Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program Act

COASTAL AND ESTUARINE LAND CONSERVATION PROGRAM ACT -- (House of Representatives - September 22, 2008)

Mrs. MUSGRAVE. Mr. Speaker, due to a traffic problem, I am a little bit late in getting into this Chamber to make comment on H.R. 3299, and I so much appreciate the opportunity.

That bill under consideration today provides for a boundary adjustment to the Roosevelt National Forest to correct an erroneous survey.

In May of 2006, a number of my constituents who live in the Crystal Lakes Subdivision in Larimer County, Colorado contacted my office after they received notice from the Forest Service that they were encroaching upon Federal property. You can imagine what a surprise this was to those folks. Many of those people who had purchased the land in the 1970s, improved it, built homes on it and had literally lived there for decades.

However, the Forest Service informed these homeowners that a survey that had been conducted in 2003 and in 2004 had found that the earlier survey that was conducted in 1975 was, indeed, inaccurate. This 1975 survey was privately commissioned and was used in the development of the Crystal Lakes Subdivision.

Thirty years after the property was originally developed, landowners have now been informed that the portions of the land they paid for and that they improved may actually be on Federal property. Even more, a number of these landowners were faced with the reality that their homes might be on Federal land.

The property owners bought this land and made the improvements all in good faith, and are now faced with an undue burden to deal with this mistake.

The only recourse for individuals whose homes are within the area of dispute is the Small Tracts Act. However, this requires homeowners to pay for this land a second time at current fair market value. Obviously, the land prices in this beautiful area have increased dramatically over the past three decades and this purchase would place an enormous financial burden on these homeowners. The uncertainty associated with this dispute has made it difficult for impacted property owners to sell their property. H.R. 3299 would remedy these problems by conveying without consideration the disputed areas to the impacted homeowners.

The 7 acres involved in this boundary dispute are a miniscule fraction of the 1.3 million acres of the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest. Because this land has been cleared and it has been occupied, obviously, for a number of years, transferring it back to the Forest Service would not enhance the environment or the scenic attributes of the area. Additionally, H.R. 3299 would not in any way impact the integrity or affect the operation of the forest.

The landowners impacted by this boundary dispute need resolution and certainty. H.R. 3299 did that by allowing them to keep the land they purchased and improved.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to thank Chairman Rahall and Congressman Young, as well as Chairman Grijalva and Mr. Bishop for moving this legislation through the Natural Resources Committee. I am grateful for the support of my colleagues of H.R. 3299.

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