[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 98 (Tuesday, July 25, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H6864-H6867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    OREGON LAND EXCHANGE ACT OF 2000

  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 1629) to provide for the exchange of certain land in 
the State of Oregon.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 1629

       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 ``Oregon Land Exchange Act of 
     2000''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) certain parcels of private land located in northeast 
     Oregon are intermingled with land owned by the United States 
     and administered--
       (A) by the Secretary of the Interior as part of the Central 
     Oregon Resource Area in the Prineville Bureau of Land 
     Management District and the Baker Resource Area in the Vale 
     Bureau of Land Management District; and
       (B) by the Secretary of Agriculture as part of the Malheur 
     National Forest, the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, and the 
     Umatilla National Forest;
       (2) the surface estate of the private land described in 
     paragraph (1) is intermingled with parcels of land that are 
     owned by the United States or contain valuable fisheries and 
     wildlife habitat desired by the United States;
       (3) the consolidation of land ownerships will facilitate 
     sound and efficient management for both public and private 
     lands;
       (4) the improvement of management efficiency through the 
     land tenure adjustment program of the Department of the 
     Interior, which disposes of small isolated tracts having low 
     public resource values within larger blocks of contiguous 
     parcels of land, would serve important public objectives, 
     including--
       (A) the enhancement of public access, aesthetics, and 
     recreation opportunities within or adjacent to designated 
     wild and scenic river corridors;
       (B) the protection and enhancement of habitat for 
     threatened, endangered, and sensitive species within unified 
     landscapes under Federal management; and
       (C) the consolidation of holdings of the Bureau of Land 
     Management and the Forest Service--
       (i) to facilitate more efficient administration, including 
     a reduction in administrative costs to the United States; and
       (ii) to reduce right-of-way, special use, and other permit 
     processing and issuance for roads and other facilities on 
     Federal land;
       (5) time is of the essence in completing a land exchange 
     because further delays may force the identified landowners to 
     construct roads in, log, develop, or sell the private land 
     and thereby diminish the public values for which the private 
     land is to be acquired; and
       (6) it is in the public interest to complete the land 
     exchanges at the earliest practicable date so that the land 
     acquired by the United States can be preserved for--
       (A) protection of threatened and endangered species 
     habitat; and
       (B) permanent public use and enjoyment.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       As used in this Act--
       (1) the term ``Clearwater'' means Clearwater Land 
     Exchange--Oregon, an Oregon partnership that signed the 
     document entitled ``Assembled Land Exchange Agreement between 
     the Bureau of Land Management and Clearwater Land Exchange--
     Oregon for the Northeast Oregon Assembled Lands Exchange, OR 
     51858,'' dated October 30, 1996, and the document entitled 
     ``Agreement to initiate'' with the Forest Service, dated June 
     30, 1995, or its successors or assigns;
       (2) the term ``identified landowners'' means private 
     landowners identified by Clearwater and willing to exchange 
     private land for Federal land in accordance with this Act;
       (3) the term ``map'' means the map entitled ``Northeast 
     Oregon Assembled Land Exchange/Triangle Land Exchange'', 
     dated November 5, 1999; and
       (4) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
     Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate.

     SEC. 4. BLM--NORTHEAST OREGON ASSEMBLED LAND EXCHANGE.

       (a) In General.--Upon the request of Clearwater, on behalf 
     of the appropriate identified landowners, the Secretary of 
     the Interior shall exchange the Federal lands described in 
     subsection (b) for the private lands described in subsection 
     (c), as provided in section 6.
       (b) BLM Lands To Be Conveyed.--The parcels of Federal lands 
     to be conveyed by the Secretary to the appropriate identified 
     landowners are as follows:
       (1) the parcel comprising approximately 45,824 acres 
     located in Grant County, Oregon, within the Central Oregon 
     Resource Area in the Prineville District of the Bureau of 
     Land Management, as generally depicted on the map;
       (2) the parcel comprising approximately 2,755 acres located 
     in Wheeler County, Oregon, within the Central Oregon Resource 
     Area in the Prineville District of the Bureau of Land 
     Management, as generally depicted on the map;
       (3) the parcel comprising approximately 726 acres located 
     in Morrow Country, Oregon, within the Baker Resource Area of 
     the Vale District of Land Management, as generally depicted 
     on the map; and
       (4) the parcel comprising approximately 1,015 acres located 
     in Umatilla County, Oregon, within the Baker Resource Area in 
     the Vale District of the Bureau of Land Management, as 
     generally depicted on the map.
       (c) Private Lands To Be Acquired.--The parcel of private 
     lands to be conveyed by the appropriate identified landowners 
     to the Secretary are as follows:
       (1) the parcel comprising approximately 31,646 acres 
     located in Grant County, Oregon, within the Central Oregon 
     Resource Area in the Prineville District of the Bureau of 
     Land Management, as generally depicted on the map;
       (2) the parcel comprising approximately 1,960 acres located 
     in Morrow County, Oregon, within the Baker Resource Area in 
     the Vale District of the Bureau of Land Management, as 
     generally depicted on the map; and
       (3) the parcel comprising approximately 10,544 acres 
     located in Umatilla County, Oregon, within the Baker Resource 
     Area in the Vale District of the Bureau of Land Management, 
     as generally depicted on the map.

     SEC. 5. FOREST SERVICE--TRIANGLE LAND EXCHANGE.

       (a) In General.--Upon the request of Clearwater, on behalf 
     of the appropriate identified landowners, the Secretary of 
     Agriculture shall exchange the Federal lands described in 
     subsection (b) for the private lands described in subsection 
     (c), as provided in section 6.
       (b) Forest Service Lands To Be Conveyed.--The National 
     Forest System lands to be conveyed by the Secretary to the 
     appropriate identified landowners comprise approximately 
     3,901 acres located in Grant and Harney Counties, Oregon, 
     within the Malheur National Forest, as generally depicted on 
     the map.
       (c) Private Lands To Be Acquired.--The parcels of private 
     lands to be conveyed by the appropriate identified landowners 
     to the Secretary are as follows:
       (1) the parcel comprising approximately 3,752 acres located 
     in Grant and Harney Counties, Oregon, within the Malheur 
     National Forest, as generally depicted on the map;
       (2) the parcel comprising approximately 1,702 acres located 
     in Baker and Grant Counties, Oregon, within the Wallowa-
     Whitman National Forest, as generally depicted on the map; 
     and
       (3) the parcel comprising approximately 246 acres located 
     in Grant and Wallowa Counties, Oregon, within or adjacent to 
     the Umatilla National Forest, as generally depicted on the 
     map.

     SEC. 6. LAND EXCHANGE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

       (a) In General.--Except as otherwise provided in this Act, 
     the land exchanges implemented by this Act shall be conducted 
     in accordance with section 206 of the Federal Land Policy and 
     Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1716) and other applicable laws.
       (b) Multiple Transactions.--The Secretary of the Interior 
     and the Secretary of Agriculture may carry out a single or 
     multiple transactions to complete the land exchanges 
     authorized in this Act.
       (c) Completion of Exchanges.--Any land exchange under this 
     Act shall be completed not later than 90 days after the 
     Secretary and Clearwater reach an agreement on the final 
     appraised values of the lands to be exchanged.
       (d) Appraisals.--(1) The values of the lands to be 
     exchanged under this Act shall be

[[Page H6865]]

     determined by appraisals using nationally recognized 
     appraisal standards, including as appropriate--
       (A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land 
     Acquisitions (1992); and
       (B) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal 
     Practice.
       (2) To ensure the equitable and uniform appraisal of the 
     lands to be exchanged under this Act, all appraisals shall 
     determine the best use of the lands in accordance with the 
     law of the State of Oregon, including use for the protection 
     of wild and scenic river characteristics as provided in the 
     Oregon Administrative Code.
       (3)(A) all appraisals of lands to be exchanged under this 
     Act shall be completed, reviewed and submitted to the 
     Secretary not later than 90 days after the date Clearwater 
     requests the exchange.
       (B) Not less than 45 days before an exchange of lands under 
     this Act is completed, a comprehensive summary of each 
     appraisal for the specific lands to be exchanged shall be 
     available for public inspection in the appropriate Oregon 
     offices of the Secretary, for a 15-day period.
       (4) After the Secretary approves the final appraised values 
     of any parcel of the lands to be conveyed under this Act, the 
     value of such parcel shall not be reappraised or updated 
     before the completion of the applicable land exchange, except 
     for any adjustments in value that may be required under 
     subsection (e)(2).
       (e) Equal Value Land Exchange.--(1)(A) The value of the 
     lands to be exchanged under this Act shall be equal, or if 
     the values are not equal, they shall be equalized in 
     accordance with section 206(b) of the Federal Land Policy and 
     Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1716(b)) or this subsection.
       (B) The Secretary shall retain any cash equalization 
     payments received under subparagraph (A) to use, without 
     further appropriation, to purchase land from willing sellers 
     in the State of Oregon for addition to lands under the 
     administration of the Bureau of Land Management or the Forest 
     Service, as appropriate.
       (2) If the value of the private lands exceeds the value of 
     the Federal lands by 25 percent or more, Clearwater, after 
     consultation with the affected identified landowners and the 
     Secretary, shall withdraw a portion of the private lands 
     necessary to equalize the values of the lands to be 
     exchanged.
       (3) If any of the private lands to be acquired do not 
     include the rights to the subsurface estate, the Secretary 
     may reserve the subsurface estate in the Federal lands to be 
     exchanged.
       (f) Land Titles.--(1) Title to the private lands to be 
     conveyed to the Secretary shall be in a form acceptable to 
     the Secretary.
       (2) The Secretary shall convey all right, title, and 
     interest of the United States in the Federal lands to the 
     appropriate identified landowners, except to the extent the 
     Secretary reserves the subsurface estate under subsection 
     (c)(2).
       (g) Management of Lands.--(1) Lands acquired by Secretary 
     of the Interior under this Act shall be administered in 
     accordance with sections 205(c) of the Federal Land Policy 
     and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1715(c)), and lands acquired by 
     the Secretary of Agriculture shall be administered in 
     accordance with sections 205(d) of such Act (43 U.S.C. 
     1715(d)).
       (2) Lands acquired by the Secretary of the Interior 
     pursuant to section 4 which are within the North Fork of the 
     John Day subwatershed shall be administered in accordance 
     with section 205(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management 
     Act (43 U.S.C. 1715(c)), but shall be managed primarily for 
     the protection of native fish and wildlife habitat, and for 
     public recreation. The Secretary may permit other authorized 
     uses within the subwatershed if the Secretary determines, 
     through the appropriate land use planning process, that such 
     uses are consistent with, and do not diminish these 
     management purposes.

     SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
     necessary to carry out this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1629, sponsored by Senators Smith and Wyden of 
Oregon, and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) on the House side, 
would facilitate two exchanges of public and private lands in Oregon: 
the Triangle Land Exchange in the Northeast Oregon Assembled Land 
Exchange.
  Approximately 54,000 acres of BLM and Forest Service land is proposed 
to be traded for nearly 50,000 acres currently held by private 
ownership in northeast Oregon. The value of the lands exchanged will be 
the same or equalized by cash payments to the Secretaries. The proposed 
exchange has been proceeding under administrative process for 4\1/2\ 
years with a variety of delays along the way. The bill creates a 
legislative resolution to the exchange.
  Both the government and the public have interest in this exchange. 
Federal agencies will acquire sensitive river corridors which will 
improve the efficiency of their protection efforts for threatened and 
endangered fish. Communities and landowners will benefit from these 
exchanges because the consolidation of ownership patterns and the 
release of previously inaccessible forest lands will boost local 
economies and enhance the ability of the private sector to manage its 
own lands.
  The land exchanges have received the strong collective support of 
several Oregon Indian tribes, conservation groups such as the Oregon 
Natural Desert Association, Oregon Trout and the Sierra Club, the 
Governor and scores of concerned citizens at large.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) for his 
tireless efforts to bring this bill to the floor. His constituents are 
lucky to have someone of his caliber representing their interest.
  I urge my colleagues to support S. 1629.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am rising on the issue of S. 1629, the Oregon Land 
Exchange Act. As the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) stated, it is a 
bill that has come to us from the Senate sponsored by Senators Smith 
and Wyden and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) who has done 
yeoman's work on this issue in the House.
  The issue has been before the House for nearly a year. There have 
been a series of administrative actions that go back several years 
regarding these proposed exchanges.

                              {time}  1545

  In October of 1999, the subcommittee held a hearing on the issue, and 
in April of this year the bill was marked up. Before the hearing and 
before the markup, I and my staff made extensive inquiries of 
knowledgeable environmental groups throughout Oregon to see what 
concerns they might have regarding the legislation and what changes 
they might like to see. What I heard back, for the most part, was the 
benefits of the exchange, particularly along the north fork of the John 
Day. No one, until quite recently, came forward with specific 
objections to specific parcels involved as a small subset of the entire 
exchange. It is unfortunate that those concerns were raised so late in 
the process.
  In general, the legislation identifies isolated parcels of publicly 
owned lands in eastern Oregon. I have spent some time looking at the 
maps; and it is quite a dispersed ownership, much of it really public 
islands surrounded by private land, in particular a large block of 
lands along the north fork of the John Day River, which is critical 
salmon habitat, and other private inholdings to allow the Forest 
Service and the BLM to block up their holdings in the public arena.
  The bill is supported by Oregon Trout, the Native Fish Society, and 
the governor of Oregon. I contacted the Oregon Natural Resources 
Council, the Oregon Natural Desert Association, and the Sierra Club 
during consideration. They did support the Forest Service preferred 
alternative for the Northeast Oregon Assembled Land Exchange, which is 
part of the legislation. It is very complex legislation and includes 
other exchanges.
  As I said earlier, I have heard some concerns very recently from a 
number of people who reside in the district of the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Walden) raising concerns. In general, I am skeptical of 
land exchanges. When I was first here, I opposed a land exchange 
proposed by the chairman of the Committee on Resources, joining with 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Miller) and very few others on the 
committee to oppose that, because we did not believe the public was 
getting full value. I have, in my district, put great emphasis in 
scrutinizing any proposals for even minor land exchanges.
  This is a large exchange; and all I can do in part is rely upon the 
governor, the advocates, like Oregon Trout and Native Fish Society, the 
environmental groups that are the most knowledgeable of the area about 
the benefits, and try to weigh those benefits against what I am told 
are some

[[Page H6866]]

detrimental exchanges on isolated parcels.
  Unfortunately, I believe that at this point we cannot fix what minor 
problems might result, and we are threatened with harvest along the 
north fork of the John Day this summer or next fall if this exchange 
does not go forward. The owners there have withheld harvest for 3 or 4 
years, and now this year went in and actually marked trees along the 
north fork, and I do know of the benefits and I am very familiar with 
that area.
  The ranking member has recently revealed a report from the GAO which 
goes to the issue of land exchanges and problems with land exchanges; 
and I am hopeful that my efforts and the efforts of other members of 
the Oregon delegation, the resource agencies involved, and the interest 
groups that have scrutinized this have prevented any of those problems 
from recurring in this particular legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I would again, although unfortunately it comes very late 
in the process, I would enter the letter from the Friends of Rudio 
Mountain, Inc., into the Record at this point in time raising their 
concerns about that particular aspect of the exchange:


                               Friends of Rudio Mountain, Inc.

                                  Forest Grove, OR, July 20, 2000.
     Representative Peter DeFazio,
     RHOB, Washington, DC.
       Dear Peter DeFazio: We are writing today with new and 
     extremely important information that you should be informed 
     of regarding the Oregon Land Exchange Act of 2000 (HR2950). 
     The following new information gives the public moral grounds 
     to ask you to stop all legislation regarding The Oregon Land 
     Exchange Act Of 2000 (HR2950).
       Our first concern is that misleading information has kept 
     the public in the dark. We want to make it clear that 
     Prineville District BLM officials have told us from the start 
     that the Congressional Trade (HR2950) followed PHASE 1 of the 
     NOALE Land Exchange. We were told that the maps in the FEIS 
     for the NOALE were the same as the maps that you are using 
     for The Oregon Land Exchange Act. This is not the truth.
       Two weeks ago we received a set of the maps that outline 
     the lands involved in (HR2950). Our group and many other 
     special interest groups were not aware that entirely 
     different maps were involved or that certain public lands of 
     such high value in critical areas were being disposed of in 
     (HR2950) until we reviewed maps 1 through 6. Had we known 
     that the Congressional Trade was based on a different set of 
     maps and that it intended to dispose of parcels of public 
     land not set for disposal in PHASE 1 of NOALE we would have 
     offered stormy opposition and this Bill would most likely 
     have died at the onset. We are certain that if the true clear 
     picture would have been laid out the Bill would not have had 
     any supporters.
       Please note that on July 19th Jessica Hamilton from 
     Congressman David Wu's office spoke with one of the public 
     officials that has been involved from the start with the 
     NOALE exchange and (HR2950). During her conversation with him 
     he told her the same misleading information that we had been 
     led to believe. He firmly told her that he was not aware of 
     any Rudio Mountain land at all that was involved in the 
     Congressional Bill and that he was certain that no public 
     land defined as Phase 2 Disposal Parcels in the FEIS 
     were involved in (H.R. 2950). On this same date he told us 
     that he was not aware that the Congressional Bill maps 
     were different from those of the PHASE 1 maps of the FEIS, 
     furthermore, he told us once again the same information 
     that he had told to Jessica Hamilton. He kept insisting it 
     was true until we told him that we had documents in our 
     possession to prove him wrong. He firmly denied sending us 
     anything at which point we reminded him that we had a map 
     that he had outlined for us and other correspondence from 
     him and that we were going to the State Director regarding 
     certain matters. At this point he admitted that several 
     thousand acres of PHASE 2 Rudio Mountain public land had 
     been put into the Congressional trade because it contained 
     Old-Growth Timber. He told us not to worry about it 
     because the BLM was opposed to disposing of any Rudio 
     Mountain land and even if Congress passed the Bill the BLM 
     definitely would not allow those parcels to be traded away 
     and that the NEPA process had not been completed on those 
     parcels so BLM could not get rid of them even if Congress 
     passed the Bill. Talk about being led down the garden 
     path! Shortly after this conversation this public official 
     put in a call to Jessica Hamilton to clarify certain 
     matters. I have not had the opportunity to discuss the 
     matter with Jessica to see exactly what he clarified.
       Our second major concern is that the public lands involved 
     do not meet the requirements of the Congressional Bill. (H.R. 
     2950) is defeating the purpose for land trades in Oregon. The 
     agencies are not disposing of isolated parcels of public land 
     as they would like the public to believe. (H.R. 2950) will 
     dispose of large parcels of public land that are adjacent to 
     other public land, for example, (SEE MAP 4), T12S R28E, 
     Parcels 117B--139A--139B, (consisting of about 1500 acres), 
     T12S R29E, Parcel 145, T12S R30E, Parcel 150A, (about 600 
     acres surrounded by public land and adjoining a major 
     highway), to name just a few examples. Parcels like this have 
     been targeted because they contain Old-Growth Timber. These 
     public lands are currently being utilized by the public at 
     large. To call them isolated or hard to manage is extremely 
     misleading. In this same locale many parcels that are in fact 
     isolated with no public access have been skipped over as they 
     contain no Old-Growth Timber. In some areas small portions of 
     large blocks of public land have been marked for disposal. 
     Why would the agencies want to break apart large parcels when 
     they could offer parcels that are truly small, isolated and 
     separated from larger tracts. The answer is crystal clear, 
     they contain no Valuable Old-Growth Timber.
       Our third concern is that we have been involved in public 
     meetings with the agencies regarding the NOALE exchange from 
     the very beginning. The original EIS and FEIS for the NOALE 
     exchange concerned only public lands that were marked for 
     PHASE 1 of the process but it also listed lands that were 
     being considered for a PHASE 2 exchange. PHASE 2 public land 
     consisted mainly of high value Old-Growth habitat and 
     critical wildlife habitat in the vicinity of Rudio Mountain. 
     We have corresponded with the BLM regarding Rudio Mountain 
     Lands for a number of years. BLM officials have always 
     assured us both verbally and in writing that they would 
     never trade any land in the vicinity of Rudio Mountain 
     unless they could gain private land on Rudio Mountain that 
     would block up to other public land that would benefit the 
     public.
       Some time ago former Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse and 
     former Senator Mark Hatfield forwarded over 100 statements 
     from individual people to the BLM addressing this very issue. 
     The BLM had a firm agreement with us that no Rudio Mountain 
     public land would ever be traded for land anywhere else 
     except for on Rudio Mountain. In (H.R. 2950) over 8000 acres 
     of the very best public land on Rudio Mountain will be 
     forfeited in exchange for logged over land hundreds of miles 
     from Rudio Mountain.
       Attached hereto as EXHIBIT A is a letter that we sent to 
     Jessica Hamilton to assist her in researching our concerns. 
     EXHIBIT A outlines some of the parcels of public land that we 
     are concerned with.
       Will you stand by while hundreds of people are deceived 
     through this Congressional Land Exchange. Will you stand by 
     and let some of the most beautiful, untouched land in the 
     State of Oregon be put into the control of a third party 
     facilitator whose only interest is to reap outlandish profits 
     by placing the public land into the hands of private parties 
     and the Old-Growth Timber into the hands of private 
     industries. Rudio Mountain public lands contain some of the 
     best critical wildlife habitat and outstanding Old-Growth 
     left in the State of Oregon. This valuable habitat in harmony 
     with other things is responsible for producing and 
     maintaining some of the best quality and wholesome wildlife 
     in the Western States.
       We can not afford to lose these treasures. We have walked 
     these lands and forests for decades and our love for this 
     land, for the forests and the wildlife is overflowing. To 
     take such simple yet important pleasures from us would be 
     heartbreaking.
       Once again we ask you to stand with us and stop this land 
     exchange. In closing this letter we have two requests. First, 
     please consider the facts that we have set forth, second, 
     please take one minute to look deep into our hearts before 
     you make any decisions for our future and those that will 
     come after us, who shall one day yearn to walk through the 
     special places where we walk today. Thank you.
           Very truly yours,
     Kathleen R. Kidwell,
       For Friends of Rudio Mountain, Inc., & Others In Opposition 
     To The Land Exchanges.

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Walden), who has done a remarkable job on this piece of 
legislation and actually has a companion bill with this Senate bill we 
are considering, H.R. 2950.
  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's 
yielding to me and his hard work on this legislation. I thank him for 
his time and help on it.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) as well, with 
whom I have worked on this and several other pieces of legislation in 
this session in a partnership that I think benefits all of our 
constituents in Oregon. We need to continue to work to move all those 
bills through the process and down to the President's desk.
  I also want to thank the chairman of the full committee, the 
gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), and others who have worked in a 
bipartisan effort on this compromise legislation, including our Oregon 
Senators, Senator Wyden and Senator Smith.
  The reason this bill passed unanimously out of the Senate and the

[[Page H6867]]

House Committee on Resources is because people know it is good for the 
environment and good for the people. It will add 54\1/2\ miles of 
threatened and endangered species habitat for Bull Trout, Chinook 
Salmon, Mid-Columbia Steelhead, and Westslope Cutthroat Trout. It will 
add over 71\1/2\ miles of riparian zones under Federal management. It 
will increase public land holdings within the Wild and Scenic River 
System corridors by over 1,300 acres. It will increase commercial 
forest land under management by Federal agencies by more than 5,218 
acres.
  And as we have heard already, it is supported by Oregon's Democrat 
Governor John Ktizhaber, Oregon Trout, Oregon Trout Unlimited, Native 
Fish Society, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, and the 
Umatilla Reservations, to name just a few.
  Mr. Speaker, this stack of documents I have in this box next to me, 
which I will not dump out on the table, but certainly could, weighs 
more than 13 pounds. It is some 5 years' worth of National 
Environmental Protection Act processes and failed time lines in an 
attempt to execute this exchange administratively. We have seen two 
U.S. Forest Service environmental impact assessments, a draft EIS for 
the Triangle Exchange, draft EIS and final EIS for the Northeast 
Assembled Land Exchange; we have had official consultation with all 
four impacted native American tribes, each of which supports the 
exchanges; and had formal consultation with and concurrence by the 
National Marine Fisheries and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
  This bill goes so far as to take the BLM and the Forest Service's 
preferred alternatives from these 5 years of NEPA processes and 
includes the preferred alternatives in this act.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a sound environmental bill, providing sought-
after Federal management of these vital salmon and steelhead streams. 
We cannot afford to allow these exchanges to fall apart due to 
bureaucratic failings and an increased hypersensitivity to land 
exchanges both good and bad.
  Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague's concerns about land exchanges and 
will continue to vigorously review them as they come before this body 
to make sure the public gets its due in any exchanges that may be 
proposed.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Sununu). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the Senate bill, S.1629.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________