[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 209 (Thursday, December 10, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H7123-H7124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK OWNERSHIP CORRECTION ACT

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5459) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to correct 
a land ownership error within the boundary of Rocky Mountain National 
Park, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5459

       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 ``Rocky Mountain National Park 
     Ownership Correction Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means the 
     approximately 0.18 acres of land depicted as ``TR04-168-1'' 
     on the map.
       (2) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled ``Rocky 
     Mountain National Park Proposed Forsyth Family Land 
     Exchange'', numbered 121/154,326, and dated June 2019.
       (3) Non-federal land.--The term ``non-Federal land'' means 
     the approximately 0.18 acres of land depicted as ``TR04-169'' 
     on the map.
       (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.

     SEC. 3. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK LAND EXCHANGE.

       (a) Authorization of Exchange.--To correct a longstanding 
     land ownership error, if the owner of the non-Federal land 
     offers to convey to the Secretary all right, title, and 
     interest of the owner in and to the non-Federal land, the 
     Secretary shall convey to the owner of the non-Federal land, 
     subject to valid existing rights, all right, title, and 
     interest of the United States in and to the Federal land.
       (b) Valuation.--The value of the Federal land and the non-
     Federal land to be exchanged under this Act shall be 
     considered to be of equal value.
       (c) Administration.--The non-Federal land acquired by the 
     Secretary under this section shall be administered by the 
     Secretary as part of Rocky Mountain National Park.
       (d) Availability of Map.--The map shall be on file and 
     available for inspection in the appropriate offices of the 
     National Park Service.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Huffman) and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5459, the Rocky Mountain 
National Park Ownership Correction Act, introduced again by my 
colleague,   Joe Neguse.
  In the 1970s, a tiny 0.18-acre plot of land containing the Forsyth 
family cabin was erroneously transferred to Rocky Mountain National 
Park when the Park Service purchased land surrounding a private 
inholding.
  Since the error was discovered, the Park Service has been working 
with the Forsyth family to correct the legal ownership and exchange 
parcels, and the family is currently using its cabin through a special 
use permit. This bill would permanently resolve this ownership issue 
and ensure the intent of the original purchase is met by authorizing an 
equal value land exchange between the Forsyth family and the Secretary 
of the Interior.

[[Page H7124]]

  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Representative Neguse for his efforts to 
resolve this longstanding ownership issue, and I urge my colleagues to 
support this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5459 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 
exchange a 0.18-acre parcel of park land for the same amount of private 
land to resolve a land ownership issue within the boundary of the Rocky 
Mountain National Park.
  In the 1970s, the National Park Service purchased land surrounding a 
private inholding. An error in the bank's legal description incorrectly 
included a 0.18-acre parcel in that purchase. As a result, the parcel 
the National Park Service acquired included a family cabin, and the 
private owner acquired a vacant lot, not the cabin site.
  This bill will permanently resolve this issue with an equal value 
land swap and ensure that the intent of the original purchase is met. 
This may be the tiniest amount of land that we have ever considered in 
a land use bill, but it is, nevertheless, an important piece of land 
and a good bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote, and 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 California (Mr. Huffman) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 5459.
  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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