[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 30, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E779-E780]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                JICARILLA APACHE RESERVATION CONVEYANCE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. TOM UDALL

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 29, 2008

  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, today the House will take one 
of the final steps in securing a long overdue resolution to a dispute 
between the Jicarilla Apache Nation and Rio Arriba County in the State 
of New

[[Page E780]]

Mexico. After 20 years of negotiation and effort, I am pleased that the 
House is moving this bill forward.
  In September of 1988, a parcel of land formerly referred to as the 
Theis Ranch became part of the Jicarilla Nation Reservation. Since that 
land transfer, there has been continued dispute between the Jicarilla 
Nation and the County of Rio Arriba over the ownership of a particular 
road on this land.
  A lawsuit was filed in October of 1987 to determine the ownership 
status of the disputed road. In the original lawsuit, Rio Arriba County 
sought to establish that the County acquired the disputed road by 
prescription and, therefore, that the County was the road's rightful 
owner. However, the Jicarilla Nation contended that the Nation owned 
the road because the road was, and continues to be, within the 
boundaries of the expanded 1988 Jicarilla reservation. On December 10, 
2001, the District Court found in favor of the Jicarilla Nation, 
determining that the disputed road traversed the Jicarilla reservation 
in several locations. Rio Arriba County appealed the District Court 
decision, and the appeal is currently pending before the Court of 
Appeals of the State of New Mexico.
  In an effort to settle the road dispute amicably, the Jicarilla 
Nation and Rio Arriba County entered into mediation, and the parties 
successfully reached a settlement. Representatives of the Secretary of 
the Interior approved the settlement on June 18, 2003. The settlement 
agreement, which would be implemented by this legislation, provides 
that the Jicarilla Nation will transfer approximately 70.5 acres of 
land located with the expanded 1988 Jicarilla reservation to Rio Arriba 
County. In exchange for the Jicarilla Nation's land conveyance, Rio 
Arriba County agreed to permanently abandon any and all claims to the 
disputed road. The settlement also provides that the terms of the 
agreement do not take effect until all parties complete their 
respective promises in the agreement and the United States, pursuant to 
federal law, approves of the conveyance of this particular Jicarilla 
trust land to Rio Arriba County.
  I commend both parties and the Secretary of the Interior for having 
already executed the terms agreed to within the settlement agreement. 
All that stands between the parties to this dispute and long overdue 
resolution is Congressional approval.
  The legislation we are voting on today upholds Congress' trust 
responsibility to the Jicarilla Nation by placing restrictive covenants 
on the trust land transferred to the County. As a result of the 
transferred land's proximity to the reservation, certain uses of the 
transferred land would have a detrimental effect on the remaining 
reservation. Therefore, this legislation allows the County to use the 
land only for ``governmental purposes'' and specifically prohibits the 
County from using the land for prisons, jails, or other incarcerated 
persons, and other purposes.
  In the 109th Congress, this bill received broad support and passed 
the House by voice vote. Unfortunately, the bill was then held up in 
the Senate, but the provisions that raised minor objections have been 
resolved and I expect bicameral support and passage of this long 
overdue legislation.
  The Jicarilla Nation and Rio Arriba County have done their part; they 
have found a fair solution. Today, the House will do its part. I urge 
my colleagues to support passage of this important legislation. Both 
the Nation and the County have waited years for this agreement to be 
implemented.

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