent by the legislature of the
State of Oregon must be filed with the Secretary on or
before December 31, 1999, and must provide for manage-
ment by the State of Oregon consistent with the following
terms:
(1) That the State of Oregon has taken all
steps necessary to receive title to the lands conveyed
by this Act, hold such lands in trust for the financial
benefit of the O&C counties through sustained-yield
timber production, and manage such lands in ac-
cordance with such trust obligations and for the ben-
efit of the people of Oregon and of the United
States.
(2) That, upon receipt of title, the State of Or-
egon through its Oregon Board of Forestry and Or-
egon Department of Forestry or the successors to
such Board and Department will manage the lands
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conveyed by this Act for permanent timber produc-
tion under the principle of sustained yield for the
purpose of contributing to the economic stability of
local communities. While providing a permanent
source of timber supply, the State of Oregon shall
protect watersheds and fisheries, regulate stream
flows, provide wildlife habitat and recreational op-
portunities, and institute a program that provides
for blocking up of the lands through trades and
other transfers with willing private and other public
landowners within the O&C Counties.
(3) That, in managing the lands conveyed by
this Act for the purposes set forth in paragraph (2),
the State of Oregon will be guided by principles of
good stewardship based on the best verifiable sci-
entific information available at the time.
(4) That, prior to January 1, 2004, manage-
ment by the State of Oregon of the transferred lands
shall be pursuant to a State management plan that
is consistent with the standards and guidelines of
the Northwest Forest Plan adopted on April 13,
1994, or other Federal land management plans in
effect at the time of transfer. Beginning January 1,
2004 and thereafter, management by the State of
Oregon in accordance with the objectives of this Act
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will be conducted under a habitat conservation plan
developed and approved pursuant to the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531
et seq.) so as to coordinate with management on
lands remaining in Federal ownership.
(5) That a fund has been established in the
treasury of the State of Oregon entitled the ‘‘O&C
Lands Fund,’’ into which all gross revenues derived
from timber sales or otherwise produced from the
lands conveyed by this Act or subsequently ex-
changed lands are deposited.
(6) That, prior to January 1, 2004, disburse-
ments will be made annually to the O&C counties,
with disbursements to individual counties made in
the same proportion that each of them has received
disbursements of revenues under the Act of August
28, 1937 (43 U.S.C. 1181a–1181f). Annual dis-
bursements prior to January 1, 2004, to the O&C
counties from the O&C Lands Fund shall be the
lesser of 50 percent of gross revenues deposited in
the O&C Lands Fund or the amount that, when
taken together with payments received under section
13983 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1993 (Public Law 103–66; 43 U.S.C. 1181f note),
the combined total payments are equal to the
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amount received by the O&C counties under section
13983 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1993 during the year in which the qualifying resolu-
tion of assent is submitted to the Secretary. Prior to
January 1, 2004, all of the revenues deposited in the
O&C Lands Fund remaining after annual payments
to the O&C counties will be utilized by the State of
Oregon for management of the lands conveyed by
this Act for the purposes set forth in paragraphs (2)
and (3).
(7) Beginning January 1, 2004, and thereafter,
50 percent of gross revenues deposited in the O&C
Lands Fund will be disbursed annually to the O&C
counties, with disbursements to individual counties
made in the same proportion that each of them has
received disbursements of revenues under the Act of
August 28, 1937 (43 U.S.C. 1181a–1181f). Begin-
ning January 1, 2004, and thereafter, the remaining
50 percent of gross revenues deposited in the O&C
Lands Fund will be utilized by the State of Oregon
for management of the lands conveyed by this Act
for the purposes set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3),
with any balance remaining thereafter available to
the State for other public purposes at the discretion
of the State. Payments to the O&C counties from
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the O&C Lands Fund shall not serve as a basis for
offsetting or reducing payments or revenue distribu-
tions by the State to any O&C county under any
other State program or legislation.
(8) That the State will accept title subject to all
valid existing rights and will assume the obligations
of the United States under the terms of any lease,
contract, permit, easement, license or other valid
binding agreement outstanding between the United
States and any other party relating to the lands con-
veyed by this Act as of the date title is transferred
to the State.
(9) That the State will administer a mineral
rights program applicable to any person who, as of
the date of enactment of this Act has filed an
unpatented mining claim, filed a patent application,
or received a first-half patent certificate. Patented
lands located within lands transferred pursuant to
this Act shall not be subject to this Act, except for
the protection of access and other such rights as
provided for in paragraph 8 of this section. The
State program required by this paragraph will insure
that surface, subsurface and access rights of
unpatented mining claims, potentially eligible patent-
ees and private patented lands are no less favorable
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retary under this subsection shall be made on the
record after an opportunity for a hearing.
(3) The ripened right of reentry retained by the
United States shall vest and all right, title and inter-
est in lands and other property transferred under
this Act shall revert to the United States only if—
(A) the Secretary files a declaration of re-
entry within three months after the two-year
period provided for in subsection (2) with the
Governor of the State of Oregon; and
(B) the Secretary records a declaration of
reentry in the office of the county recorder in
each of the O&C counties within three months
after the filing required under paragraph (A)
and prior to January 1, 2050.
(4) As a condition of reentry pursuant to sub-
sections (2) and (3), the United States shall manage
the lands thereafter for permanent timber produc-
tion for the benefit of local communities, with reve-
nues derived therefrom to be distributed in the same
manner provided for by the Act of August 28, 1937
(43 U.S.C. 1181a–1181f).
(5) Unless exercised and perfected sooner pur-
suant to subsections (2) and (3), the right of reentry
shall expire on January 1, 2050.
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SEC. 6. NEW MANAGEMENT PLANS.
(a) If a qualifying resolution of assent has been filed
with the Secretary as provided in section 5 of this Act,
the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture
shall, not later than January 1, 2001, commence prepara-
tion of amendments to the Northwest Forest Plan adopted
April 13, 1994, or other Federal land management plans
in effect as of January 1, 2001, which amendments shall
anticipate the transfer of land as required by this Act and
subsequent State management, and which amendments
shall become effective on January 1, 2004 on lands cur-
rently under the Northwest Forest Plan that remain in
Federal ownership on and after January 1, 2004.
SEC. 7. SUSPENSION OF LAWS RENDERED OBSOLETE BY
TRANSFER OF RAILROAD GRANT LANDS AND
WAGON ROAD GRANT LANDS
(a) DESCRIPTION OF SUSPENDED LAWS; DATE OF
SUSPENSION.—Provided that the Secretary of Interior has
submitted to Congress the notice required by section 4(f),
the following laws are suspended effective January 1,
2004, and are of no further force or effect unless and until
the right of reentry ripens and vests and title to trans-
ferred lands reverts to the United States pursuant to sec-
tion 5(b) of this Act:
(1) The Act of August 28, 1937 (43 U.S.C.
1181a–1181f).
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(2) The Act of May 24, 1939 (43 U.S.C.
1181f–1181f–4).
(3) The Act of June 24, 1954 (43 U.S.C.
1181g–1181i), concerning the controverted lands.
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