Cibola National Wildlife Refuge Land Exchange
Floor Speech
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Mr. Speaker, the management of our vast amount of Federal lands in our West is a complex challenge that requires the constant attention of our Federal agencies and Congress.
The legislation before the House today, H.R. 3006, would transfer 40 acres of privately-owned land to the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge in Arizona, and in exchange, the Federal Government would transfer 80 acres of isolated Bureau of Land Management land into private ownership. The 80 acres of land being transferred by the BLM was identified for disposal in the 2010 Resource Management Plan by the Yuma Field Office.
Both the Fish and Wildlife Service and the BLM, in addition to the private landowner, support the exchange as proposed by my legislation.
Both land transfers will be subject to valid existing rights, rights-of-way, utility lines, and any valid encumbrances on the land as of the date of the conveyance. As was mentioned, furthermore, the value of the lands to be exchanged will be equalized so the Federal Government will not incur any expenses resulting from this exchange. The legislation represents a net reduction of lands managed by the Federal Government.
The congressional coalition supporting this bill speaks for itself. Its sponsor and three original cosponsors include one Republican and one Democrat from California, as well as one Republican and one Democrat from Arizona.
I am pleased that the House will be taking action on this bill, H.R. 3006, today, and I would encourage all my colleagues to support this commonsense measure.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings and the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Chairman Rob Bishop for their continued leadership on public lands issues that are especially critical to those of us from the West.
I thank my friend from Arizona for leading his side on this bill and look forward to its passage.
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