[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 24 (Thursday, February 8, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1786-S1787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH:
  S. 532. A bill to require the Secretary of the Interior to convey 
certain Bureau of Land Management land to Park City, Utah, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Utah Public Land 
Conveyance Act of 2007, S. 532. This legislation is designed to improve 
the management of public lands and open space for the benefit of the 
citizens of Park City, UT.
  Park City has an existing lease on an 88-acre parcel of Bureau of 
Land Management land known as Gambel Oak and on a 20-acre parcel of BLM 
land known as White Acre. The leases for these properties have been for 
recreational and public open space purposes. This legislation would 
convey

[[Page S1787]]

these two parcels to Park City, so that they can be better managed for 
recreation and open space. The BLM has limited resources and is not 
able to manage these lands for the full benefit of the public.
  It's important to note that although these parcels of lands would be 
conveyed to Park City, they would continue to be protected from 
development and could be used only for recreational and public open 
space purposes. Moreover, this bill would require Park City to pay fair 
market value for the land.
  I believe having public lands interspersed with private lands within 
a city's boundary creates unnecessary management headaches, and the 
land conveyance to Park City will help bring cohesion to Park City's 
overall effort to manage their city's growth for the benefit of its 
citizens.
  Along those lines, the legislation also would allow two small parcels 
of BLM land in Park City to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, 
thus allowing these lands to be brought under the city's zoning scheme. 
Proceeds of these sales would go to the Department of the Interior to 
pay for the costs of administering this legislation. The remaining 
proceeds would be given to the BLM and dedicated toward restoration 
projects on BLM lands in Utah.
  As you can see, this legislation goes a long way to simplify and 
consolidate the management of lands in Park City, UT. The legislation 
allows the BLM to focus to a greater extent on the public lands which 
lay outside of city limits while raising revenue to facilitate that 
effort.
  I appreciate the efforts of Congressman Rob Bishop who has worked 
hard to put this legislation together and has introduced a companion 
bill in the House, H.R. 838. I look forward to working with him to get 
this legislation passed for the good people of Park City.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
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