[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2437 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  1st Session

                               H. R. 2437

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

    To provide for the exchange of certain lands in Gilpin County, 
                               Colorado.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2437

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 
        themselves to Federal management and have higher values for 
        future public access, use and enjoyment, recreation, the 
        protection 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 and acquire in exchange therefor lands with important 
values for permanent public management and protection.

SEC. 2. LAND EXCHANGE.

    (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, Lake Gulch shall convey to the Secretary of the Interior 
all right, title, and interest in and to the following offered lands--
            (1) certain lands comprising approximately 40 acres with 
        improvements thereon located in Larimer County, Colorado, and 
        lying within the boundaries 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 Secretary of 
        the Interior be incorporated into Rocky Mountain National Park 
and thereafter be administered in accordance with the laws, rules and 
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 ``Quinlan 
        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, and regulations: Provided further, That if the 
        Secretary determines 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 and 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 alternative offered lands 
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, 
        Colorado, Township 3 South, Range 72 West, Sixth Principal 
        Meridian, 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, 
        Colorado, Township 3 South, Range 72 West, Sixth Principal 
        Meridian, 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 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 description 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, and the 
Secretary determines it is in the public interest, the Secretary may 
utilize the authority and direction of this Act to transfer 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 qualified unit of local 
government, upon transfer to the Secretary of additional offered lands 
acceptable to the Secretary or upon payment 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 disputes. 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 easements 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 standards, 
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 Policy 
and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(d)), and other applicable 
law.
    (2) In the event any cash equalization 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 County, 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, including 
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 contained 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 Conservation District.
    (b) Restrictions on Selected Lands.--(1) Conveyance of the selected 
lands to Lake Gulch pursuant to this Act shall be contingent 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 
        liability 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, 
        successors 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 
        responsibility 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 NW\1/4\ SW\1/4\ of Section 17, Township 3 South, Range 72 West, 
Sixth Principal Meridian, which covers a portion of the selected lands 
identified in this Act.

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 mutually 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.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 7, 1995.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.