[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1135 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1135

 To provide for the protection of farmland at the Point Reyes National 
                   Seashore, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 19, 1997

 Ms. Woolsey (for herself and Mr. Gilchrest) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition 
   to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the protection of farmland at the Point Reyes National 
                   Seashore, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Point Reyes National Seashore 
Farmland Protection Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are to--
            (1) protect the pastoral nature of the land adjacent to the 
        Point Reyes National Seashore from development that would be 
        incompatible with the character, integrity, and visitor 
        experience of the park;
            (2) create a model public/private partnership among the 
        Federal, State, and local governments, as well as organizations 
        and citizens that will preserve and enhance the historic 
        agricultural lands along Tomales and Bodega Bay Watersheds;
            (3) protect the substantial Federal investment in Point 
        Reyes National Seashore by furnishing watershed and 
        environmental protection and maintaining the relatively 
        undeveloped nature of the land surrounding Tomales and Bodega 
        Bays; and
            (4) preserve productive long-term agriculture and 
        aquaculture in Marin and Sonoma Counties, primarily by 
        maintaining the land in private ownership restricted by 
        conservation easements.

SEC. 3. ADDITION OF FARMLAND PROTECTION AREA TO POINT REYES NATIONAL 
              SEASHORE AND ACQUISITION OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS.

    (a) Addition.--Section 2 of the Act entitled ``An Act to establish 
the Point Reyes National Seashore in the State of California, and for 
other purposes'' (16 U.S.C. 459c-1) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(c) The Point Reyes National Seashore shall also include the 
Farmland Protection Area depicted on the map numbered 612/60,163 and 
dated July, 1995. Such map shall be on file and available for public 
inspection in the Offices of the National Park Service, Department of 
the Interior, Washington, District of Columbia.
    ``(d) Within the Farmland Protection Area depicted on the map 
referred to in section 2(c) of this Act the primary objective shall be 
to maintain agricultural land in private ownership protected from 
nonagricultural development by conservation easements.''
    (b) Authority for Farmland Acquisition and Management.--Section 3 
of such Act (16 U.S.C. 459c-2) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(d)(1) Notwithstanding subsections (a) through (c) of this 
section, the Secretary, to encourage continued agricultural use, may 
acquire lands or interests in lands from the owners of such lands 
within the Farmland Protection Area depicted on the map referred to in 
section 2(c) of this Act. Except as provided in paragraph (3), lands 
and interests in lands may only be acquired under this subsection by 
donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange. 
Lands acquired under this subsection by exchange may be exchanged for 
lands located outside of the State of California, notwithstanding 
section 206(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(43 U.S.C. 1716(b)).
    ``(2)(A) The Secretary shall give priority to (i) acquiring 
interests in lands through the purchase of development rights and 
conservation easements, (ii) acquiring lands and interests therein from 
nonprofit corporations operating primarily for conservation purposes, 
and (iii) acquiring lands and interests therein by donation or 
exchange.
    ``(B) The Secretary shall not acquire any conservation easements on 
land within the Farmland Protection Area from nonprofit organizations 
which were acquired by such nonprofit organizations prior to January 1, 
1997.
    ``(C) For the purpose of managing, in the most cost effective 
manner, interests in lands acquired under this subsection, and for the 
purpose of maintaining continuity with lands that have existing 
easements, the Secretary shall enter into cooperative agreements with 
public agencies or nonprofit organizations having substantial 
experience holding, monitoring, and managing conservation easements on 
agricultural land in the region, such as the Marin Agricultural Land 
Trust, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space 
District, and the Sonoma Land Trust.
    ``(3)(A) Within the boundaries of the Farmland Protection Area 
depicted on the map referred to in section 2(c), absent an acquisition 
of privately owned lands or interests therein by the United States, 
nothing in this Act shall authorize any Federal agency or official to 
regulate the use or enjoyment of privately owned lands, including lands 
currently subject to easements held by the Marin Agricultural Land 
Trust, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space 
District, and the Sonoma Land Trust, and such privately owned lands 
shall continue under the jurisdiction of the State and political 
subdivisions within which they are located.
    ``(B) The Secretary may permit, or lease, lands acquired in fee 
under this subsection. Any such permit or lease shall be subject to 
such conditions and restrictions as the Secretary deems necessary to 
assure the continued agricultural use of such lands in a manner 
compatible with the purposes of the Point Reyes National Seashore 
Farmland Protection Act of 1997. Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, revenues derived from any such permit, or lease, may be retained 
by the Secretary, and such revenues shall be available, without further 
appropriation, for expenditure to further the goals and objectives of 
agricultural preservation within the boundaries of the area depicted on 
the map referred to in section 2(c).
    ``(C) Lands, and interests in lands, within the area depicted on 
the map referred to in section 2(c) of this Act which are owned by the 
State of California, or any political subdivision thereof, may be 
acquired only by donation or exchange.
    ``(4) Section 5 shall not apply with respect to lands and interests 
in lands acquired under this subsection.''.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 9 of such Act (16 
U.S.C. 459c-7) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``In 
addition to the sums authorized to be appropriated by this section 
before the enactment of the Point Reyes National Seashore Farmland 
Protection Act of 1997, there is authorized to be appropriated 
$30,000,000 to be used on a matching basis to acquire lands and 
interests in lands under section 3(d). The Federal share of the costs 
for acquiring land and interests in lands under section 3(d) shall be 
one half of the total costs of such acquisition. The non-Federal share 
of such acquisition costs may be in the form of property, monies, 
services, or in-kind contributions, fairly valued. For such purposes, 
any lands or interests in lands that are within the boundaries of the 
area depicted on the map referred to in section 2(c), that are 
currently held under a conservation easement by the Marin Agricultural 
Land Trust, the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space 
District, the Sonoma Land Trust, or any other land protection agency or 
by the State of California or any political subdivision thereof shall 
be considered a matching contribution from non-Federal sources in an 
amount equal to the fair market value of such lands or interests in 
land, as determined by the Secretary.''.
                                 <all>