[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 24, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H526-H527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 DOUGLAS COUNTY, OREGON LAND CONVEYANCE

  Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 714) to provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of 
Bureau of Land Management land in Douglas County, Oregon, to the county 
to improve management of and recreational access to the Oregon Dunes 
National Recreation Area, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                 S. 714

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAND IN 
                   DOUGLAS COUNTY, OREGON.

       (a) In General.--
       (1) Conveyance.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
     convey, without consideration and subject to valid existing 
     rights, to Douglas County, Oregon (referred to in this 
     section as the ``County''), all right, title, and interest of 
     the United States in and to the parcel described in paragraph 
     (2) for use by the County for recreational purposes.
       (2) Parcel.--The parcel referred to in paragraph (1) is the 
     parcel of land consisting of approximately 68.8 acres under 
     the administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land 
     Management, as generally depicted on the map entitled ``S. 
     714, Douglas County, Oregon Land Conveyance'', dated May 21, 
     2003.
       (b) Purposes of Conveyance.--The purposes of the conveyance 
     under subsection (a) are to improve management of and 
     recreational access to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation 
     Area by--
       (1) improving public safety and reducing traffic congestion 
     along Salmon Harbor Drive (County Road No. 251) in the 
     County;
       (2) providing a staging area for off-highway vehicles; and
       (3) facilitating policing of unlawful camping and parking 
     along Salmon Harbor Drive and adjacent areas.
       (c) Survey.--The exact acreage and legal description of the 
     parcel to be conveyed under subsection (a) shall be 
     determined by a survey--
       (1) that is satisfactory to the Secretary; and
       (2) the cost of which shall be paid by the County.
       (d) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may 
     require such additional terms and conditions in connection 
     with the conveyance under subsection (a) as the Secretary 
     considers appropriate to protect the interests of the United 
     States.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Renzi) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi).


                             General Leave

  Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on S. 714, the bill now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 714, introduced by Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, and 
amended by the Senate, would provide for the conveyance of 69 acres of 
BLM land in Douglas County, Oregon, to improve management of and 
recreational access to the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area.
  Mr. Speaker, the intended effect of transferring this tract of BLM 
land would be to move recreational traffic off of Salmon Harbor Drive 
and out of the nearby communities. Currently, OHV users illegally park 
on Salmon River Drive, creating a public nuisance and safety hazard. 
The legislation would allow for a staging area for off-highway vehicles 
and provide improved access to the Oregon Dunes for other visitors, 
such as hikers and backpackers.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 714, as amended, is supported by the administration, 
has broad bipartisan support from the Oregon delegation, and I urge 
adoption of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I want to extend my strongest support 
for this proposed bill, Senate bill 714, as it was originally 
introduced by the good Senator from the State of Oregon, Mr. Wyden.
  Mr. Speaker, the transferring of a small parcel of land to Douglas 
County will resolve a difficult safety issue that has arisen regarding 
the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area. The land in question has 
been identified by the BLM for disposal. The Committee on Resources 
approved similar legislation during the previous Congress, and now 
Senate bill 714 passed the Senate by unanimous consent.
  I also want to commend the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) for 
his sponsorship of this bill, which is a companion bill that was 
introduced as well, and I certainly commend him for his tireless 
efforts on behalf of this legislation and his commitment to resolving 
this problem not only for his constituents, but others who want to 
visit his beautiful area.
  I urge my colleagues to support this Senate bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time, and I thank my colleagues for considering this legislation today 
and certainly hope that it is successfully passed by the House later 
this evening.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an issue upon which I and other members of the 
Oregon delegation have been working for a number of years. The issue of 
Winchester Bay, Salmon Harbor, and the Dunes access, which is an 
extremely popular OHV area, has been a growing problem because of the 
growing popularity. This is sort of a bright light on the coast of 
Oregon where the economy has been lagging and so many other industries 
are in a depressed state. The tourism and the support this provides for 
local community and small businesses is very welcome.
  What has been happening is that, because of a county campground 
nearer to the harbor and other camping, a number of people have been 
driving their OHVs actually on the road to access the nearest point 
into the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. That causes obviously 
congestion, conflicts with other vehicles on the road, and in some 
cases has been very problematic in the community and been a law 
enforcement problem on some of the big holiday weekends. This could be 
easily rectified, and hopefully will be today, by transferring this 
parcel of land.
  I visited the parcel in question. It is extraordinarily underutilized 
at the moment. It is virtually unpoliced because of the cutbacks in BLM 
law enforcement and Forest Service law enforcement because of the 
Federal budget. There have been problems there with illegal camping, 
with the use of

[[Page H527]]

fires in areas that are not contained, and with the dumping of trash. 
If we are successful in implementing this legislation today, we will 
see control pass to the county who will properly police it, who will 
develop it into a regular campsite, and who will provide excellent 
access for OHV users without having to drive on the public roads. They 
will be directly adjacent to the Dunes National Recreation Area.
  This legislation, as passed by the Senate, is identical to 
legislation introduced into the House, H.R. 514, by myself and the 
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden). So since this is identical, and I 
believe it enjoys extraordinary widespread and bipartisan support, as 
the gentleman from Arizona already pointed out. I would recommend this 
legislation to my colleagues and urge that everyone vote in its favor 
so that we can enhance these recreational opportunities and protect the 
public health and safety and do just a little bit to help the economy 
of the south coast of Oregon.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his generous grant of time.
  Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume to again commend the gentleman from Arizona for his management 
of this proposed bill, and also thank my good friend, the gentleman 
from Oregon, for his insights and understanding of the bill and what it 
will do to benefit the people of Oregon.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no additional requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the Senate bill, S. 714, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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