HR5682-119

What This Bill Does

This bill transfers specified federal land in Riverside County, California into trust for the Pechanga Band of Indians. The reported text covers about 860 acres of BLM-administered land generally depicted as the Proposed Pechanga Land Conveyance Parcel on the August 21, 2025 map. The introduced text referenced about 1,261 acres and included notice requirements tied to a memorandum of understanding.

Once taken into trust, the land becomes part of the Pechanga reservation and is administered under laws and regulations generally applicable to property held in trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe. The land remains subject to valid existing encumbrances, liens, rights-of-way, reciprocal road rights-of-way agreements, licenses, leases, permits, and easements. It must be maintained as open space and used only for purposes consistent with open-space maintenance and protection, preservation, and maintenance of archaeological, cultural, and wildlife resources. The bill allows utility or protective structures consistent with those purposes, bars class II and class III gaming, preserves existing water rights and service agreements, and requires the map to be kept on file for public inspection.

Who Benefits and How

The Pechanga Band of Indians benefits because the covered land is placed in trust and added to the reservation. Pechanga cultural resource staff benefit from trust status and statutory use limits protecting archaeological and cultural resources. Wildlife and open-space conservation interests benefit because the land must be maintained as open space and cannot be used for gaming. BLM land records staff benefit from a statutory map and transfer direction. Riverside County residents benefit from open-space and water-rights protections tied to the transfer.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Interior land-into-trust staff must process and administer the trust transfer. BLM realty staff must update land records and keep the map available for inspection. Holders of existing rights-of-way, leases, permits, licenses, easements, or water service agreements must coordinate with trust-land administration while preserving valid existing rights. The Pechanga Band bears use restrictions because the land must remain open space and cannot be used for class II or class III gaming. Tribal and federal resource-protection staff must monitor archaeological, cultural, and wildlife-resource conditions.

Key Provisions

• Takes covered Riverside County land into trust for the Pechanga Band of Indians.
• Adds the land to the Pechanga reservation and applies trust-land laws and regulations.
• Preserves valid encumbrances, rights-of-way, leases, permits, easements, water rights, and service agreements.
• Requires the land to be maintained as open space and used for cultural, archaeological, and wildlife-resource protection.
• Prohibits class II and class III gaming on the trust land.
• Requires the map to remain available for public inspection in BLM offices.