Grand Ronde land would join reservation after access agreement is recorded

Federal oversight would shift from the Agriculture Department to the Interior Department. The United States would hold the land for the Tribe. The bill covers about 18,628 acres of federal land shown on a Forest Service map, including buildings and underground resources. Existing legal rights, including rights to cross the land, would remain. The land description and survey would be available for public inspection. Federal oversight would shift if the bill becomes law. The land would enter trust the day after the Interior Secretary records the access agreement. The Secretary must finish a land description and survey within two years of enactment.

The Interior Secretary would secure existing federal access. The Tribe would continue agreed access and keep the land open for public recreation. The continuing access duty covers shared access and cooperation agreements in place when the bill becomes law. The Tribe could limit or regulate public access for safety, land management, fish or wildlife management, or emergencies. The Interior Secretary must make an agreement securing existing federal access within 180 days of enactment. The Tribe’s duty to continue access under the other agreements starts when the land enters trust.

The land could not be used for two federal categories of tribal gambling. It would be exempt from two federal laws’ land use planning rules. These rules cover the land described in the bill. The gambling ban covers the categories called class II and class III under federal Indian gaming law. Forest work would still have to follow applicable federal and Tribal laws. Federal export rules for unprocessed logs would apply to logs cut on the land. The gambling ban and exemption from land use planning rules would apply once the land enters trust.