I 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5468 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 28, 2010 Mr. McKeon introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To take certain Federal lands in Mono County, California, into trust for the benefit of the Bridgeport Indian Colony.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Bridgeport Indian Colony Land Trust, Health, and Economic Development Act of 2010.

2.

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)The Bridgeport Indian Colony is a federally recognized Indian tribe with a reservation located near the town of Bridgeport, in Mono County, California. (2)The Tribe’s reservation is approximately 40 acres, and was established by Federal law in 1974. (3)The reservation lands are insufficient for the Tribe’s housing and community development needs. (4)The Tribe’s reservation is located approximately 0.24 miles from Highway 182. (5)Between the Tribe’s reservation and Highway 182 is an undeveloped piece of Federal land, of which a 31.86 acre parcel would be suitable to be added to the reservation and held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe. (6)The expansion of the reservation will facilitate a much-needed expansion of the Tribe’s ability to provide housing for its membership, a community activity center, and tribal economic development. (7)Many tribal members have expressed interest in moving back to the reservation if housing and job opportunities can be made available. (8)A large portion of the nongovernmental labor force and business in Mono County is seasonal in nature, and unemployment in Mono County is approximately 10 percent. (9)Transfer of this parcel, to be held in trust for the Tribe, will expedite the creation of job opportunities in this rural community for both tribal members and the non-Indian community. (10)In addition to the need for expansion of the reservation, the Tribe has significant health needs that could be facilitated by a separate Federal parcel being held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe. (11)The Tribe is a member of the Toiyabe Indian Health Project, a nonprofit consortium of area Indian tribes which provides the Indian and non-Indian residents of the area with health care services, partially funded by the Indian Health Service. (12)The Toiyabe Indian Health Project operates other facilities in Bishop and Lone Pine, California. (13)In the 1980s, the Tribe applied for and received a Community Development Block Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in order to build a healthcare facility in Mono County. (14)With Toiyabe Indian Health Project directing the project, the Camp Antelope Health Clinic was built on a 7.16 acre parcel of Federal land one mile north of Walker, California, approximately 30 miles from the Tribe’s reservation. (15)The Toiyabe Indian Health Project closed the Camp Antelope Health Clinic in 2006. (16)The Tribe and the Toiyabe Indian Health Project have agreed that the health clinic needs to be reopened. (17)Tribal members have to drive 90 miles to Bishop to obtain Indian healthcare services. (18)Taking the additional land into trust will assist the Tribe and the Toiyabe Indian Health Project in providing healthcare services to Indians and non-Indians in the area. (19)The investment of Federal funds in the development of the health clinic adds to the importance of maintaining the parcel under Federal ownership. (20)On October 20, 2009, the Mono County Board of Supervisors voted to support the transfer of land into trust under this Act. (21)On April 20, 2010, the Mono County Board of Supervisors agreed unanimously to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tribe, thus supporting the Tribe’s efforts to have these parcels of land transferred into trust

3.

Lands to be taken into trust

(a)

In general

Subject to valid existing rights, all right, title, and interest (including improvements and appurtenances) of the United States in and to the Federal lands described in subsection (b) are hereby declared to be held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Bridgeport Indian Colony. (b)

Federal lands described

The Federal lands referred to in subsection (a) are the approximately 39.36 acres described as follows: (1)The South half of the South half of the Northwest quarter of the Northwest quarter of the Northeast quarter and the North half of the Southwest quarter of the Northwest quarter of the Northeast quarter of Section 21, Township 8 North, Range 23 East, Mount Diablo Meridian, containing 7.5 acres, more or less, as identified on the map titled Bridgeport Camp Antelope Parcel. (2)Lots 1 and 2 of the survey plat attached, containing 31.86 acres, more or less.