[House Report 105-170]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    105-170
_______________________________________________________________________


 
          EXCHANGE CERTAIN LANDS LOCATED IN HINSDALE, COLORADO

                                _______
                                

  July 8, 1997.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 951]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 951) to require the Secretary of the Interior to exchange 
certain lands located in Hindsdale, Colorado, having considered 
the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 951 is to require the Secretary of the 
Interior to exchange certain lands located in Hinsdale, 
Colorado.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 951 requires the Secretary of the Interior to exchange 
approximately 560 acres of land currently managed by the Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM) near Hinsdale, Colorado, to Lake City 
Ranches, Ltd (LCR), a Texas limited partnership. In return, the 
BLM will receive lands of equal value within the Handies Peak 
or Red Cloud Peak Wilderness Study Areas or the Alpine Loop 
Backcountry Bi-way. The exchange must be acceptable to the 
Secretary of the Interior and is contingent upon LCR granting a 
permanent conservation easement on approximately 440 of the 560 
acres offered for exchange by the BLM. The permanent 
conservation easement will limit future use of the 440 acres to 
agricultural, wildlife, recreational, or open space purposes. 
The inholdings offered for exchange by LCR will consolidate 
existing BLM lands located within the boundaries of or in 
proximity to either the Handies Peak or Red Cloud Wilderness 
Study Areas or along the Alpine Loop Backcountry Bi-way. 
Acquiring existing inholdings within areas such as these is a 
top priority of the BLM. Furthermore, the 560 acres offered for 
exchange by the BLM to LCR are surrounded by private property, 
thereby effectively limiting public access and use.
    The land exchange is subject to the standard appraisal 
requirements and to reviews and approvals relating to 
threatened or endangered species, hazardous materials, and 
cultural and historic resources. The costs of the appraisals 
will be paid by LCR. However, the Secretary may credit such 
payments against the value of the selected land pursuant to 
applicable law.
    This land exchange has wide support and is currently 
endorsed by environmental groups, such as the Wilderness 
Society, the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Sierra Club, and the 
Colorado Environmental Coalition, as well as local government 
entities, such as Club 20, an association of 20 counties in 
Colorado, and the Hinsdale County Board of County 
Commissioners.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 951 was introduced on March 5, 1997, by Congressman 
Scott McInnis (R-CO). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
National Parks and Public Lands. On May 20, 1997, the 
Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 951, where the 
Administration, represented by W. Hord Tipton, Assistant 
Director of Mines and Minerals for the Bureau of Land 
Management, testified in support of H.R. 951. On June 19, 1997, 
the Subcommittee met to mark up H.R. 951. No amendments to H.R. 
951 were offered. The bill was then ordered favorably reported 
to the Full Committee. On June 25, 1997, the Full Resources 
Committee met to consider H.R. 951. No amendments were offered, 
and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by voice vote.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule 
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact H.R. 951.

                        COST OF THE LEGISLATION

    Clause 7(a) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the 
Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out 
H.R. 951. However, clause 7(d) of that Rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in 
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill 
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                     COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XI

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R. 
951 does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax 
expenditures. Enactment of H.R. 951 could reduce offsetting 
receipts to the federal government, but these would be 
negligible, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and 
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 951.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the 
Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R. 951 
from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, July 3, 1997.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 951, a bill to 
require the Secretary of the Interior to exchange certain lands 
located in Hinsdale, Colorado.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Victoria V. 
Heid.
            Sincerely,
                                          Paul Van de Water
                                   (For June E. O'Neill, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 951--A bill to require the Secretary of the Interior to exchange 
        certain lands located in Hinsdale, Colorado

    CBO estimates that enacting this bill would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Because H.R. 951 
could affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures would 
apply; however, CBO estimates that any such effects would be 
negligible. H.R. 951 contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
of 1995 and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    H.R. 951 would require the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey about 560 acres of federal land to Lake City Ranches, 
Ltd. (LCR), if LCR conveys to the federal government land of 
equal value that is acceptable to the Secretary. The bill would 
require LCR to cover the costs of any appraisals or other 
reviews required to complete the exchange, but also provides 
that the costs of such appraisals and reviews may be credited 
against the value of the federal land to be acquired by LCR. 
Because there may be some grazing and right-of-way permits on 
the federal land to be exchanged, enacting H.R. 951 could have 
a small effect on offsetting receipts to the government. Based 
on information from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), CBO 
estimates that any such budgetary effects would be negligible.
    According to BLM, the provisions of H.R. 951 could be 
implemented through administrative action except that under 
current law about 440 acres of the federal land are designed as 
a wilderness study area (WSA). Enacting this bill would require 
the Secretary to convey the federal land despite its WSA 
status, thereby allowing the land exchange to go forward. The 
bill would make the exchange contingent upon LCR granting to 
the Secretary a permanent conservation easement on the 440 
acres of federal land that currently have WSA status.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Victoria V. 
Heid. This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    H.R. 951 contains no unfunded mandates.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, H.R. 951 would make no changes in existing law.