Colorado River Indian Reservation Boundary Correction Act
PL 109-47 (H.R.794), enacted 08/02/2005

119 STAT. 451
PUBLIC LAW 109–47—AUG. 2, 2005
Public Law 109–47
109th Congress
An Act
To correct the south boundary of the Colorado River Indian Reservation in Arizona,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, FINDINGS, PURPOSES.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Colorado
River Indian Reservation Boundary Correction Act’’.
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) The Act of March 3, 1865, created the Colorado River
Indian Reservation (hereinafter ‘‘Reservation’’) along the Colo-
rado River in Arizona and California for the ‘‘Indians of said
river and its tributaries’’.
(2) In 1873 and 1874, President Grant issued Executive
Orders to expand the Reservation southward and to secure
its southern boundary at a clearly recognizable geographic loca-
tion in order to forestall non-Indian encroachment and conflicts
with the Indians of the Reservation.
(3) In 1875, Mr. Chandler Robbins surveyed the Reserva-
tion (hereinafter ‘‘the Robbins Survey’’) and delineated its new
southern boundary, which included approximately 16,000 addi-
tional acres (hereinafter ‘‘the La Paz lands’’), as part of the
Reservation.
(4) On May 15, 1876, President Grant issued an Executive
Order that established the Reservation’s boundaries as those
delineated by the Robbins Survey.
(5) In 1907, as a result of increasingly frequent trespasses
by miners and cattle and at the request of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, the General Land Office of the United States
provided for a resurvey of the southern and southeastern areas
of the Reservation.
(6) In 1914, the General Land Office accepted and approved
a resurvey of the Reservation conducted by Mr. Guy Harrington
in 1912 (hereinafter the ‘‘Harrington Resurvey’’) which con-
firmed the boundaries that were delineated by the Robbins
Survey and established by Executive Order in 1876.
(7) On November 19, 1915, the Secretary of the Interior
reversed the decision of the General Land Office to accept
the Harrington Resurvey, and upon his recommendation on
November 22, 1915, President Wilson issued Executive Order
No. 2273 ‘‘. . . to correct the error in location said southern
boundary line . . .’’—and thus effectively excluded the La Paz
lands from the Reservation.
Colorado River
Indian
Reservation
Boundary
Correction Act.
Aug. 2, 2005
[H.R. 794]
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119 STAT. 452
PUBLIC LAW 109–47—AUG. 2, 2005
(8) Historical evidence compiled by the Department of the
Interior supports the conclusion that the reason given by the
Secretary in recommending that the President issue the 1915
Executive Order—‘‘to correct an error in locating the southern
boundary’’—was itself in error and that the La Paz lands should
not have been excluded from the Reservation.
(9) The La Paz lands continue to hold cultural and histor-
ical significance, as well as economic development potential,
for the Colorado River Indian tribes, who have consistently
sought to have such lands restored to their Reservation.
(c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are:
(1) To correct the south boundary of the Reservation by
reestablishing such boundary as it was delineated by the Rob-
bins Survey and affirmed by the Harrington Resurvey.
(2) To restore the La Paz lands to the Reservation, subject
to valid existing rights under Federal law and to provide for
continued reasonable public access for recreational purposes.
(3) To provide for the Secretary of the Interior to review
and ensure that the corrected Reservation boundary is resur-
veyed and marked in conformance with the public system of
surveys extended over such lands.
SEC. 2. BOUNDARY CORRECTION, RESTORATION, DESCRIPTION.
(a) BOUNDARY.—The boundaries of the Colorado River Indian
Reservation are hereby declared to include those boundaries as
were delineated by the Robbins Survey, affirmed by the Harrington
Survey, and described as follows: The approximately 15,375 acres
of Federal land described as ‘‘Lands Identified for Transfer to Colo-
rado River Indian Tribes’’ on the map prepared by the Bureau
of Land Management entitled ‘‘Colorado River Indian Reservation
Boundary Correction Act, and dated January 4, 2005’’, (hereinafter
referred to as the ‘‘Map’’).
(b) MAP.—The Map shall be available for review at the Bureau
of Land Management.
(c) RESTORATION.—Subject to valid existing rights under Fed-
eral law, all right, title, and interest of the United States to those
lands within the boundaries declared in subsection (a) that were
excluded from the Colorado River Indian Reservation pursuant
to Executive Order No. 2273 (November 22, 1915) are hereby
restored to the Reservation and shall be held in trust by the
United States on behalf of the Colorado River Indian Tribes.
(d) EXCLUSION.—Excluded from the lands restored to trust
status on behalf of the Colorado River Indian Tribes that are
described in subsection (a) are 2 parcels of Arizona State Lands
identified on the Map as ‘‘State Lands’’ and totaling 320 acres
and 520 acres.
SEC. 3. RESURVEY AND MARKING.
The Secretary of the Interior shall ensure that the boundary
for the restored lands described in section 2(a) is surveyed and
clearly marked in conformance with the public system of surveys
extended over such lands.
SEC. 4. WATER RIGHTS.
The restored lands described in section 2(a) and shown on
the Map shall have no Federal reserve water rights to surface
water or ground water from any source.
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119 STAT. 453
PUBLIC LAW 109–47—AUG. 2, 2005
SEC. 5. PUBLIC ACCESS.
Continued access to the restored lands described in section
(2)(a) for hunting and other existing recreational purposes shall
remain available to the public under reasonable rules and regula-
tions promulgated by the Colorado River Indian Tribes.
SEC. 6. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The restored lands described in section (2)(a)
shall be subject to all rights-of-way, easements, leases, and mining
claims existing on the date of the enactment of this Act. The
United States reserves the right to continue all Reclamation
projects, including the right to access and remove mineral materials
for Colorado River maintenance on the restored lands described
in section (2)(a).
(b) ADDITIONAL RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Secretary, in consultation with the Tribe,
shall grant additional rights-of-way, expansions, or renewals of
existing rights-of-way for roads, utilities, and other accommodations
to adjoining landowners or existing right-of-way holders, or their
successors and assigns, if—
(1) the proposed right-of-way is necessary to the needs
of the applicant;
(2) the proposed right-of-way acquisition will not cause
significant and substantial harm to the Colorado River Indian
Tribes; and
(3) the proposed right-of-way complies with the procedures
in part 169 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations consistent
with this subsection and other generally applicable Federal
laws unrelated to the acquisition of interests on trust lands,
except that section 169.3 of those regulations shall not be
applicable to expansions or renewals of existing rights-of-way
for roads and utilities.
(c) FEES.—The fees charged for the renewal of any valid lease,
easement, or right-of-way subject to this section shall not be greater
than the current Federal rate for such a lease, easement, or right-
of-way at the time of renewal if the holder has been in substantial
compliance with all terms of the lease, easement, or right-of-way.
SEC. 7. GAMING.
Land taken into trust under this Act shall neither be considered
to have been taken into trust for gaming nor be used for gaming
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119 STAT. 454
PUBLIC LAW 109–47—AUG. 2, 2005
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 794:
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 151 (2005):
April 12, considered and passed House.
July 26, considered and passed Senate.
(as that term is used in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25
U.S.C. 2701 et seq.)).
Approved August 2, 2005.
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