HR6718-118

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the City of Ridgecrest Land Exchange Act.

2. Definitions In this Act: The term City means the City of Ridgecrest, California. The term Federal land means the approximately 500 acres of Federal land generally depicted as Proposed BLM to City of Ridgecrest Land Transfer on the Federal land map. The term Federal land map means the map titled Proposed Bureau of Land Management to City of Ridgecrest Land Exchange and dated October 5, 2023. The term non-Federal land means the approximately 640 acres of land in California, generally depicted as Proposed City of Ridgecrest to BLM Land Transfer on the non-Federal land map. The term non-Federal land map means the map titled Proposed City of Ridgecrest to Bureau of Land Management Land Exchange and dated August 31, 2023. The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.

3. Land exchange If the City offers to convey to the Secretary all right, title, and interest of the City in and to the non-Federal land, the Secretary shall accept the offer and, as soon as practicable, but not later than 1 year after receiving the offer from the City, convey to the City all right, title, and interest of the United States to the Federal land. Title to the land to be exchanged under this section shall be in a format acceptable to the Secretary and the City. Title to the non-Federal land conveyed to the Secretary under this section shall conform to the title approval standards of the Attorney General of the United States applicable to land acquisitions by the Federal Government. The Secretary and the City may, by mutual agreement— make minor boundary adjustments to the Federal land and non-Federal land involved in the exchange; and correct any minor errors in any map, acreage estimate, or description of the land to be exchanged. If there is a conflict between a map, an acreage estimate, or a description of land under this section, the map shall control unless the Secretary and City mutually agree otherwise. The Federal land map and non-Federal land map shall be kept on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate office of the Bureau of Land Management. The exact acreage and legal description of the land exchanged under this section shall be determined by a survey satisfactory to the Secretary. As a condition for the land exchange under this section, the City shall pay the reasonable costs incurred by the Secretary for— the survey required by subsection (d); and any environmental analysis or administrative expenses related to the exchange. The land exchange under this section— is not subject to section 206 of the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716); shall not affect the administration or ownership of any highways; shall not affect and shall further reserve for the continued and perpetual benefit of utilities all those existing rights on or to the land exchanged under this section, including any easements, and rights-of-way for electrical transmission and distribution poles, lines, and other appurtenances, regardless of whether such rights were created by patent, prescription, contract, or applicable law; and is subject to the condition that, with respect to Federal land conveyed to the City, the City shall, to the extent practicable, maintain access— to all officially designated motorized routes depicted on the Federal land map; and for non-motorized recreation activities. The Federal land conveyed to the City under this section shall not be eligible, or used, for any class II or class III gaming (as such terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703)). Land acquired by the Secretary under this section shall become part of the Owens Peak Wilderness Area and be managed in accordance with the laws, rules, and regulations applicable to that wilderness area.