Public Law 98–603

In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131–1136), the following lands are hereby designated as wilderness, and, therefore, as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System—

Subject to valid existing rights each wilderness area designated by this Act shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the provisions of the Wilderness Act, except that

16 USC 1131 note.

any reference in such provisions to the effective date of the Wilderness Act (or any similar reference) shall be deemed to be a reference to the effective date of this Act, and any reference to the Secretary of Agriculture shall be deemed to be a reference to the Secretary of the Interior.

As soon as practicable after enactment of this Act, a map and a legal description of each wilderness area designated by this Act shall be filed by the Secretary of the Interior with the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives. Each such map and description shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that correction of clerical and typographical errors in each such legal description and map may be made by the Secretary subsequent to such filings. Each such

Public availability.

map and legal description shall be on file and available for public inspection in the Office of the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.

Within the wilderness areas designated by this Act, the grazing

Livestock.

of livestock, where established prior to the date of enactment of this Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable regulations, policies, and practices as the Secretary of the Interior deems necessary, as long as such regulations, policies, and practices fully conform with and implement the intent of Congress regarding grazing in such areas as such intent is expressed in the Wilderness

16 USC 1131 note.

Act and this Act.

In recognition of its paramount aesthetic, natural, scientific, educational, and paleontological values, the approximately two thousand seven hundred and twenty acre area in the Albuquerque District of the Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico, known as the “Fossil Forest”, as generally depicted on a map entitled “Fossil Forest”, dated June 1983, is hereby withdrawn, subject to valid existing rights, from all forms of appropriation under the mining laws and from disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral leasing and geothermal leasing and all amendments thereto. The Secretary of the Interior shall administer the area in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and shall take such measures as are necessary to ensure that no activities are permitted within the area which would significantly disturb the land surface or impair the area’s existing natural, educational, and scientific research values, including paleontological study, excavation, and interpretation.

Within one year of the date of enactment of this Act the Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of the Fossil Forest area referred to in subsection (a) in accordance with the provisions of this Act and shall file a copy of such rules and regulations with the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate.

The Bureau of Land Management is hereby directed to conduct a long-range study of the Fossil Forest to determine how best to manage the area’s resource values identified in section 103(a) of this Act. Within eight years of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall forward the study results and management plan for the area to Congress. During the study period and until Congress determines otherwise, the Fossil Forest area shall be managed under the provisions of this Act.

The Secretary of the Interior shall exchange such public lands or interest in such lands, mineral or nonmineral, as are of approximately equal value and selected by the State of New Mexico, acting through its commissioner of public lands, for any State lands or interest therein, mineral or nonmineral, located within the boundaries of any of the tracts designated as wilderness

16 USC 1131.

under section 2. For the purpose of this section, the term public lands shall have the same meaning as defined in section 103(c) of the

43 USC 1702.

Federal Lands Policy and Management Act of 1976.

Within one hundred and twenty days of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall give notice to the New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands of the tracts to be designated as wilderness pursuant to section 102 of this Act and of the Secretary’s duty to exchange public lands selected by the State for any State land contained within the boundaries of the designated wilderness areas. Such notice shall contain a listing of all public lands which are located within the boundaries of the State, which have not been withdrawn from entry and which the Secretary identifies as being available to the State in exchange for such State lands as may be within the designated wilderness areas.

The value of the State and public lands to be exchanged under this section shall be determined as of the date of enactment of this Act.

After the receipt of the list of available public lands, if the commissioner of public lands gives notice to the Secretary of the State’s selection of lands, the Secretary shall notify the State in writing as to whether the Department of the Interior considers the State and Federal lands to be of approximately equal value. In case of disagreement between the Secretary and the commissioner as to relative value of the acquired and selected lands, the Secretary and the commissioner shall agree on the appointment of a disinterested independent appraiser who will review valuation data presented by both parties and determine the amount of selected land which best represents approximate equal value. Such determination will be binding on the Secretary and the commissioner. The transfer of title to lands or interests therein to the State of New Mexico shall be completed within two years of the date of enactment of this Act.

The Secretary of the Interior shall exchange any

Indians.

lands held in trust for an Indian whose lands are located within the boundary of the Dena-zin area referred to in section 102(a)(2) at the request of the Indian for whom such land is held in trust. Such lands shall be exchanged for lands approximately equal in value selected by the Indian allottee concerned and such lands so selected and exchanged shall thereafter be held in trust by the Secretary in the same manner as the lands for which they were exchanged.

Except as provided herein, nothing in this Act shall affect the transfer to the Navajo Tribe of any lands selected by the Navajo Tribe pursuant to Public Law 93–531 and Public Law 96–305: Provided, however,

25 USC 640d et seq., 640d note.

25 USC 640d–10.

That, notwithstanding the limitations imposed by section 4 of Public Law 96–305, within eighteen months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Navajo Tribe, after consultation with the Relocation Commission, shall have the authority to and shall select lands in New Mexico administered by the Bureau of Land Management of equal acreage in lieu of the lands which have been previously selected by the Navajo Tribe within the boundaries of the Fossil Forest, as described in section 103(a) of this Act. A border of any parcel of land so selected shall be within eighteen miles of the boundary of the Navajo Reservation described in Executive order dated January 6, 1880.

Title to such in lieu selections shall be taken in the name of the United States in trust for the benefit of the Navajo Tribe as a part of the Navajo Reservation, and shall be subject only to valid existing rights as of December 1, 1983.

in paragraph (1) by striking out the last sentence, which begins “Such lands”;

by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: “Subject to

Mines and mining.

the provisions of the following sentences of this subsection, all rights, title and interests of the United States in the lands described in paragraph (1), including such interests the United States as lessor has in such lands under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, will, subject to existing leasehold

30 USC 181 note.

interests, be transferred without cost to the Navajo Tribe and title thereto shall be taken by the United States in trust for the benefit of the Navajo Tribe as a part of the Navajo Reservation. So long as selected lands coincide with pending noncompetitive

30 USC 181 note.

coal lease applications under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, the Secretary may not transfer any United States interests in such lands until the noncompetitive coal lease applications have been fully adjudicated. If such adjudication results in issuance of Federal coal leases to the applicants, such transfer shall be subject to such leases. The leaseholders rights and interests in such coal leases will in no way be diminished by the transfer of the rights, title and interests of the United States in such lands to the Navajo Tribe. If any selected lands are subject to valid claims located under the Mining Law of 1872 the transfer of the selected lands may be made subject to those claims.”; and

by inserting the following new paragraph:

“(2)“(2)

Those interests in lands acquired in the State of New Mexico by the Navajo Tribe pursuant to subsection 2 of this section shall be subject to the right of the State of New Mexico to receive the same value from any sales, bonuses, rentals, royalties and interest charges from the conveyance, sale, lease, development, and production of coal as would have been received had the subsurface interest in such lands remained with the United States and been leased pursuant to the Mineral

30 USC 181 note.

Lands Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, or any successor Act; or otherwise developed. The State’s interest shall be accounted for in the same manner as it would have been if a lease had issued pursuant to the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920, as amended.”.

#

Subject to valid existing rights and except as provided in subsection (b), the Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to convey to the New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, at a cost of $2.50 per acre, all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the following described public lands aggregating approximately 5,711.39 acres in Dona Ana County, New Mexico, to be used for the purpose of conducting educational, demonstrative, and experimental development with livestock, grazing methods, and range forage plants and other agricultural related research: New Mexico Principal Meridian Township 20 south, range 1 east Sections 16, 32, and 36, all. Township 21 south, range 1 east Sections 2, and 16, all. Township 20 south, range 1 west Sections 2, and 16, all. Section 26, north half northeast quarter, northeast quarter northwest quarter; Section 32, north half, north half southwest quarter, north half southeast quarter, southeast quarter southeast quarter; and Section 36, all.

There are reserved to the United States all minerals that may be found in the lands described in subsection (a), together with the right of the United States, its permittees, lessees, or grantees, at any time, to prospect for, mine and remove such minerals.

In the event that the lands described in subsection (a), or any part thereof, are used for any purpose other than those for which conveyance is authorized, title to the entire tract shall immediately revert to the United States without the necessity for further action to accomplish the reversion of title to the United States.