Congressional Record, Volume 162 Issue 89 (Tuesday, June 7, 2016)

[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H3487-H3489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

MOUNT HOOD COOPER SPUR LAND EXCHANGE CLARIFICATION ACT

Mr. HARDY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 3826) 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, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 3826

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) 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 120 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:
``(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

[[Page H3488]]

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.''; and
(B) by striking subparagraph (G) and inserting the
following:
``(G) Required conveyance conditions.--Prior to the
exchange of the Federal and non-Federal land--
``(i) the Secretary and Mt. Hood Meadows may mutually agree
for the Secretary to reserve a conservation easement to
protect the identified wetland in accordance with applicable
law, subject to the requirements that--

``(I) the conservation easement shall be consistent with
the terms of the September 30, 2015, mediation between the
Secretary and Mt. Hood Meadows; and
``(II) in order to take effect, the conservation easement
shall be finalized not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of the Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange
Clarification Act; 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.''.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Nevada (Mr. Hardy) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Nevada.

General Leave

Mr. HARDY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include
any extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Nevada?
There was no objection.
Mr. HARDY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 3826, the Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification
Act, was introduced by Congressmen Greg Walden and Earl Blumenauer to
address the ongoing land exchange issues.
In 2009, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act authorized a land
exchange in Government Camp, Oregon. This land exchange was supposed to
be completed within 16 months; however, this still has not occurred
more than 7 years later. The long delay, primarily due to disagreements
surrounding easement terms, has frustrated local communities such as
Mount Hood Meadows and other local groups.
H.R. 3826 comes as a result of a successful mediation session held by
the Forest Service to resolve the longstanding issues between the
agency and the local community. As a result of this exercise, H.R. 3826
updates the details and process for the land exchange to clarify issues
relating to land appraisals and the parameters of a wetland
conservation easement on the Federal land in the conveyance.
The bill was amended in committee to address concerns raised by the
Forest Service, including clarifying language for the easement allowed
in the bill and the length of time allowed for the Forest Service to
implement this legislation. It is frustrating that the Forest Service
has not already carried out the provisions of the 2009 act. I
appreciate Congressman Walden's work to see this issue is addressed
once and for all.
I hope my colleagues will join in supporting this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 3826 clarifies the terms of a land exchange between the Forest
Service and Mount Hood Meadows, a privately held ski resort. Last year,
the Forest Service and Mount Hood Meadows engaged in mediation to
resolve the issues that have held up the exchange. This bill is the
result of that mediation, and its passage will ensure that, after 6
long years, the exchange will finally move forward.
I want to thank the sponsors from Oregon, Representative Walden and
Representative Blumenauer, for their hard work and commitment to
resolving this issue.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HARDY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Walden).
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Clay and Mr. Hardy for their
work and support of this very important legislation. I thank Mr.
Grijalva and Chairman Bishop for bringing this bill to the floor, yet
another Mount Hood bill.
My colleague and friend from Oregon, Earl Blumenauer, and I actually
backpacked 3 nights, 4 days around Mount Hood, 9,000 feet up and down,
elevation gain and loss. We hiked with environmentalists, foresters,
ornithologists, biologists, and geologists.
We put together a big bipartisan legislative effort. It took 3\1/2\
years. Part of this effort was making sure that a very sensitive part
around Mount Hood in the Crystal Springs watershed was exchanged out so
that the development didn't occur there and it occurred in an area that
already has development, a more appropriate setting. That is what this
is really all about.
The legislation that ultimately passed the Congress was a little
different than what Representative Blumenauer and I started with
because we feared this very result could happen, that it would be
delayed for years and years and years because we have seen it happen
before. Be that as it may, we are here today, 7 years later, after the
Congress had told the agency to get this done in 16 months, which
should be all the time that is necessary. Seven years later, we are
back with a second piece of legislation, confirming the mediation,
working this through so that we can get this exchange done
thoughtfully, completely, and finally get this done.
I see I am joined by the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), who
has been a real partner in this.
The legislation directs the Forest Service to move ahead on
implementing the underlying exchange. This is critical as it protects
the Crystal Springs area, the water source for much of Hood River and
the rest of the upper Hood River Valley as well. So it really does
provide a much more thoughtful place where Mount Hood Meadows does
their development and protects this very sensitive watershed from
development.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation when it comes up for
a vote. Let's get this done once and for all.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon
(Mr. Blumenauer).
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I want to pick up where my friend, the
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden), left off.
Congressman Walden and I worked for several years to try and deal
with the preservation of a precious resource. Mount Hood is the
dividing line between our two districts. We have a lot of personal
history involved there, and it was really one of my most positive
experiences in two decades of congressional service, zeroing in with
the stakeholders--Native Americans, environmentalists, local
government--trying to figure out the best protections for a very
complicated area that is within easy driving distance of 4 million
people. There were many strains and stresses and multiple stakeholders
on the mountain itself.
As he said, part of the delicate balance that was achieved was an
opportunity for us to deal with this land exchange. It was a win-win
situation for a variety of the stakeholders. It obviously is better for
the environment. It settled long-simmering disputes that served
nobody's interest but had actual potential for negative outcomes.

[[Page H3489]]

This land exchange was part of what was envisioned. This was not just
a bipartisan effort with my friend, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr.
Walden), and myself. It was then Senator Smith and Senator Wyden, and
now Senator Merkley and Senator Wyden have been partners in this. It is
frustrating that we get to the point where it requires legislation to
do something that was an integral part of this agreement.
I am proud to join my friend in urging support for it. We want to get
this passed and be able to capitalize on the vision that we worked so
hard on to protect the mountain and all of the attendant interests.
This land exchange is critical to it, and I am pleased that this
legislation is finally on the floor, although I am frustrated that we
have to have legislation on the floor. Hopefully, this will enable us
to finish this task.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Hardy) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 3826, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. HARDY. 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, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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