To provide for the exchange of certain lands in Gilpin County, Colorado.
PL 104-158 (H.R.2437), enacted 07/09/1996

110 STAT. 1406 
PUBLIC LAW 104-158-^ULY 9, 1996 
July 9, 1996 
[H.R. 2437] 
Public Law 104-158 
104th Congress 
An Act 
To provide for the exchange of certain lands in Gilpin County, Colorado. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds and declares that— 
(1) certain scattered parcels of Federal land located within 
Gilpin County, Colorado, are currently administered by the 
Secretary of the Interior as part of the Royal Gorge Resource 
Area, Canon City District, United States Bureau of Land 
Management; 
(2) these land parcels, which comprises approximately 133 
separate tracts of land, and range in size from approximately 
38 acres to much less than an acre have been identified as 
suitable for disposal by the Bureau of Land Management 
through its resource management planning process and are 
appropriate for disposal; and 
(3) even though the Federal land parcels in Gilpin County, 
Colorado, are scattered and small in size, they nevertheless 
by virtue of their proximity to existing communities appear 
to have a fair market value which may be used by the Federal 
Government to exchange for lands which will better lend them-
selves to Federed management and have higher values for 
future public access, use £uid enjoyment, recreation, the protec-
tion and enhancement of fish and wildlife and fish and wildlife 
habitat, and the protection of riparian lands, wetlands, scenic 
beauty and other public values. 
(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to authorize, direct, 
facilitate and expedite the land exchange set forth herein in order 
to further the public interest by disposing of Federal lands with 
limited public utility £ind acquire in exchange therefor lands with 
important values for permanent public management and protection. 
SEC. 2. LAND EXCHANGE. 
Lake Gulch, Inc. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The exchange directed by this Act shall be 
consummated if within 90 days after enactment of this Act, Lake 
Gulch, Inc., a Colorado Corporation (as defined in section 4 of 
this Act) offers to transfer to the United States pursuant to the 
provisions of this Act the offered lands or interests in land described 
herein. 
(b) CONVEYANCE BY LAKE GULCH.—Subject to the provisions 
of section 3 of this Act, Leike Gulch shall convey to the Secretary 
of the Interior all right, title, and interest in and to the following 
offered lands— 
PUBLIC LAW 104-158-^ULY 9, 1996 
110 STAT. 1407 
(1) certain lands comprising approximately 40 acres with 
16 USC 191 note. 
improvements thereon located in Larimer County, Colorado, 
and lying within the boimdaries of Rocky Mountain National 
Park as generally depicted on a map entitled "Circle C Church 
Camp", dated August 1994, which shall upon their acquisition 
by the United States and without further action by the Sec-
retary of the Interior be incorporated into Rocky Mountain 
National Park and thereafter be administered in accordance 
with the laws, rules £ind regulations generally applicable to 
the National Park System and Rocky Mountain National Park; 
(2) certain lands located within and adjacent to the United 
States Bureau of Land Management San Luis Resource Area 
in Conejos County, Colorado, which comprise approximately 
3,993 acres and are generally depicted on a map entitled "Quin-
lan Ranches Tract", dated August 1994; and 
(3) certain lands located within the United States Bureau 
of Land Management Royal Gorge Resource Area in Huerfano 
County, Colorado, which comprise approximately 4,700 acres 
and are generally depicted on a map entitled "Bonham Ranch-
Cucharas Canyon", dated June 1995: Provided, however. That 
it is the intention of Congress that such lands may remain 
available for the grazing of livestock as determined appropriate 
by the Secretary in accordance with applicable laws, rules, 
£ind regulations: Provided further, That if the Secretary deter-
mines that certain of the lands acquired adjacent to Cucharas 
Canyon hereunder are not needed for public purposes they 
may be sold in accordance with the provisions of section 203 
of the Federal Land Policy £ind Management Act of 1976 and 
other applicable law. 
(c) SUBSTITUTION OF LANDS.—If one or more of the precise 
offered land parcels identified above is unable to be conveyed to 
the United States due to appraisal or other problems. Lake Gulch 
and the Secretary may mutually agree to substitute therefor alter-
native offered lemds acceptable to the Secretary. 
(d) CONVEYANCE BY THE UNITED STATES.—(1) Upon receipt 
of title to the lands identified in subsection (a) the Secretary shall 
simultaneously convey to Lake Gulch all right, title, and interest 
of the United States, subject to valid existing rights, in and to 
the following selected lands— 
(A) certain surveyed lands located in Gilpin County, Colo-
rado, Township 3 South, Range 72 West, Sixth Principal Merid-
ian, Section 18, Lots 118-220, which comprise approximately 
195 acres and are intended to include all federally owned 
lands in section 18, as generally depicted on a map entitled 
"Lake Gulch Selected Lands", dated July 1994; 
(B) certain surveyed lands located in Gilpin County, Colo-
rado, Township 3 South, Range 72 West, Sixth Principal Merid-
ian, Section 17, Lots 37, 38, 39, 40, 52, 53, and 54, which 
comprise approximately 96 acres, as generally depicted on a 
map entitled "Lake Gulch Selected Lands", dated July 1994; 
and 
(C) certain unsurveyed lands located in Gilpin County, 
Colorado, Township 3 South, Range 73 West, Sixth Principal 
Meridian, Section 13, which comprise approximately 11 acres, 
and are generally depicted as parcels 302-304, 306 and 308-
326 on a map entitled "Lake Gulch Selected Lands", dated 
July 1994: Provided, however. That a parcel or parcels of land 
110 STAT. 1408 
PUBLIC LAW 104-158-^JULY 9, 1996 
Notification. 
in section 13 shall not be transferred to Lake Gulch if at 
the time of the proposed transfer the parcel or parcels are 
under formal application for transfer to a qualified unit of 
local government. Due to the small and unsurveyed nature 
of such parcels proposed for transfer to Lake Gulch in section 
13, and the high cost of surveying such small parcels, the 
Secretary is authorized to transfer such section 13 lands to 
Lake Gulch without survey based on such legal or other descrip-
tion as the Secretary determines appropriate to carry out the 
basic intent of the map cited in this subparagraph. 
(2) If the Secretary and Lake Gulch mutually agree, emd the 
Secretary determines it is in the public interest, the Secretary 
may utilize the authority and direction of this Act to treuisfer 
to Lake Gulch lands in sections 17 and 13 that are in addition 
to those precise selected lands shown on the map cited herein, 
and which are not under formal application for transfer to a quali-
fied unit of local government, upon trsuisfer to the Secretary of 
additional offered lands acceptable to the Secretary or upon pay-
ment to the Secretary by Lake Gulch of cash equalization money 
amounting to the full appraised fair market value of any such 
additional lands. If any such additional lands are located in section 
13 they may be transferred to Lake Gulch without survey based 
on such legal or other description as the Secretary determines 
appropriate as long as the Secretary determines that the boundaries 
of any adjacent lands not owned by Lake Gulch can be properly 
identified so as to avoid possible future boundary conflicts or dis-
putes. If the Secretary determines surveys are necessary to convey 
any such additional lands to Lake Gulch, the costs of such surveys 
shall be paid by Lake Gulch but shall not be eligible for any 
adjustment in the value of such additional lands pursuant to section 
206(f)(2) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(as amended by the Federal Land Exchange Facilitation Act of 
1988) (43 U.S.C. 1716(f)(2)). 
(3) Prior to transferring out of public ownership pursuant to 
this Act or other authority of law any lands which are contiguous 
to North Clear Creek southeast of the City of Black Hawk, Colorado 
in the County of Gilpin, Colorado, the Secretary shall notify and 
consult with the County and City and afford such units of local 
government an opportunity to acquire or reserve pursuant to the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 or other 
applicable law, such easements or rights-of-way parallel to North 
Clear Creek as may be necessary to serve public utility line or 
recreation path needs: Provided, however. That any survey or other 
costs associated with the acquisition or reservation of such ease-
ments or rights-of-way shall be paid for by the unit or units of 
local government concerned. 
SEC. 
3
. 
TERMS 
AND 
CONDITIONS 
OF 
EXCHANGE. 
(a) EQUALIZATION OF VALUES.—(1) The values of the lands 
to be exchanged pursuant to this Act shall be equal as determined 
by the Secretary of the Interior utilizing comparable sales of surface 
and subsurface property and nationally recognized appraisal stand-
ards, including, to the extent appropriate, the Uniform Standards 
for Federal Land Acquisition, the Uniform Standards of Professional 
Appraisal Practice, the provisions of section 206(d) of the Federal 
Land Pohcy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(d)), 
and other applicable law. 
PUBLIC LAW 104-158-^ULY 9, 1996 
110 STAT. 1409 
(2) In the event any cash equahzation or land sale moneys 
are received by the United States pursuant to this Act, any such 
moneys shall be retained by the Secretary of the Interior and 
may be utilized by the Secretary until fully expended to purchase 
from willing sellers land or water rights, or a combination thereof, 
to augment wildlife habitat and protect and restore wetlands in 
the Bureau of Land Management's Blanca Wetlands, Alamosa Coun-
ty, Colorado. 
(3) Any water rights acquired by the United States pursuant 
to this section shall be obtained by the Secretary of the Interior 
in accordance with all applicable provisions of Colorado law, includ-
ing the requirement to change the time, place, and type of use 
of said water rights through the appropriate State legal proceedings 
and to comply with any terms, conditions, or other provisions con-
tained in an applicable decree of the Colorado Water Court. The 
use of any water rights acquired pursuant to this section shall 
be limited to water that can be used or exchanged for water that 
can be used on the Blanca Wetlands. Any requirement or proposal 
to utilize facilities of the San Luis Valley Project, Closed Basin 
Diversion, in order to effectuate the use of any such water rights 
shall be subject to prior approval of the Rio Grande Water Conserva-
tion District. 
(b) RESTRICTIONS ON SELECTED LANDS.—(1) Conveyance of the 
selected lands to Lake Gulch pursuant to this Act shall be contin-
gent upon Lake Gulch executing an agreement with the United 
States prior to such conveyance, the terms of which are acceptable 
to the Secretary of the Interior, and which— 
(A) grant the United States a covenant that none of the 
selected lands (which currently lie outside the legally approved 
gaming area) shall ever be used for purposes of gaming should 
the current legal gaming area ever be expanded by the State 
of Colorado; and 
(B) permanently hold the United States harmless for liabil-
ity and indemnify the United States against all costs arising 
from any activities, operations (including the storing, handling, 
and dumping of hazardous materials or substances) or other 
acts conducted by Lake Gulch or its employees, agents, succes-
sors or assigns on the selected lands after their transfer to 
Lake Gulch: Provided, however, That nothing in this Act shall 
be construed as either diminishing or increasing any respon-
sibility or liability of the United States based on the condition 
of the selected lands prior to or on the date of their transfer 
to Lake Gulch. 
(2) Conveyance of the selected lands to Lake Gulch pursuant 
to this Act shall be subject to the existing easement for Gilpin 
County Road 6. 
(3) The above terms and restrictions of this subsection shall 
not be considered in determining, or result in any diminution in, 
the fair market value of the selected land for purposes of the 
appraisals of the selected land required pursuant to section 3 of 
this Act. 
(c) REVOCATION OF WITHDRAWAL.—The Public Water Reserve 
established by Executive order dated April 17, 1926 (Public Water 
Reserve 107), Serial Number Colorado 17321, is hereby revoked 
insofar as it affects the NWy4 SWV4 of Section 17, Township 3 
South, Range 72 West, Sixth Principal Meridian, which covers 
a portion of the selected lands identified in this Act. 
110 STAT. 1410 
PUBLIC LAW 104-158-JULY 9, 1996 
SEC. 4. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act: 
(1) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the 
Interior. 
(2) The term "Lake Gulch" means Lake Gulch, Inc., a 
Colorado corporation, or its successors, heirs or assigns. 
(3) The term "offered land" means lands to be conveyed 
to the United States pursuant to this Act. 
(4) The term "selected land" means lands to be transferred 
to Lake Gulch, Inc., or its successors, heirs or assigns pursuant 
to this Act. 
(5) The term "Blanca Wetlands" means an area of land 
comprising approximately 9,290 acres, as generally depicted 
on a map entitled "Blanca Wetlands", dated August 1994, or 
such land as the Secretary may add thereto by purchase from 
willing sellers after the date of enactment of this Act utilizing 
funds provided by this Act or such other moneys as Congress 
may appropriate. 
(b) TIME REQUIREMENT FOR COMPLETING TRANSFER.—It is the 
intent of Congress that unless the Secretary and Lake Gulch mutu-
ally agree otherwise the exchange of lands authorized and directed 
by this Act shall be completed not later than 6 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act. In the event the exchange cannot 
be consummated within such 6-month-time period, the Secretary, 
upon application by Lake Gulch, is directed to sell to Lake Gulch 
at appraised fair market value any or all of the parcels (comprising 
a total of approximately 11 acres) identified in section 2(d)(1)(C) 
of this Act as long as the parcel or parcels applied for are not 
under formal application for transfer to a qualified unit of local 
government. 
(c) ADMINISTRATION OF LANDS ACQUIRED BY UNITED STATES.— 
In accordance with the provisions of section 206(c) of the Federal 
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(c)), 
all lands acquired by the United States pursuant to this Act shall 
upon acceptance of title by the United States and without further 
action by the Secretary concerned become part of and be managed 
as part of the administrative unit or area within which they are 
located. 
Approved July 9, 1996. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 2437: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 104-305 (Comm. on Resources). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 104-196 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 141 (1995): Nov. 7, considered and passed House. 
Vol. 142 (1996): June 26, considered and passed Senate.