National Forest and Public Lands of Nevada Enhancement Act of 1988
PL 100-550 (S.59), enacted 10/28/1988

PUBLIC LAW 100-550—OCT. 28, 1988 
102 STAT. 2749 
Public Law 100-550 
100th Congress 
An Act 
Entitled the "National Forest and Public Lands Nevada Enhancement Act of 1988". 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of 
America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the "National Forest and Public Lands of 
Nevada Enhancement Act of 1988". 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 
(1) the public lands transferred by this Act contain valuable 
natural resources (such as watershed, range, outdoor recreation 
and wildlife habitat) which will be enhanced by the profes-
sional, multiple-use management of the Forest Service; and that 
certain national forest lands would be enhanced by the profes-
sional multiple-use management of the Bureau of Land 
Management; 
(2) the public which uses these natural resources will be 
benefited by such adjustments in management; 
(3) the public lands transferred by this Act to the jurisdiction 
of the Forest Service are adjacent to existing national forests 
and, in many cases, are part of the same watersheds and 
mountain ranges, and placing the management of these lands 
under the administration of one agency, the Forest Service, will 
improve efficency and be cost effective; that similar efficiency 
and cost effectiveness will result from transferring jurisdiction 
of certain National Forest lands to the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment; and 
(4) there is a consensus in Nevada that certain lands should 
be added to the National Forest System and that certain 
National Forest System lands should be transferred to the 
Bureau of Land Management for management, 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act a r e -
C
D to transfer to the jurisdiction of the Forest Service, United 
States Department of Agriculture, certain public lands in 
Nevada currently administered by the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment, United States Department of the Interior. These public 
lands are contiguous to the Toiyabe and Inyo National Forests 
and will become National Forest System lands; and 
(2) to transfer to the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land 
Management, United States Department of the Interior, certain 
lands in Nevada currently administered by the Forest Service, 
United States Department of Agriculture. These lands are 
contiguous to other public lands and will be managed as such. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
As used in this Act— 
Oct. 28, 1988 
[S. 59] 
National Forest 
and Public 
Lands of Nevada 
Enhancement 
Act of 1988. 
102 STAT. 2750 
PUBLIC LAW 100-550—OCT. 28, 1988 
(a) the term "public lands" means the lands administered by 
the Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of 
the Interior, as defined in section 103(3) of the Federal Land 
PoUcy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701(e)); and 
(b) the term "National Forest lands" or "National Forest 
System lands" means the lands administered by the Forest 
Service, United States Department of Agriculture, as defined in 
section 11 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 
Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)). 
SEC. 4. TRANSFER OF LANDS. 
(a) TRANSFER OF PUBUC LANDS TO THE FOREST SERVICE.—Effective 
one hundred and eighty days after the enactment of this Act, the 
approximately six hundred sixty-two thousand acres of public lands 
designated for inclusion in the National Forest System on three 
maps entitled "Nevada Interchange-A", dated January 1987, 
"Nevada Interchange-B", dated February 1988, and "Nevada Inter-
change<]J", dated August 1988, are hereby withdrawn from the 
public domain, transferred to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of 
Agriculture, and shall become part of the Toiyabe National Forest 
or the Inyo National Forest, as appropriate. 
(b) BouNDARnes OF TOIYABE AND INYO NATIONAL FORESTS.—(1) The 
boundaries of the Toiyabe National Forest and the Inyo National 
Forest are hereby modified to reflect the transfer of lands under 
subsection (a). 
(2) For the purpose of section 7 of the Land and Water Conserva-
tion Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 4601-9), the boundaries of the 
Toiyabe National Forest and the Inyo National Forest, as modified 
by this subsection, shall be treated as if they were the boundaries of 
those National Forests as of January 1,1965. 
(c) TRANSFER OF FOREST SERVICE LANDS TO THE BUREAU OF LAND 
MANAGEMENT.—Effective one hundred and eighty days after the 
enactment of this Act, the approximately twenty-three thousand 
acres of National Forest lands identified for management by the 
Bureau of Land Management on a map entitled 
Nevada Inter-
change-A" and dated January 1987, are hereby transferred to the 
Secretary of the Interior. 
(d) MAPS.—The maps referred to in subsection (a) and subsection 
(c) shall be on file and available for public inspection in the offices of 
the Governor of Nevada, the Supervisors of the Toiyabe and Inyo 
National Forests, the Nevada State Director of the Bureau of Land 
Management, the Chief of the Forest Service, and the Director of the 
Bureau of Land Management. The Secretaries of Agriculture and 
the Interior may make minor changes to the maps to correct 
technical errors. 
(e) Effective one hundred and eighty days after enactment of this 
Act, lands transferred by subsection (a) of this section to the jurisdic-
tion of the Secretary of Agriculture shall be subject to the planning 
requirements of section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 
R ^ u r c e s Planning Act of 1974, and lands transferred by subsection 
(c) of this section to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior 
shall be subject to the planning requirements of the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act of 1976. All transferred lands shall 
continue to be managed in accordance with plans in effect on the 
date of enactment of this Act until considered in plans developed 
under applicable provisions of law. If no plans are in effect on the 
date of enactment of this Act, the respective transferred lands shall 
PUBLIC LAW 100-550—OCT. 28, 1988 
102 STAT. 2751 
be managed in a manner consistent with other National Forest or 
public lands, as the case may be, in the vicinity until a plan is 
developed under applicable provisions of law. Nothing in this Act 
shall of itself require the amendment or revision of the existing 
plans governing public lands or National Forest lands affected by 
the addition of or deletion of lands transferred by this Act. 
SEC. 5. WILDERNESS SUITABILITY. 
(a) BLM WILDERNESS STUDY AREAS.—Any area or portion thereof 
designated as a Bureau of Land Management Wilderness Study 
Area, which is made a part of the National Forest System by this 
Act, shall be managed by the Secretary of Agriculture in accordance 
with the provisions of section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782), to protect its wilderness 
character until Congress designates it as wilderness or releases it 
from further wilderness consideration. At the same time that the 
Secretary of the Interior submits wilderness recommendations to 
the Congress with regard to public lands in the State of Nevada, he 
shall also recommend to the Congress whether any wilderness study 
area or portion thereof transferred to the jurisdiction of the Forest 
Service by this Act should be included in the National Wilderness 
Preservation System. 
(b) ROADLESS AREAS NOT RECOMMENDED AS WILDERNESS.—Any 
roadless area or portion thereof which is made a part of the 
National Forest System by this Act and which has been considered 
but not recommended for designation as wilderness pursuant to 
section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(43 U.S.C. 1712) shall be deemed to have been adequately considered 
for wilderness for the purposes of the initial land management plans 
hereafter required for such lands by section 6 of the Forest and 
Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 
1604). The Secretary of Agriculture shall not be required to review 
the wilderness option for such area prior to the next regular revi-
sion of such plans for the National Forest in question, but the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall review the wilderness option for such 
area when such plans are revised. 
(c) If at any time after the date of enactment of this Act, Congress 
releases all or any portion of the one hundred and sixty acres of land 
described in this subsection from the requirements of section 603(c) 
of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the Secretary of 
Agriculture is authorized to offer for sale all or any portion of the 
released lands at fair market value. If the Secretary of Agriculture 
Public 
decides to sell such land, he shall give public notice of such sale and 
information, 
shall establish a date within six months of such notice for the 
receipt of bids on such land. The Secretary of Agriculture shall sell 
such land to the party submitting the highest bid (at least equal to 
fair market value) on or before such date. The land is described as 
follows: 
MOUNT DIABLO MERIDIAN 
Township 20 South, Range 57 East, 
Section 28 
Southeast quarter of Southeast quarter 
Northwest quarter of Southeast quarter 
Northeast quarter of Northeast quarter 
Section 34, Southwest quarter of Northwest quarter 
102 STAT. 2752 
PUBLIC LAW 100-550—OCT. 28, 1988 
(d) No 
ADDITION TO THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION 
SYSTEM.—Nothing in the Act shall be construed to add lands to the 
National Wilderness Preservation System. 
SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to change the laws govern-
ing the management of mineral resources. 
SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION OF RECEIPTS. 
The acreage added to the Toiyabe and Inyo National Forests in 
the State of Nevada by this Act shall not be counted in determining 
the distribution of the Twenty-Five Percent Fund between the 
States of California and Nevada under the Act of May 23, 1908, as 
amended: Provided, however. That the acreage added to these forests 
shall be counted in the distribution of the Twenty-Five Percent 
Fund among the affected counties in Nevada. 
SEC 8. WATER RIGHTS. 
(a) Congress hereby expressly reserves the minimum quantity of 
water necessary to achieve the primary purposes for which the 
lands transferred pursuant to section 4(a) are withdrawn. Those 
purposes are hereby declared to be solely and exclusively the pri-
mary purpcxse for which the National Forests within which the lands 
are to be included were established. The priority date for such 
reserved rights shall be the date of transfer pursuant to this Act. 
Qo) Congress hereby expressly relinquishes all Federal reserved 
water rights created by the initial withdrawal from the public 
domain in the lands transferred pursuant to section 4(c) effective on 
the date of such transfer. 
(c) Nothing in this Act shall create an implied reservation of 
water. 
(d) Nothing in this Act shall affect the right of the United States 
or of any person to acquire or dispose of water or water rights 
pursuant to the substantive and procedural requirements of the 
laws of the State of Nevada. 
SEC. 9. VALID EXISTING RIGHTS. 
(a) Nothing in this Act shall affect valid existing rights of any 
person under any authority of law. 
(b) Authorizations to use lands transferred by this Act which were 
issued prior to the date of transfer shall remain subject to the laws 
and regulations under which they were issued. Such authorization 
shall be administered by the Secretary to whom jurisdiction over 
affected lands has been transferred by this Act. Any renewal or 
extension of such authorization shall be subject to the laws and 
regulations pertaining to the agency which has jurisdiction over the 
land at the time the renewal or extension is requested. The change 
of administrative jurisdiction resulting from the enactment of this 
Act shall not in itself constitute a basis for denying or approving the 
renewal or reissuance of any such authorization. 
SEC. 10. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS. 
With respect to the lands transferred by section 4, any formal 
administrative appeal, adjudication, or review pending on the date 
of transfer of jurisdiction under this Act shall be completed by the 
Secretary, or his designee, of the Department in which it was 
initiated. 
PUBLIC LAW 100-550—OCT. 28, 1988 
102 STAT. 2753 
SEC. 11. TRANSFER OF BUREAU OF RECLAMATION'S WILBUR SQUARE 
RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE CITY OF BOULDER CITY. 
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Contracts, 
the Interior is authorized and directed to enter into an agreement 
with the City of Boulder City, Nevada (hereinafter referred to as the 
"City"), which will provide that, upon acceptance by the City of title 
to and financial responsibility for continued maintenance of the 
parcel of land described in this subsection, all remaining repayment 
obligations owing to the United States, pursuant to contract 
numbered 14-06-300-978, dated January 4, 1960, between the 
United States and the City, as of the date of enactment of this Act, 
shall be discharged. The land shall be maintained as a public park 
by the City at its own cost and expense, and shall be conveyed to the 
City, without consideration, by quit claim deed subject to the condi-
tions, restrictions, and protective covenants as established in the 
Guidelines of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (36 
Code of Federal Regulations, part 800). Title shall revert to the 
United States if the land ceases to be used for park purposes. The 
agreement shall also stipulate that the City shall provide, without 
cost to the United States, the water supply required to water the 
Federal grounds surrounding the Bureau of Reclamation's adminis-
tration building in the City, for as long as Federal ownership is 
retained, or through the year 2010, which ever occurs first. The land 
to be conveyed to the City is described £is follows: approximately 3.25 
acres, comprising all of block six, according to sheet 1 of 20, block 
plats of Boulder City, Nevada, drawing numbered X-300-460, dated 
July 15, 1959, and known as Wilbur Square or Government Park. 
(b) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to enter into an 
agreement for the City to provide gardening services on Bureau of 
Reclamation land within the City; and in partial payment for this 
gardening service to transfer to the City any or all lawn and garden 
equipment owned and used by the Bureau of Reclamation £is of the 
date of enactment of this Act, which is used to maintain the 
Bureau's grounds within the City. 
(c) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to transfer title to 
the City to all or any portion of the City water supply system which 
remains in Federal ownership and located outside of the Hoover 
Dam security area, and to provide the City with a permanent 
easement across all Federal lands necessary to properly operate and 
maintain any facility so transferred. The agreement referred to in 
this section shall also provide that all obligations to make payments 
to the United States for operation, maintenance, and replacement 
for works transferred to the City shall be discharged as of the date 
19-194 O—91—Part 3 
2fi • OT. .1 
102 STAT. 2754 
PUBLIC LAW 100-550—OCT. 28, 1988 
or dates of said transfer of title or operations and maintenance 
responsibility to the City. 
Approved October 28, 1988. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 59: 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 100-511 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 134 (1988): 
Oct. 12, considered and passed Senate. 
Oct. 13, considered and passed House.