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“GUNNISON COUNTY, COLORADO, LAND CONVEYANCE” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H9966 on Sept. 4, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
GUNNISON COUNTY, COLORADO, LAND CONVEYANCE
Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2438) to provide for the conveyance of lands to certain individuals in Gunnison County, CO, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 2438
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT AND LAND CONVEYANCE, RAGGEDS
WILDERNESS, WHITE RIVER NATIONAL FOREST,
COLORADO.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) Certain landowners in Gunnison County, Colorado, who own real property adjacent to the portion of the Raggeds Wilderness in the White River National Forest, Colorado, have occupied or improved their property in good faith and in reliance on erroneous surveys of their properties that the landowners reasonably believed were accurate.
(2) In 1993, a Forest Service resurvey of the Raggeds Wilderness established accurate boundaries between the wilderness area and adjacent private lands.
(3) The resurvey indicated that a small portion of the Raggeds Wilderness is occupied by adjacent landowners on the basis of the earlier erroneous land surveys.
(b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to remove from the boundaries of the Raggeds Wilderness certain real property so as to permit the Secretary of Agriculture to use the authority of Public Law 97-465 (commonly known as the Small Tracts Act; 16 U.S.C. 521c-521i) to convey the property to the landowners who occupied the property on the basis of erroneous land surveys.
(c) Boundary Adjustment.--The boundary of the Raggeds Wilderness, Gunnison and White River National Forests, Colorado, as designated by section 102(a)(16) of Public Law 96-560 (16 U.S.C. 1132 note), is hereby modified to exclude from the area encompassed by the wilderness a parcel of real property approximately 0.86-acres in size situated in the SW\1/4\ of the NE\1/4\ of Section 28, Township 11 South, Range 88 West of the 6th Principal Meridian, as depicted on the map entitled ``Encroachment-Raggeds Wilderness'', dated November 17, 1993. Such map shall be on file and available for inspection in the appropriate offices of the United States Forest Service, Department of Agriculture.
(d) Conveyance of Land Removed From Wilderness Area.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall use the authority provided by Public Law 97-465 (commonly known as the Small Tracts Act; 16 U.S.C. 521C-521i) to convey all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the real property excluded from the boundaries of the Raggeds Wilderness under subsection (c) to those owners of real property in Gunnison County, Colorado, whose real property adjoins the excluded lands and who have occupied the excluded lands in good faith reliance on an erroneous survey.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from California [Mr. Doolittle] and the gentleman from California [Mr. Miller] each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California [Mr. Doolittle].
Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. DOOLITTLE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2438, introduced by Mr. McInnis of Colorado. H.R. 2438 corrects an encroachment into the Raggeds Wilderness on the White River National Forest, just west of the Town of Marble, CO. The encroachment, discovered in 1993 following a new boundary survey, consists of approximately 400 feet of power line and 450 feet of road. In addition, portions of four subdivision lots extend into the wilderness. The road is a county road and provides the sole legal access to the four lots. The entire encroachment is less than 1 acre of land.
The land in question does not have any wilderness characteristics. This land was used as it is today for 23 years before Congress designated the Raggeds Wilderness in 1982. Although only 0.86 acres is affected, the Forest Service cannot settle the matter under authority of the Small Tracts Act because the lands in question are within the Raggeds Wilderness.
H.R. 2438 adjusts the wilderness boundary to exclude the 0.86 acres from the wilderness area, and, as amended in the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Lands, it directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the affected lands to the landowners under the authority of the Small Tracts Act.
I urge the Members of the House to support H.R. 2438, so that the Forest Service will have the authority it needs to complete this minor land adjustment.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to the consideration of this measure. The bill was amended by the Committee on Resources to require that land transfers should be made pursuant to the Small Tracts Act, thereby protecting the public interest in this land transfer.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2238 deletes approximately 1 acre from the Raggeds Wilderness and authorizes the transfer of this land to the adjacent private landowners who thought the land was theirs based on erroneous private surveys.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of this bill, and 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. Doolittle] that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2438, 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.
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