[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 20 (Monday, February 6, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H980-H982]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CRAGS, COLORADO LAND EXCHANGE ACT OF 2017
Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 618) to authorize, direct, expedite, and facilitate a land
exchange in El Paso and Teller Counties, Colorado, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 618
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 ``Crags, Colorado Land
Exchange Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to authorize, direct, expedite, and facilitate the land
exchange set forth herein; and
(2) to promote enhanced public outdoor recreational and
natural resource conservation opportunities in the Pike
National Forest near Pikes Peak, Colorado, via acquisition of
the non-Federal land and trail easement.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) BHI.--The term ``BHI'' means Broadmoor Hotel, Inc., a
Colorado corporation.
(2) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means all
right, title, and interest of the United States in and to
approximately 83 acres of land within the Pike National
Forest, El Paso County, Colorado, together with a non-
exclusive perpetual access easement to BHI to and from such
land on Forest Service Road 371, as generally depicted on the
map entitled ``Proposed Crags Land Exchange-Federal Parcel-
Emerald Valley Ranch'', dated March 2015.
(3) Non-federal land.--The term ``non-Federal land'' means
the land and trail easement to be conveyed to the Secretary
by BHI in the exchange and is--
(A) approximately 320 acres of land within the Pike
National Forest, Teller County, Colorado, as generally
depicted on the map entitled ``Proposed Crags Land Exchange-
Non-Federal Parcel-Crags Property'', dated March 2015; and
(B) a permanent trail easement for the Barr Trail in El
Paso County, Colorado, as generally depicted on the map
entitled ``Proposed Crags Land Exchange-Barr Trail Easement
to United States'', dated March 2015, and which shall be
considered as a voluntary donation to the United States by
BHI for all purposes of law.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture, unless otherwise specified.
SEC. 4. LAND EXCHANGE.
(a) In General.--If BHI offers to convey to the Secretary
all right, title, and interest of BHI in and to the non-
Federal land, the Secretary shall accept the offer and
simultaneously convey to BHI the Federal land.
(b) Land Title.--Title to the non-Federal land conveyed and
donated to the Secretary under this Act shall be acceptable
to the Secretary and shall conform to the title approval
standards of the Attorney General of the United States
applicable to land acquisitions by the Federal Government.
(c) Perpetual Access Easement to BHI.--The nonexclusive
perpetual access easement to be granted to BHI as shown on
the map referred to in section 3(2) shall allow--
(1) BHI to fully maintain, at BHI's expense, and use Forest
Service Road 371 from its junction with Forest Service Road
368 in accordance with historic use and maintenance patterns
by BHI; and
(2) full and continued public and administrative access and
use of FSR 371 in accordance with the existing Forest Service
travel management plan, or as such plan may be revised by the
Secretary.
(d) Route and Condition of Road.--BHI and the Secretary may
mutually agree to improve, relocate, reconstruct, or
otherwise alter the route and condition of all or portions of
such road as the Secretary, in close consultation with BHI,
may determine advisable.
(e) Exchange Costs.--BHI shall pay for all land survey,
appraisal, and other costs to the Secretary as may be
necessary to process and consummate the exchange directed by
this Act, including reimbursement to the Secretary, if the
Secretary so requests, for staff time spent in such
processing and consummation.
SEC. 5. EQUAL VALUE EXCHANGE AND APPRAISALS.
(a) Appraisals.--The values of the lands to be exchanged
under this Act shall be determined by the Secretary through
appraisals performed in accordance with--
(1) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land
Acquisitions;
(2) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal
Practice;
(3) appraisal instructions issued by the Secretary; and
(4) shall be performed by an appraiser mutually agreed to
by the Secretary and BHI.
(b) Equal Value Exchange.--The values of the Federal and
non-Federal land parcels exchanged shall be equal, or if they
are not equal, shall be equalized as follows:
(1) Surplus of federal land value.--If the final appraised
value of the Federal land exceeds the final appraised value
of the non-Federal land parcel identified in section 3(3)(A),
BHI shall make a cash equalization payment to the United
States as necessary to achieve equal value, including, if
necessary, an amount in excess of that authorized pursuant to
section 206(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(b)).
(2) Use of funds.--Any cash equalization moneys received by
the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall be--
(A) deposited in the fund established under Public Law 90-
171 (commonly known as the ``Sisk Act''; 16 U.S.C. 484a); and
(B) made available to the Secretary for the acquisition of
land or interests in land in Region 2 of the Forest Service.
(3) Surplus of non-federal land value.--If the final
appraised value of the non-Federal land parcel identified in
section 3(3)(A)
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exceeds the final appraised value of the Federal land, the
United States shall not make a cash equalization payment to
BHI, and surplus value of the non-Federal land shall be
considered a donation by BHI to the United States for all
purposes of law.
(c) Appraisal Exclusions.--
(1) Special use permit.--The appraised value of the Federal
land parcel shall not reflect any increase or diminution in
value due to the special use permit existing on the date of
the enactment of this Act to BHI on the parcel and
improvements thereunder.
(2) Barr trail easement.--The Barr Trail easement donation
identified in section 3(3)(B) shall not be appraised for
purposes of this Act.
SEC. 6. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
(a) Withdrawal Provisions.--
(1) Withdrawal.--Lands acquired by the Secretary under this
Act shall, without further action by the Secretary, be
permanently withdrawn from all forms of appropriation and
disposal under the public land laws (including the mining and
mineral leasing laws) and the Geothermal Steam Act of 1930
(30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).
(2) Withdrawal revocation.--Any public land order that
withdraws the Federal land from appropriation or disposal
under a public land law shall be revoked to the extent
necessary to permit disposal of the Federal land parcel to
BHI.
(3) Withdrawal of federal land.--All Federal land
authorized to be exchanged under this Act, if not already
withdrawn or segregated from appropriation or disposal under
the public lands laws upon enactment of this Act, is hereby
so withdrawn, subject to valid existing rights, until the
date of conveyance of the Federal land to BHI.
(b) Postexchange Land Management.--Land acquired by the
Secretary under this Act shall become part of the Pike-San
Isabel National Forest and be managed in accordance with the
laws, rules, and regulations applicable to the National
Forest System.
(c) Exchange Timetable.--It is the intent of Congress that
the land exchange directed by this Act be consummated no
later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(d) Maps, Estimates, and Descriptions.--
(1) Minor errors.--The Secretary and BHI may by mutual
agreement make minor boundary adjustments to the Federal and
non-Federal lands involved in the exchange, and may correct
any minor errors in any map, acreage estimate, or description
of any land to be exchanged.
(2) Conflict.--If there is a conflict between a map, an
acreage estimate, or a description of land under this Act,
the map shall control unless the Secretary and BHI mutually
agree otherwise.
(3) Availability.--Upon enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall file and make available for public inspection
in the headquarters of the Pike-San Isabel National Forest a
copy of all maps referred to in this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn).
General Leave
Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Colorado?
There was no objection.
Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in strong support of H.R. 618, the Crags, Colorado Land
Exchange Act of 2017 that I introduced along with Congressman Tipton
and Congressman Polis. This legislation will facilitate a mutually
beneficial land exchange between the U.S. Forest Service and the
Emerald Valley Ranch in El Paso and Teller Counties in Colorado.
Specifically, this legislation would convey to the United States the
320-acre Crags property located on the west side of Pikes Peak that is
currently owned by The Broadmoor Hotel, and a perpetual public-access
easement for the lower portion of the popular Barr Trail. In exchange,
an 83-acre Federal parcel located at Emerald Valley Ranch on the
southeast side of Pikes Peak and a perpetual access easement along two
Forest Service roads would be granted to The Broadmoor. This would
eliminate the management and liability issues currently facing the
United States because of the significant upgrades and improvements The
Broadmoor has made to the Emerald Valley Ranch parcel.
This land exchange is intended to provide increased recreational
opportunities for the public on the Pike National Forest. The 320-acre
Crags property is completely surrounded by the Pike National Forest and
has been the top acquisition priority for the Pikes Peak Ranger
District for several years. The property provides several opportunities
to connect Forest Service trails emanating from the Crags campground
with trails in the Putney Gulch area. In addition, existing trails
within the property could become key links in the proposed Ring the
Peak trail.
I thank Chairman Bishop and Chairman McClintock and the entire staff
of the Subcommittee on Federal Lands for all of their work and bringing
this bill to the floor.
I urge the adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I
thank the Speaker for the recognition and Mr. Lamborn for bringing
forward this bill.
H.R. 618 is legislation I am proud to cosponsor because it is a
commonsense land exchange in my home State of Colorado. It authorizes
the Forest Service to exchange the Emerald Valley Ranch for the larger
ecologically sensitive Crags parcel. The world-famous Broadmoor Hotel--
that I visited many times and attended many education conferences at--
currently has a 25-year special use permit to operate the guest ranch
on the Emerald Valley parcel. This parcel has lost its National Forest
character, and conveying it out of Pike National Forest will simplify
management at that site and replace it with a parcel that is more
appropriate.
In exchange, the Forest Service will receive the 320-acre Crags
parcel and a permanent trail easement for the historic Barr Trail. The
Crags property connects with several Forest Service trails in the Pikes
Peak Ranger District and has been identified by the Forest Service as a
priority for acquisition. I am glad that, under this bill, we can
accomplish that priority.
The exchange eliminates a large private inholding in the National
Forest and removes the need for Federal land management of the Emerald
Valley Ranch. It is a win-win scenario. Essentially, this legislation
simplifies land management around Pikes Peak, while protecting public
lands and growing our economy.
The Forest Service testified in support of H.R. 618. I support its
adoption, as do stakeholders across the spectrum.
It has been a pleasure to work with my colleagues, Mr. Lamborn and
Mr. Tipton, on this bill, and I appreciate their hard work and
constructive work for this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I echo what my colleague has just said
about those of us from Colorado working together. Of the six bills that
we are going to be discussing today, four of them are from Colorado;
and yourself, myself, and Representative Tipton from southwest Colorado
have collaborated on these four bills. It is bipartisan and we have
worked hard and have gotten some good legislation to offer to the House
for consideration. I look forward to doing this through the rest of the
afternoon, plus two other bills as well.
Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance
of my time.
Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I, as well, am prepared to close and I just want to highlight my
agreement with the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn). When people
work together, these are the kind of commonsense results we get.
Unfortunately, on these bills, I don't think we will be making the
front page of The Washington Post or The New York Times or the FOX News
Talk hour, but that is so much of the workhorse-type work that we need
to do in this body.
What we have done with Mr. Tipton, Mr. Lamborn, and myself is we have
been able to put together the commonsense priorities around public land
management. The district I have the honor of representing is 65 percent
public land. So these are everyday issues that my constituents deal
with living in and around public land.
It is very exciting to be passing H.R. 618 and allowing getting rid
of the private inholding, putting some appropriate land in the
management of the Forest Service and, of course, doing something that
will also benefit one of our iconic conference centers and hotels in
Colorado Springs that I have
[[Page H982]]
had the opportunity to be a guest and a conferee at so many times.
I deeply appreciate the work of Mr. Tipton and Mr. Lamborn. I urge a
``yes'' vote.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. LAMBORN. 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 Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 618.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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