[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 20 (Monday, February 6, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H982-H983]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  ELKHORN RANCH AND WHITE RIVER NATIONAL FOREST CONVEYANCE ACT OF 2017

  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 698) to require a land conveyance involving the Elkhorn 
Ranch and the White River National Forest in the State of Colorado, and 
for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 698

       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 ``Elkhorn Ranch and White 
     River National Forest Conveyance Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 2. LAND CONVEYANCE, ELKHORN RANCH AND WHITE RIVER 
                   NATIONAL FOREST, COLORADO.

       (a) Land Conveyance Required.--Consistent with the purpose 
     of the Act of March 3, 1909 (43 U.S.C. 772), all right, 
     title, and interest of the United States (subject to 
     subsection (b)) in and to a parcel of land consisting of 
     approximately 148 acres as generally depicted on the map 
     entitled ``Elkhorn Ranch Land Parcel-White River National 
     Forest'' and dated March 2015 shall be conveyed by patent to 
     the Gordman-Leverich Partnership, a Colorado Limited 
     Liability Partnership (in this section referred to as 
     ``GLP'').
       (b) Existing Rights.--The conveyance under subsection (a)--
       (1) is subject to the valid existing rights of the lessee 
     of Federal oil and gas lease COC-75070 and any other valid 
     existing rights; and
       (2) shall reserve to the United States the right to collect 
     rent and royalty payments on the lease referred to in 
     paragraph (1) for the duration of the lease.
       (c) Existing Boundaries.--The conveyance under subsection 
     (a) does not modify the exterior boundary of the White River 
     National Forest or the boundaries of Sections 18 and 19 of 
     Township 7 South, Range 93 West, Sixth Principal Meridian, 
     Colorado, as such boundaries are in effect on the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.
       (d) Time for Conveyance; Payment of Costs.--The conveyance 
     directed under subsection (a) shall be completed not later 
     than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
     The conveyance shall be without consideration, except that 
     all costs incurred by the Secretary of the Interior relating 
     to any survey, platting, legal description, or other 
     activities carried out to prepare and issue the patent shall 
     be paid by GLP to the Secretary prior to the land conveyance.

  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.
  H.R. 698, the Elkhorn Ranch and White River National Forest 
Conveyance Act sponsored by my colleague, Congressman Scott Tipton of 
the great State of Colorado, and cosponsored by Congressman Polis and 
myself, resolves a longstanding surveying issue in the White River 
National Forest in western Colorado.
  In the early 20th century, the U.S. Government issued a series of 
patents conveying Federal land to private landowners in the region. 
However, a land survey conducted in 1949 brought these conveyances into 
question, and the ownership of the land has been in dispute for nearly 
70 years. In 2014 the White River National Forest conducted a survey to 
finalize the land ownership and concluded that 148 acres were 
improperly within the forest's boundary.
  This legislation simply conveys this land back to its rightful 
ownership. This land conveyance is consistent with the existing forest 
management plan, and the Forest Service is managing this land as though 
it were already private property.
  This bill has the support of a wide range of stakeholders in the 
community and I thank the Congressman from Colorado for his work on 
this legislation. I would point out, as we discussed earlier, there is 
bipartisan support from within the Colorado delegation for this bill as 
well.
  I urge 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.
  Living in and around public land, as Mr. Tipton, Mr. Lamborn, and I 
do, we often have these kinds of bills to address the interactions 
between our communities and our Federal lands in Colorado.
  H.R. 698 is another bill that addresses public lands. I am proud to 
join Mr. Tipton as a cosponsor of this bill. It will convey 148 acres 
of land to the Gordman-Leverich Partnership, a company in Colorado, 
which will remedy a land dispute between a private landowner and the 
Forest Service.
  Way back in 1947, just a few years after my dear mother--who is 
watching us on C-SPAN as we speak--and my father were born, an 
administrative error occurred that shifted the boundary between the 
Elkhorn Ranch and the White River National Forest. This survey placed 
148 acres of private land inside the forest boundary without providing 
consideration to the landholders. Since then, the title of the ranch 
has changed several times, but the administrative error has never been 
corrected.
  We all know how we hold private property rights dear in this country, 
and this bill will correct the error, acknowledge the correct boundary 
of the Elkhorn Ranch, providing the current owner with a clear and free 
title rather than the encumbrance that the disputed nature of the land 
previously provided.
  It will help avoid costly litigation to both sides, provides clarity 
for landowners and the Forest Service. It recognizes today's reality on 
the ground and it will help local officials in the Forest Service as 
well.
  I thank my colleague, Mr. Tipton, for his good work on this 
legislation, working with stakeholders. I want to point out that the 
Forest Service testified in support of this bill. I join my colleagues 
in urging its adoption.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate those comments. I would point 
out, for anyone who is interested, that the three of us who are here--
and I am about to yield the floor to Representative Tipton--we are all 
on the Natural Resources Committee. This is a committee that is going 
to be doing a lot of exciting and interesting things in this Congress. 
We are going to be very busy. I am looking forward to that.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Colorado (Mr. Tipton), my friend and colleague, who is also a 
member of the committee.
  Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend my thanks to my 
colleagues, Mr. Polis and Mr. Lamborn. I think among our three 
congressional districts, we hold the vast majority of public lands in 
the State of Colorado. I appreciate the opportunity to be able to work 
with you on these significant bills, to be able to address many of the 
challenges that we have, and to be able to work together in a 
bipartisan manner as well.

  Mr. Speaker, thank you for allowing me time to be able to discuss 
this important legislation. H.R. 698 is a very straightforward bill, 
which Congressmen Lamborn and Polis and I have reintroduced this year 
that confirms private ownership of 148 acres of land in my 
congressional district.
  The lands concerned were patented into private ownership via the 
United States land patents issued in 1914, 1917, and 1957, but their 
ownership came into question by virtue of a 1949 government

[[Page H983]]

survey which erroneously showed them to be National Forest land rather 
than private land. A long-held U.S. law specifically states that a 
government resurvey cannot take away private property or private 
property rights.
  Mr. Speaker, the Forest Service and the private landowner of the 
Elkhorn Ranch only became aware of the potential title issue in the 
early 2000s, and thereafter, the Forest Service conducted a lengthy and 
thorough review of the matter. Upon completion of their review in 2014, 
both the supervisor and the surveyor of the White River National Forest 
concluded the ownership of the 148 acres should be confirmed in the 
successors in interest to the original patentee; namely, the Elkhorn 
Ranch.
  In reaching this conclusion, the Forest Service noted that the land 
has never been managed as National Forest land and, indeed, has been 
fenced and occupied with stock ponds, developed springs, roads and 
other private improvements, and has been used as private land for 
ranching and agriculture for the better part of the past 100 years.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is a simple matter of fairness and equity to a 
private landowner to honor government land patents that were granted by 
the Federal Government to the landowner's predecessors 60 to 100 years 
ago. The bill is supported by both the surveyor and supervisor of the 
White River National Forest; the Garfield County surveyor; the Garfield 
County Commissioner; the city of Rifle; Colorado Club 20, which 
represents 20 Colorado counties; and Piceance Energy, which has a lease 
on part of the area.

                              {time}  1700

  In addition, the legislative hearing that was held on the same bill 
in 2015, the administration testified that this bill is a practical and 
workable way to address this longstanding issue. This bill is identical 
to the one that passed out of the House by voice vote in the last 
Congress, and I once again urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
  Once again, I extend my thanks to my colleagues Congressman Lamborn 
and Congressman Polis for all of their hard work on this legislation.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to highlight, as Mr. Tipton said, a number 
of the bills that we are going through, including this one, have passed 
the House before, and yet the Senate failed to send them to the 
President's desk. These are real issues that our constituents face.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the Senate to simply take up these 
noncontroversial bills, pass them, and allow President Trump to sign 
them so we can resolve these real-life issues that affect our 
constituents. While it feels good to pass a bill as a legislator--and 
Mr. Tipton deserves credit, and I look forward to being able to argue 
for the passage of a bill that I am a lead sponsor on shortly; and, of 
course, we recently passed, by voice vote, Mr. Lamborn's bill--these 
issues will remain pending until the Senate acts.
  I urge my colleagues in the Senate to bring forward these bills so we 
can address these pressing concerns that our constituents have and deal 
with them in an appropriate multistakeholder manner, where Democrats 
and Republicans can join in support of addressing the real-life issues 
that those of us who represent areas in and around public land have.
  I urge a ``yes'' vote.
  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. 698.
  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.

                          ____________________