Topic: Public Lands — Indigenous Affairs
Subject: Native Americans
Date: 2014-11-13 00:00:00

Western Oregon Indian Tribal Lands Act - Title I: Reservation of Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon - (Sec. 101) Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to accept title to any additional acres of real property located within the boundaries of the original 1857 reservation of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (comprising land within the political boundaries of Polk and Yamhill Counties, Oregon), if such real property is conveyed or otherwise transferred to the United States by or on behalf of the Tribe.

States that: (1) the Secretary shall treat all applications to take land into trust within the boundaries of the original 1857 reservation as an on-reservation trust acquisition (off-reservation land acquisition requests require the Secretary to give greater scrutiny to the tribe's justification of the anticipated benefits from the acquisition); (2) the real property taken into trust is not to be eligible, or used, for Class II or III gaming, except for real property within two miles of a specified gaming facility; and (3) all real property taken into trust within those boundaries after September 9, 1988, shall be part of the Tribe's reservation.

 Title II: Oregon Coastal Lands - Oregon Coastal Lands Act - (Sec. 203) Requires all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to approximately 14,408 acres of land generally depicted on the map entitled "Oregon Coastal Land Conveyance," dated March 27, 2013 (Oregon Coastal land), to be held in trust for, and to be part of the reservation of, the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians.

(Sec. 205) Applies federal law relating to the export of unprocessed logs harvested from federal land to any unprocessed logs harvested from such land. Prohibits gaming on such land. Requires commercial forestry activity on such land to be managed in accordance with applicable federal laws. Exempts such land from the land use planning requirements of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 or the Act of August 28, 1937.

Directs the Tribes to consult with the Secretary and other parties to develop agreements to provide for access to such land that provide for: (1) honoring existing reciprocal right-of-way agreements, (2) administrative access by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and (3) management of any such land acquired or developed under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 in accordance with such Act.

(Sec. 206) Directs the Secretary to: (1) identify any such land that is Oregon and California Railroad grant land, (2) identify public domain land in Oregon that is approximately equal in acreage and condition to, and located within the vicinity of, such Oregon and California Railroad grant land, and (3) reclassify such public domain land as Oregon and California Railroad grant land. Title III: Cow Creek Umpqua Land Conveyance - Cow Creek Umpqua Land Conveyance Act - (Sec. 303) Requires all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to approximately 17,519 acres of land generally depicted on the map entitled "Canyon Mountain Land Conveyance," dated June 27, 2013 (Council Creek land), to be held in trust for, and to be part of the reservation of, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.

(Sec. 305) Applies federal law relating to the export of unprocessed logs harvested from federal land to any unprocessed logs that are harvested from such land. Prohibits gaming on such land. Requires any forestry activity on such land to be managed in accordance with applicable federal laws.

(Sec. 306) Directs the Secretary to: (1) identify any such land that is Oregon and California Railroad grant land, (2) identify public domain land in Oregon that is approximately equal in acreage and condition to such Oregon and California Railroad grant land, and (3) reclassify such public domain land as Oregon and California Railroad grant land.

Title IV: Siletz Tribe Indian Restoration Act - (Sec. 402) Amends the Siletz Tribe Indian Restoration Act to authorize the Secretary to take into trust for the Siletz Tribe additional lands that lie within the original 1855 Siletz Coast Reservation and are located in Benton, Douglas, Lane, Lincoln, Tillamook, or Yamhill County in Oregon.

Requires such land to be considered and evaluated as an on-reservation acquisition and become part of the Tribe's reservation.

Prohibits gaming on lands taken into trust pursuant to this Act.

Title V: Amendments to the Coquille Restoration Act - (Sec. 501) Amends the Coquille Restoration Act to require the Secretary to manage the Coquille Forest in accordance with the laws pertaining to the management of Indian trust land. (Currently, the Secretary is also required to manage the Forest under applicable state and federal forestry and environmental protection laws, and subject to critical habitat designations under the Endangered Species Act and the standards and guidelines of Federal forest plans on adjacent or nearby Federal lands.)

Continues to apply: (1) federal law relating to the export of unprocessed logs harvested from federal land to any unprocessed logs that are harvested from the Forest, and (2) competitive bidding requirements to sales of timber from the Forest.

Strikes a provision: (1) giving the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon jurisdiction over certain actions concerning the placement of lands in Coos County and Curry County, Oregon, into trust for the Coquille Tribe, and the management of the Coquille Forest; and (2) limiting available remedies to equitable relief, unless otherwise provided for by law.