[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 20229-20230]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2315
                      LAS CIENEGAS ENHANCEMENT ACT

  Mr. PEARCE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 5016) to provide for the exchange of certain Bureau of Land 
Management land in Pima County, Arizona, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 5016

       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 ``Las Cienegas Enhancement 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means the 
     Sahuarita parcel of land consisting of approximately 1,280 
     acres, as depicted on the map entitled ``Las Cienegas 
     Enhancement Act--Federal Land'' and dated May 9, 2006.
       (2) Landowner.--The term ``landowner'' means Las Cienegas 
     Conservation, LLC.
       (3) Non-federal land.--The term ``non-Federal land'' means 
     the Empirita-Simonson parcel of land consisting of 
     approximately 2,392 acres, as depicted on the map entitled 
     ``Las Cienegas Enhancement Act--Non-Federal Land'' and dated 
     May 9, 2006.
       (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.

     SEC. 3. LAND EXCHANGE, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAND IN PIMA 
                   COUNTY, ARIZONA.

       (a) Exchange Authorized.--If the landowner offers to convey 
     to the Secretary title to the non-Federal land, the Secretary 
     shall accept the offer and convey to the landowner all, 
     right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the 
     Federal land.
       (b) Valuation, Appraisals, and Equalization.--
       (1) Equal value exchange.--The value of the Federal land 
     and the non-Federal land to be exchanged under this section 
     shall be equal. If the values are not equal, the values shall 
     be equalized in accordance with paragraph (3).
       (2) Appraisal.--To determine the value of the Federal land 
     and the non-Federal land, the Federal land and the non-
     Federal land shall be subject to an appraisal by an 
     independent, qualified appraiser agreed to by the Secretary 
     and landowner. The appraiser shall consider the value of the 
     Federal land and the non-Federal land as of the date of the 
     enactment of this Act. The appraisal shall be conducted in 
     accordance with the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal 
     Land Acquisition and the Uniform Standards of Professional 
     Appraisal Practice. Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the appraisal shall be submitted to 
     the Secretary and landowner for approval.
       (3) Equalization of values.--If the values of the Federal 
     land and non-Federal land are not equal, their values may be 
     equalized--
       (A) by reducing the acreage of the non-Federal land or the 
     Federal land to be exchanged, as appropriate; or
       (B) by the payment by the landowner or the Secretary of a 
     cash equalization payment, which, in the case of a cash 
     equalization payment made by the landowner, may exceed 25 
     percent of the value of the Federal land, notwithstanding 
     section 206(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
     of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(b)).
       (4) Disposition and use of proceeds.--Any cash equalization 
     payment received by the Secretary under paragraph (3) shall 
     be deposited in the Federal Land Disposal Account established 
     by section 206(a) of the Federal Land Transaction 
     Facilitation Act (43 U.S.C. 2305(a)). Amounts so deposited 
     shall be available to the Secretary, without further 
     appropriation and until expended, for the acquisition of land 
     and interests in land in southern Arizona.
       (c) Protection of Valid Existing Rights.--The exchange of 
     the Federal land and the non-Federal land shall be subject to 
     any easements, rights-of-way, and other valid encumbrances on 
     the land in existence on the date of enactment of this Act.
       (d) Time for Completion of Exchange.--The exchange of the 
     Federal land and non-Federal land under this section shall be 
     completed--
       (1) except as provided in paragraph (2), not later than one 
     year after the date of the enactment of this Act; or
       (2) if there is a dispute concerning an appraisal of the 
     Federal land or non-Federal land or appraisal issue arising 
     under subsection (b), before the expiration of the 90-day 
     period beginning on the date the dispute is resolved.
       (e) Administrative Costs.--As a condition of the conveyance 
     of the Federal land to the landowner, the landowner shall pay 
     the costs of carrying out the exchange of the Federal land 
     and non-Federal land under this section, including any direct 
     costs relating to any environmental reviews and mitigation of 
     the Federal land.
       (f) Correction of Errors; Minor Boundary Adjustments.--The 
     Secretary and landowner may mutually agree--
       (1) to correct minor errors in the legal descriptions of 
     the Federal land and non-Federal land to be exchanged under 
     this section; or
       (2) to make minor adjustments to the boundaries of the 
     Federal land and non-Federal land.
       (g) Road Access.--Not later than 18 months after the date 
     on which the non-Federal land is acquired by the Secretary, 
     the Secretary shall provide to the Secretary of Agriculture a 
     right-of-way through the non-Federal land for motorized 
     public road access to the boundary of the Coronado National 
     Forest. The right-of-way shall be provided in accordance with 
     section 507 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
     1976 (43 U.S.C. 1767).
       (h) Administration of Land Acquired by the United States.--
     On acquisition of the non-Federal land by the Secretary, the 
     Secretary shall--
       (1) include the acquired land as part of the Las Cienegas 
     National Conservation Area; and
       (2) administer the acquired land in accordance with Public 
     Law 106-538 (16 U.S.C. 460ooo et seq.), which established the 
     Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, and other applicable 
     laws.

     SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF LAS CIENEGAS NATIONAL CONSERVATION 
                   AREA BOUNDARY.

       The boundary of the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area 
     is modified to exclude the 40-acre tract that, as of the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, is leased by the Bureau of Land 
     Management to the town of Elgin, Arizona, for a sanitary 
     landfill.

     SEC. 5. LAND CONVEYANCE, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA.

       As an additional condition of the conveyance of the Federal 
     land to the landowner under section 3, the landowner shall 
     convey, without consideration, to Pima County, Arizona, a 
     parcel of land consisting of approximately 98 acres,

[[Page 20230]]

     as depicted on the map referred to in section 2(1) as ``land 
     to be conveyed to Pima County''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Mexico (Mr. Pearce) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Mexico.
  Mr. PEARCE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 5016, introduced by Mr. Kolbe, would consolidate 
lands within the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area located 50 
miles south of Tucson. The area consists of 42,000 acres managed by the 
Bureau of Land Management.
  This legislation would add 2,490 acres of private land to the 
conservation area in exchange for 1,280 acres of isolated BLM lands. 
The bill would also modify the boundary of the conservation area to 
exclude a 40-acre tract of land for a sanitary landfill. This area was 
inadvertently included in the original boundary.
  I would urge support for this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I, too, support passage of this legislation 
and would encourage its adoption, and I yield back the remainder of our 
time.
  Mr. PEARCE. Madam Speaker, before I depart, I would like to thank the 
gentleman from Wisconsin for his great work here. I think we have set a 
modern land speed record on these bills, and I thank him very much.
  Mr. KOLBE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5016, the 
Las Cienegas Enhancement Act.
  I would like to thank Chairman Pombo of the Resources Committee and 
Chairman Walden of the Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee for their 
leadership and support of this measure.
  The land exchange in this legislation releases an urban parcel of 
federal land in the path of development, and it puts into federal hands 
an outlying area important for its natural beauty and proximity to the 
Las Cienegas National Conservation Area and the Coronado National 
Forest. It will provide hunters and visitors much-needed road access to 
the Whetstone Mountains, a ``sky island'' that is being surrounded by 
development.
  This exchange proposal has been developed through a 4-year 
consultative process. The exchange has the support of the Governor of 
Arizona, the City Manager of Tucson, the Arizona Game and Fish 
Department, conservationists and private landowners. The Pima County 
Board of Supervisors also supports the bill for helping protect open 
space in the Cienega Valley.
  The two parcels of land proposed in exchange are located near Tucson 
in the eastern half of Pima County.
  The Bureau of Land Management parcel is a Federal inholding of 1,280 
acres located near Corona de Tucson, a community on the urbanized 
fringe of greater Tucson.
  The private parcel offered for exchange consists of 2,707 acres of 
upland Sonoran desert adjacent to the Coronado National Forest and 
close to both the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area and the 
Cienega Creek Natural Preserve, which are administered by Pima County.
  Land appraisals will follow statutory procedures and be subject to 
approval by the Secretary of the Interior.
  Madam Speaker, I believe that this bill stands as a shining example 
of what can be achieved when local community groups and the BLM work 
together to maximize both the recreation and conservation goals of our 
federal lands, allowing the enhancement and protection of our lands, 
rivers, creeks, and wildlife that enrich our lives in the West.
  In sum, I am pleased to offer this bill as a capstone to my resource 
conservation efforts during 11 terms in Congress.
  Mr. PEARCE. Madam Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 5016, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________