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The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress, and was published on Oct 12, 1998.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Valles Caldera National Preserve and Trust Title II: Acquisition of Inholdings and Disposal of Surplus Land Title I: Valles Caldera National Preserve and Trust - Valles Caldera Preservation Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire all or part of the Baca ranch in New Mexico. Provides for the subsequent addition of such land to the Bandelier National Monument, under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to utilize funds appropriated for the National Park Service to acquire the Elk Meadows subdivision within the boundary adjusted to encompass the ranch addition. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) develop a study of management alternatives which may provide more coordinated land management within the Lower Alamo watershed, allow for improved management of elk and other wildlife populations ranging between the Santa Fe National Forest and the Bandelier National Monument, and include a proposed boundary adjustment between such Forest and Monument to facilitate those objectives; and (3) submit the study to specified congressional committees. Makes the acquisition of the ranch subject to all outstanding valid existing mineral interests. Directs the Secretary to negotiate the acquisition of any fractional interest in the subsurface estate on a willing seller basis for the appraised fair market value. (Sec. 105) Establishes: (1) upon the date of acquisition of the Baca ranch, the Valles Caldera National Preserve as a unit of the National Forest System; and (2) the Valles Caldera Trust, as a wholly owned Government corporation, to provide management and administrative services for the Preserve and for other specified purposes. (Sec. 107) Requires the Trust: (1) to be governed by a seven member Board of Trustees; and (2) to manage the land and resources of the Preserve, subject to specified requirements, including development of a comprehensive program for the management of lands, resources, and facilities within the Preserve. Authorizes the Trust to construct and upgrade roads and bridges and provide other facilities for recreational activities. Directs that the public be given reasonable access to the Preserve for recreational purposes. (Sec. 109) Sets forth provisions regarding authorities of the Secretary, termination of the Trust, and funding limitations. (Sec. 112) Requires the General Accounting Office to conduct an interim study, and a subsequent study, of the activities of the Trust. Title II: Acquisition of Inholdings and Disposal of Surplus Land - Acquisition of Inholdings and Disposal of Surplus Lands Facilitation Act - Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to: (1) establish a multi-agency evaluation team to identify, by State, inholdings within federally designated areas and establish the dates upon which the lands or interests therein became inholdings; and (2) provide notice to the public in the Federal Register, and through other means as deemed appropriate, of a program of identification of inholdings within federally designated areas by which any owner who wants to sell such an inholding to the United States shall provide to the Secretaries such information as is required by the notice. Sets forth reporting and funding requirements. (Sec. 205) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to complete appraisals and other legal requirements for the sale or exchange of land identified for disposal under approved land use plans maintained and in effect on this title's enactment date. Sets forth reporting and program termination requirements. (Sec. 206) Requires that gross proceeds generated by the sale or exchange of public land under this title be deposited in a Federal Land Disposal Account of the Treasury. (Sec. 207) Sets forth provisions regarding use of the Account, contaminated sites and sites difficult and uneconomic to manage, investment of principal, and program termination.
