S. 1195 — Pershing County Economic Development and Conservation Act

This section states congressional findings that (1) the checkerboard land pattern created by the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 along the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way has frustrated land management for the county government, private landowners, and federal agencies; (2) federal management of such lands is costly and difficult; (3) parcels in the area have similar per-acre appraised values due to comparable highest and best uses; and (4) consolidating land through sales and exchanges will improve the county tax base and simplify federal management.

This section requires the Secretary, notwithstanding land use planning requirements and specified disposal provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA; 43 U.S.C. 1712 et seq.), to conduct sales or exchanges of eligible public land (as depicted on a map) subject to valid existing rights. The section directs the Secretary and the County, after public notice, to jointly select parcels for sale or exchange; to offer such parcels within 90 days of selection (with postponement allowed for emergency ecological or safety reasons); and, upon selection, to withdraw the parcels from public land laws including mining and leasing (terminating upon conveyance or, if unsold, after 2 years). Sales must follow FLPMA competitive procedures (with first option to adjoining landowners if qualified buyers exist) at not less than fair market value per appraisal. Exchanges must be offered for all eligible land within 1 year, at equal value (equalized via cash payments per FLPMA section 206(b), added lands, or reduced parcels), prioritizing adjacent private lands for ownership consolidation and higher-value natural resource areas in the County. Mass appraisals of eligible land must occur within 1 year and every 5 years thereafter (valid for 5 years), with public availability and use to support exchanges.

This section directs the Secretary, notwithstanding sections 202, 203, 206, and 209 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712, 1713, 1716, 1719), to offer within 90 days of enactment to convey to qualified entities, for fair market value determined through an appraisal under the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, the remaining U.S. right, title, and interest in encumbered land depicted on a map, subject to valid existing third-party rights. Qualified entities must pay all associated costs, including surveys and administration; the Secretary must accept a fair market offer within 180 days of receipt and complete the conveyance within 180 days thereafter via deed, patent, or other instrument. Upon conveyance, the qualified entity's prior interests in locatable minerals and surface use for mineral purposes under applicable mining claims, millsites, tunnel sites, or other authorizations merge with the federal interest to provide fee simple title.

This section establishes the disposition of proceeds from the sale of land under this title as follows: (1) 5 percent to the state for its general education program; (2) 10 percent to the county for use as determined through normal budgeting procedures; and (3) the remainder (85 percent) deposited into the Pershing County Special Account in the Treasury. Funds in the special account, which earn interest at rates based on comparable Treasury obligations, are available to the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the county, for acquiring land or interests from willing sellers in the county to protect wilderness areas, environmentally significant lands, public access for hunting, fishing, and recreation, or to improve management of federal "Checkerboard Lands Resolution Area"; or to reimburse costs of preparing land sales or exchanges under this title. This section further requires the Secretary to submit reports every five fiscal years, beginning September 30 of the fifth fiscal year after enactment, to the state, county, and congressional committees describing special account deposits and expenditures (including purposes), legislative recommendations, and year-end balances.

This section designates approximately 136,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management-managed federal land as seven new wilderness areas (or an addition to an existing one) and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, as generally depicted on maps entitled “Proposed [Name] Wilderness” and dated July 8, 2024: (1) Cain Mountain Wilderness addition of approximately 12,339 acres, which is incorporated into the existing Cain Mountain Wilderness; (2) Bluewing Wilderness of approximately 24,900 acres; (3) Selenite Peak Wilderness of approximately 22,822 acres; (4) Mount Limbo Wilderness of approximately 11,855 acres; (5) North Sahwave Wilderness of approximately 13,875 acres; (6) Grandfathers Wilderness of approximately 35,339 acres; and (7) Fencemaker Wilderness of approximately 14,942 acres. The section sets wilderness boundaries 100 feet from the centerline of any adjacent road, requires the Secretary to file maps and legal descriptions with the same legal effect as this Act (correctable for clerical errors and available for public inspection), and withdraws the areas from public land laws, mining laws, and mineral and geothermal leasing (subject to valid existing rights).

This section directs the Secretary to administer the designated wilderness areas in accordance with the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), subject to valid existing rights, with modifications including treating the date of enactment as the effective date under that Act and substituting the Secretary for the Secretary of Agriculture. The section further— (1) allows livestock grazing established before enactment to continue, subject to reasonable regulations per section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act and guidelines in House Report 101-405; (2) incorporates any post-enactment acquired lands into the wilderness areas; (3) declares no intent to create protective perimeters or buffer zones around the areas and permits nonwilderness activities outside boundaries even if visible or audible within (thus, allowing such uses on adjacent lands without constraint from the designations); (4) preserves rights for military low-level overflights, flight testing, and new special use airspace or training routes over the areas; (5) authorizes measures for wildfire, insect, and disease control per section 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act; (6) permits installation of essential hydrologic, meteorologic, or climatologic data collection devices for flood warning, control, or reservoir operations; and (7) disclaims any federal reserved water rights for the areas (which are in Nevada's semiarid Great Basin at stream headwaters with limited upstream development), requires adherence to Nevada law for any new water rights, and prohibits federal funding, assistance, or permits for new water resource facilities (i.e., irrigation, reservoirs, pipelines, hydropower, excluding wildlife guzzlers) within the areas without affecting existing state or federal water rights or setting precedents for future designations. The section also authorizes temporary telecommunications devices in the Selenite Peak Wilderness for law enforcement or agency administrative purposes, subject to terms prescribed by the Secretary.

This section provides for wildlife management in the wilderness areas designated by this title by— (1) reaffirming that state jurisdiction over fish and wildlife, including regulation of hunting, fishing, and trapping, remains unaffected (per 16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)); (2) authorizing the Secretary to conduct activities necessary to maintain or restore fish and wildlife populations and habitats (e.g., noxious weed treatment and temporary motorized vehicle use), consistent with wilderness plans and policies such as those in Appendix B of House Report 101-405; (3) allowing the state to use aircraft or helicopters for wildlife survey, capture, transplant, monitoring, and watering (per 16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1) and such policies); (4) requiring the Secretary to authorize wildlife water development projects and facilities (e.g., guzzlers) that promote healthy, viable wildlife populations and enhance wilderness values, with minimized visual impacts; (5) permitting the Secretary to designate no-hunting, no-fishing, or no-trapping areas or periods for public safety, administration, or legal compliance, after consulting the state and notifying the public (except in emergencies); and (6) allowing the state or its designee to conduct activities pursuant to the September 2024 cooperative agreement entitled “Wildlife Management in Nevada BLM Wilderness Areas” (including amendments), subject to applicable laws.

This section releases approximately 48,600 acres of public land in the portions of the China Mountain, Mt. Limbo, Selenite Mountains, and Tobin Range wilderness study areas not designated as wilderness by section 201(a), and the portion of the Augusta Mountains wilderness study area within the County, from section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). (Thus, these lands are no longer subject to interim management requirements to preserve their suitability for wilderness designation and shall be managed in accordance with applicable land use plans under FLPMA section 202.)

This section specifies that nothing in this title (1) alters or diminishes the treaty rights of any Indian tribe, as defined in 25 U.S.C. 5304, or (2) precludes the traditional collection of pine nuts in a wilderness area for personal, noncommercial use consistent with the Wilderness Act.

This section directs the Secretary of the Interior to hold approximately 10 acres of Bureau of Land Management-administered land in trust for the Lovelock Paiute Tribe, subject to valid existing rights, and designates the land as part of the tribe's reservation. The section (1) requires the Secretary to complete a boundary survey within 180 days of enactment, (2) requires the Secretary to prepare a map depicting the boundaries as soon as practicable after the survey, and (3) prohibits class II gaming (i.e., bingo and certain non-banking card games) or class III gaming (i.e., casino-style games) on the land under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.