[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 137 (Tuesday, September 22, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6897-S6898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. Merkley):
  S. 2069. A bill to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 
2009 to modify provisions relating to certain land exchanges in the Mt. 
Hood Wilderness in the State of Oregon; to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Mt. Hood Cooper 
Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act. This bill is a necessary step to 
ensuring that the Cooper Spur land exchange on Mt. Hood proceeds as 
Congress originally intended when it passed as a part of the Omnibus 
Public Lands Bill in 2009. I am pleased to introduce this bill with my 
colleague from Oregon, Senator Jeff Merkley.
  The Mt. Hood Cooper Spur land exchange was included in the Mt. Hood 
Wilderness designation that passed 6 years ago as part of the Omnibus 
Public Lands Act of 2009. The bill, which has now been law for over 6 
years, directed several land exchanges including the Cooper Spur land 
exchange.
  The Cooper Spur land exchange required the Forest Service to transfer 
approximately 120 acres of Federal land to Mt. Hood Meadows in exchange 
for approximately 770 acres of private land, with the goal of keeping 
development of Mt. Hood concentrated around the current development at 
Government Camp and ensuring the protection of the North side of the 
mountain. The swap was to be completed in 16 months. It is now 77 
months later and the exchange has not moved forward. The delays have 
angered the public, endangered the environment, and have now spurred a 
lawsuit against the Forest Service.
  The Mt. Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act would make 
technical corrections to the Original Cooper Spur land exchange 
provisions in the Omnibus Public Lands Act to jumpstart the land 
exchange and keep the process moving forward so the exchange can 
finally be completed, as originally intended.
  I introduced the original Mt. Hood Wilderness proposal in 2004 and 
again in 2006 and 2007 with my then-colleague Senator Gordon Smith of 
Oregon. As the Wilderness proposal and associated land exchanges took 
shape, more than 1,700 constituents provided input on the proposal. It 
was supported by members of the Oregon congressional delegation at the 
time, then-Governor Kulongoski, the Bush administration, and over 100 
community groups. The Mt. Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification 
Act is supported by Mt. Hood Meadows, Friends of Hood River Valley, 
Clackamas County, and Hood River County.
  The Cooper Spur land exchange was an important part of the Mt. Hood 
Wilderness designation to ensure the protection of the undeveloped 
North side of the mountain. In turn, the Mt. Hood Cooper Spur Land 
Exchange Clarification Act is needed in order to ensure that the land 
exchange, a community-driven solution to the development challenges on 
Mt. Hood, is finally completed.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2069

       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 ``Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land 
     Exchange Clarification Act''.

     SEC. 2. COOPER SPUR LAND EXCHANGE CLARIFICATION AMENDMENTS.

       Section 1206(a) of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act 
     of 2009 (Public Law 111-11; 123 Stat. 1018) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``120 acres'' and 
     inserting ``107 acres''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (E)(ii), by inserting ``improvements,'' 
     after ``buildings,''; and
       (2) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) by amending the text of subparagraph (C) to read as 
     follows: ``As a condition of the land exchange under this 
     subsection, title to the non-Federal land to be acquired by 
     the Secretary under this subsection shall be acceptable to 
     the Secretary.'';
       (B) in subparagraph (D)--
       (i) in clause (i), by striking ``As soon as practicable 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and 
     Mt. Hood Meadows shall select'' and inserting ``Not later 
     than 60 days after the date of the enactment of the Mount 
     Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act, the 
     Secretary and Mt. Hood Meadows shall jointly select'';
       (ii) in clause (ii), in the matter preceding subclause (I), 
     by striking ``An appraisal under clause (i) shall'' and 
     inserting ``Except as provided under clause (iii), an 
     appraisal under clause (i) shall assign a separate value to 
     each tax lot to allow for the equalization of values and''; 
     and
       (iii) by adding at the end the following:

[[Page S6898]]

       ``(iii) Final appraised value.--

       ``(I) In general.--Subject to subclause (II), after the 
     final appraised value of the Federal land and the non-Federal 
     land are determined and approved by the Secretary, the 
     Secretary shall not be required to reappraise or update the 
     final appraised value for a period of up to 3 years, 
     beginning on the date of the approval by the Secretary of the 
     final appraised value.
       ``(II) Exception.--Subclause (I) shall not apply if the 
     condition of either the Federal land or the non-Federal land 
     referred to in subclause (I) is significantly and 
     substantially altered by fire, windstorm, or other events.

       ``(iv) Public review.--Before completing the land exchange 
     under this Act, the Secretary shall make available for public 
     review the complete appraisals of the land to be 
     exchanged.'';
       (C) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``16 months after the 
     date of enactment of this Act'' and inserting ``1 year after 
     the date of the enactment of the Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land 
     Exchange Clarification Act''; and
       (D) by striking subparagraph (G) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(G) Required conveyance conditions.--Prior to the 
     exchange of the Federal and non-Federal land--
       ``(i) in full satisfaction of Executive Order 11990, Mt. 
     Hood Meadows shall obtain the concurrence of the Oregon 
     Department of State Lands with the identification of wetland 
     boundaries on the Federal land as designated on a wetland 
     delineation report prepared by an independent professional 
     engineer registered in the State of Oregon so as to provide 
     protection of the identified wetland according to applicable 
     law; and
       ``(ii) the Secretary shall reserve a 24-foot-wide 
     nonexclusive trail easement at the existing trail locations 
     on the Federal land that retains for the United States 
     existing rights to construct, reconstruct, maintain, and 
     permit nonmotorized use by the public of existing trails 
     subject to the right of the owner of the Federal land--

       ``(I) to cross the trails with roads, utilities, and 
     infrastructure facilities; and
       ``(II) to improve or relocate the trails to accommodate 
     development of the Federal land.

       ``(H) Equalization of values.--
       ``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), in 
     addition to or in lieu of monetary compensation, a lesser 
     area of Federal land or non-Federal land may be conveyed if 
     necessary to equalize appraised values of the exchange 
     properties, without limitation, consistent with the 
     requirements of this Act and subject to the approval of the 
     Secretary and Mt. Hood Meadows.
       ``(ii) Treatment of certain compensation or conveyances as 
     donation.--If, after payment of compensation or adjustment of 
     land area subject to exchange under this Act, the amount by 
     which the appraised value of the land and other property 
     conveyed by Mt. Hood Meadows under subparagraph (A) exceeds 
     the appraised value of the land conveyed by the Secretary 
     under subparagraph (A) shall be considered a donation by Mt. 
     Hood Meadows to the United States.''.

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