[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.

                                
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