[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 89 (Tuesday, July 11, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S7333]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH (for himself and Mr. Bennett):
  S. 3632. A bill to provide for the sale of approximately 25 acres of 
public land to the Turn-About Ranch, Escalante, Utah, at fair market 
value; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation that would 
correct a property trespass question involving a 25-acre parcel of 
Bureau of Land Management, BLM, land in Garfield County, UT. The parcel 
is part of the Turn-About Ranch, which hosts a successful and popular 
program to rehabilitate troubled youth.
  The trespass conflict is the result of an erroneous survey at the 
time that Congress approved a major land exchange--Public Law 105-335--
between the State of Utah and the BLM in January 1999. The legislation 
at hand would grant the owners of the ranch the opportunity to purchase 
the erroneously surveyed land at fair market value so that this very 
important program for at-risk youth can continue unimpeded.
  Since 1995, Turn-About Ranch has graduated some 500 troubled and at-
risk teenagers through an intense program of training and 
rehabilitation. The ranch employs some 35 Garfield County residents, 
and the Turn-About Ranch program has strong support from the local 
community and the local civic leaders in the area.
  Historically used for agriculture and grazing purposes, it was 
purchased by the Townsend Family and leased to Turn-About Ranch, Inc., 
for the purpose of restoring dignity and self-esteem to wayward 
teenagers. Because Government-owned land administered by the BLM 
surrounds the private land, the only way to resolve the trespass is to 
ask for the blessing of Congress.
  Mr. President, this legislation offers a simple and fair solution to 
a fairly technical problem on our public lands. I hope Congress can use 
this legislation to resolve this problem in the very near future.
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