[Senate Report 105-117]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 230
105th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 105-117
_______________________________________________________________________
PROVIDING FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN LANDS IN THE SIX RIVERS
NATIONAL FOREST IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE BENEFIT OF
THE HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE
_______
October 29, 1997.--Ordered to be printed
_______________________________________________________________________
Mr. Campbell, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 79]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill (H.R. 79) to provide for the conveyance of certain lands
in the Six Rivers National Forest in the State of California
for the benefit of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, having considered
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the bill do pass.
purpose
The purpose of H.R. 79 is to provide for the conveyance of
certain land in the Six Rivers National Forest in the State of
California for the benefit of the Hoopa Valley Tribe.
background and need for legislation
In 1858, in response to recurrent skirmishes between
settlers and Indians in the rugged coastal mountains of
northwestern California, the U.S. Army established Fort Gaston
in Hoopa Valley in an effort to confine friendly Indians to the
Valley. Pursuant to agreements made in 1862 and 1864, ``the
whole of Hoopa Valley'' was reserved for Indian use.
These agreements established the reservation's boundaries
and were clearly intended to provide for a 12-mile by 12-mile
square area bisected by the Trinity River. In subsequent years,
however, non-Indians staked claims to minerals and timber
within the Valley despite repeated warnings from the U.S.
Indian Agent that the claims were within the reservation. In
1875, government surveyors disregarded the directions of the
Indian agent regarding the location of the boundary and instead
heeded a local Army commander and drew the boundary to exclude
2,641 acres at the southeastern corner of the otherwise square
reservation to accommodate the encroaching non-Indians.
Although the mining claims were abandoned within a year, the
reservation boundary was not changed, and the excluded acreage
later became part of the Six Rivers National Forest.
Although the acreage in question has been timbered under
Forest Service auspices, it nevertheless remains important to
the Hoopa Valley Tribe, which has long sought to have it
restored to their reservation. The property contains graves and
the remains of an ancient village of the Tish-Tan-A-Tang Band
of Hoopa Indians, and tribal members use the land for
ceremonies and other traditional purposes. There are no
existing inholdings or special use permits with respect to this
property.
H.R. 79 would transfer the approximately 2,641-acre parcel
of land to the Hoopa Valley Tribe. The land would be held in
trust by the United States for the Tribe and made a part of the
Hoopa Valley Reservation. With this conveyance, the reservation
boundary would conform to the description originally agreed to
by the Tribe with federal agents in 1862 and 1864. Three Forest
Service roads on the land would be made part of the Indian
Reservation System, ensuring that the roads will continue to be
managed as public roads and provide access east to the Trinity
Alps Wilderness and west to the Trinity River and the Tish-Tang
campground. The Tribe would assume management of the
campground.
legislative history
H.R. 79 was introduced on January 7, 1997, by
Representative Frank Riggs (R-CA). The Subcommittee on Forests
and Forest Health of the Committee on Resources held a hearing
on H.R. 79 on May 6, 1997, at which the Administration witness
supported the bill and recommended several amendments that were
acceptable to the Tribe and which were adopted by the Full
Committee when it ordered the bill favorably reported on May
21, 1997. The House passed H.R. 79 by voice vote on June 3,
1997. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced an identical
bill, S. 894, on June 12, 1997. The Committee on Indian Affairs
held a hearing on H.R. 79 on October 20, 1997. Witnesses
including Representative Riggs (R-CA), Janice McDougle, Deputy
Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, and Hoopa tribal chairman
Duane Sherman, Sr., testified in support of H.R. 79 as it was
passed by the House.
committee recommendation and tabulation of vote
On October 23, 1997, the Committee on Indian Affairs, in an
open business session, considered H.R. 79 and, by unanimous
vote, ordered H.R. 79 to be favorably reported to the Senate
without amendment and with a recommendation that it do pass.
section-by-section analysis
Section 1. Short Title
Section one cites the short title of the bill as the
``Hoopa Valley Reservation South Boundary Adjustment Act''.
Section 2. Transfer of lands within Six Rivers National Forest for
Hoopa Valley Tribe
Section 2(a) provides that the lands described in Section
2(b) shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior and
be held in trust by the United States for the Hoopa Valley
Tribe and be part of the Hoopa Valley Reservation. Upon
inclusion of the lands in the Reservation, Forest System roads
on the lands will become Indian reservation roads as defined in
section 101(a) of title 23 of the United States Code.
Section 2(b) provides a description of the approximately
2,641 acres to be transferred by Section 2(a).
Section 2(c) declares the boundary of the Six Rivers
National Forest to be adjusted to exclude the lands to be
transferred by this section.
Section 2(d) directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting
through the Bureau of Land Management, to survey and monument
that portion of the boundary of the Hoopa Valley Reservation
established by the addition of the lands described in section
2(b).
Section 2(e) provides that the transfer of lands to trust
status under this section extinguishes all claims the Tribe
might have against the United States based on allegation of
error in establishing the reservation boundaries or for a Fifth
Amendment taking with respect to the transferred lands prior to
enactment of this Act.
cost and budgetary considerations
The cost estimate for H.R. 79, as provided by the
Congressional Budget Office, is set forth below:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, October 24, 1997.
Hon. Ben Nighthorse Campbell,
Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 79, the Hoopa
Valley Reservation South Boundary Adjustment Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Kristen
Layman.
Sincerely,
James L. Blum
(For June E. O'Neill, Director).
Enclosure.
congressional budget office cost estimate
H.R. 79--Hoopa Valley Reservation South Boundary Adjustment Act
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 79 would result in a net
increase of about $50,000 in discretionary spending in fiscal
year 1998 and a decrease of about $20,000 a year thereafter,
assuming appropriations consistent with the act's provisions.
Enacting H.R. 79 also would affect direct spending by reducing
offsetting receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would
apply to the act. We estimate, however, that the loss of
offsetting receipts would be less than $10,000 a year.
H.R. 79 would transfer into trust for the Hoopa Valley
Tribe about 2,641 acres of land in the Six Rivers National
Forest. Upon transfer of the land, the tribe would assume
management of the land, including the Tish-Tang Campground and
three Forest Service roads. For the purpose of this estimate,
CBO assumes that H.R. 79 will be enacted within the next month,
at which time the land and management of the campground and
roads would transfer to the tribe.
This act would increase discretionary spending in fiscal
year 1998 by requiring the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to
survey and mark the boundary of the land to be transferred.
Based on information from BLM and the Forest Service, we
estimate that BLM would spend about $70,000 in fiscal year 1998
for the land survey activities, assuming appropriation of the
necessary amounts. However, the Forest Service would save about
$20,000 a year in management and maintenance costs for the
campground once the land transfer takes place. There would be
no net budgetary impact from transferring the roads to the
tribe, because the federal government will continue to pay for
their maintenance.
Once the land is transferred to the tribe, the federal
government would forgo offsetting receipts from campground fees
and miscellaneous forest product permits. We estimate that the
net loss of receipts would total less than $10,000 a year.
According to the Forest Service, there would be no loss of
timber receipts because all timbering on the land has been
completed.
H.R. 79 contains no private-sector or intergovernmental
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments. By voluntarily accepting the land transfer, the
Hoopa Valley Tribe would also accept responsibility for
managing the campground, along with the associated costs.
On June 2, 1997, CBO prepared a cost estimate for H.R. 79
as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on May
21, 1997. The two versions of H.R. 79 are identical, as are the
estimates.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Kristen Layman.
This estimate was approved by Paul N. Van de Water, Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
regulatory impact statement
Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that H.R. 79 will
have a minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.
executive communications
The Committee received written testimony for the United
States Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, for the
hearing held on October 20, 1997. The written testimony from
the Administration is as follows:
STATEMENT OF JANICE MCDOUGLE, ASSOCIATE DEPUTY CHIEF, NATIONAL FOREST
SYSTEMS, FOREST SERVICE
Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee: I am pleased to
appear before the Committee today to discuss H.R. 79, a bill to
provide for the conveyance of certain land in the Six Rivers
National Forest in the State of California for the benefit of
the Hoopa Valley Tribe. H.R. 79 would transfer approximately
2,640 acres of land in the Six Rivers National Forest to the
Hoopa Valley Tribe to be held in trust by the United States and
made part of the Hoopa Valley Reservation. It would further
require that the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the
Bureau of Land Management, survey and identify the new boundary
created by the transfer. Three Forest Service roads within the
area would become Indian Reservation roads. The bill, passed by
the House, includes amendments worked out with the
Administration and the Hoopa Valley Tribe. Therefore, the
Administration supports the passage of H.R. 79 by the Senate.
The land to be transferred consists of a part of the Six
Rivers National Forest adjacent to the southern boundary of the
Hoopa Valley Reservation. The land currently is included within
the Northwest Forest Plan. The three roads on the land to be
transferred would be made part of the Indian Reservation System
as defined in 23 U.S.C. 101(a); this would ensure the roads
would continue to be managed as public roads and provide access
east to the Trinity Alps Wilderness and west to the Trinity
River and the Tish-Tang campground. The Tribe would also assume
management of the campground.
The Forest Service and the Hoopa Valley Tribe have a
history of cooperating on use of National Forest land on a
government-to-government basis. The Tribe has the natural
resource expertise to manage the land consistent with the
President's Plan for the Pacific Northwest.
Mr. Chairman, we appreciate the opportunity to work with
the Tribal Chair, Mr. Duane Sherman and the other officials of
the Hoopa Valley Tribe. We appreciate the work of past Tribal
Chair, Mr. Dale Risling. We look forward to continuing to work
together on a government-to-government basis. On Forest Service
lands, the Forest Service wants to manage in a manner
consistent with the government-to-government relationship and
our Trust responsibilities with Native American Tribal
Governments. This concludes my statement and I would be happy
to answer questions.
changes in existing law
If enacted, H.R. 79 would make no changes in existing law.