S. 462 — Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act

This section directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to convey, at the request of the recipients, approximately 2,067 acres of federal land in Nevada—including 166 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land and 13 acres of National Forest System land to the city of Reno, 956 acres of BLM land to the city of Sparks, 831 acres of BLM land to Washoe County, and 101 acres of National Forest System land to Washoe County—for no consideration and subject to valid existing rights, notwithstanding land use planning and sales requirements under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). Conveyances to Reno (BLM land), Sparks, and Washoe County (BLM land) must be used for public purposes consistent with the Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) Act (i.e., transfers of public lands for recreation and public uses); other specified uses include parks, effluent storage, roadway expansion, open space, cemeteries, recreation, public recreational shooting facilities, and trails. Recipients must pay all related costs (including surveys, administrative costs, appraisals, and environmental response and restoration where specified), and conveyed parcels revert to the United States at the relevant Secretary's discretion if uses cease.

This section transfers administrative jurisdiction over specified parcels of land in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest from the Forest Service to the Secretary of the Interior and over specified Bureau of Reclamation land to the Secretary. The section further authorizes the Secretary to offer for sale, through competitive bidding for not less than fair market value, BLM-managed public lands in Washoe County, Nevada, that are (1) identified as suitable for disposal in the Carson City Consolidated Resource Management Plan or as "BLM Land for Disposal" on a specified map or (2) determined suitable following a required one-year evaluation—conducted notwithstanding land use planning criteria under section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1712)—of parcels depicted as "Additional BLM Land Potentially Available for Disposal" and the jurisdictionally transferred parcels. (Thus, the provision facilitates expedited disposal by overriding FLPMA's systematic planning process, which requires integrated consideration of multiple uses, environmental concerns, and public involvement prior to identifying lands for disposal.) The section requires the Secretary and the County to jointly select parcels for sale after evaluating suitability for affordable housing, with suitable parcels made available at less than fair market value to state or local governmental entities under procedures of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998; separately mandates a review within 90 days, notwithstanding FLPMA sections 202 and 203, to confirm suitability of approximately 33 acres designated "for Disposal Only for Affordable Housing" and authorize discounted conveyance on request. Selected lands are withdrawn from all forms of entry, mining, and leasing; sales require county certification of bidder compliance with local zoning and plans; and the Secretary must postpone or exclude parcels from sale at county request. Of sale proceeds, 5 percent shall be disbursed as specified (remainder not provided in text).

This section places approximately 11,373 acres of Bureau of Land Management land in Nevada, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act—Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Reservation Expansion” dated May 5, 2024, into trust for the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, making it part of the tribe's reservation subject to valid existing rights. The Secretary of the Interior must complete a cadastral survey and legal description of the land as soon as practicable after enactment and publish the description in the Federal Register. The land is ineligible for Class II or Class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

This section places approximately 8,319 acres of Bureau of Land Management land, as depicted on the map entitled “Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act—Reno-Sparks Indian Colony Reservation Expansion” and dated May 24, 2024, into trust for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Nevada, subject to valid existing rights, and designates the land as part of the tribe's reservation. It directs the Secretary to complete a cadastral survey and legal description of the land as soon as practicable after enactment and to publish the description in the Federal Register upon completion. The land taken into trust is ineligible for class II gaming (i.e., bingo and non-banking card games) or class III gaming (i.e., casino-style games such as slot machines and blackjack) under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

This section directs the Secretary of the Interior, at the request of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, to take into trust approximately 160 acres of fee land held by the tribe in Nevada—making it part of the tribe's reservation—and to complete a cadastral survey of the land as soon as practicable after enactment. Upon survey completion, the Secretary must publish a legal description of the land in the Federal Register.

This section directs the transfer to the Secretary, to be held in trust for the benefit of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, of approximately 601 acres of Bureau of Land Management land and 494 acres of Forest Service land (as depicted on specified maps), making the land part of the tribe's reservation subject to valid existing rights. The section requires the Secretary to complete a cadastral survey of the land as soon as practicable after enactment and publish a legal description in the Federal Register upon completion; it further prohibits class II gaming or class III gaming (as defined in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act) on the land.

This section places approximately 2 acres of fee land owned by the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California into trust for the tribe's benefit—upon the tribe's request—making it part of the tribe's reservation, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act—Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California Reservation Expansion” and dated November 14, 2024. The Secretary must complete a boundary survey within 180 days of enactment and publish a legal description in the Federal Register thereafter.

This section designates approximately 223,101 acres of federal land in Nevada as five new wilderness areas and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness, comprising approximately 112,002 acres managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; (2) Bitner Table Wilderness, comprising approximately 25,216 acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM); (3) Wrangler Canyon Wilderness, comprising approximately 49,540 acres managed by BLM; (4) Burro Mountain Wilderness, comprising approximately 6,343 acres managed by BLM; and (5) Granite-Banjo Wilderness, comprising approximately 30,000 acres managed by BLM. The section sets boundaries at 100 feet from the centerline of adjacent roads (150 feet from the fence line bordering the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge), directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture (as applicable) to prepare maps and legal descriptions with the force of law, and withdraws the areas from all forms of entry, appropriation, disposal under public land laws; location, entry, and patent under mining laws; and operation of mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws, subject to valid existing rights.

This section directs the Secretary of the Interior 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 (1) treating the date of enactment as the effective date under that Act and applying references to the Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary of the Interior; and (2) administering the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness in accordance with the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.). It further (1) allows pre-enactment livestock grazing to continue in Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wilderness areas subject to Wilderness Act section 4(d)(4) (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)) and specified congressional guidelines, and requires a grazing facilities inventory within two years of enactment; (2) incorporates acquired lands into the wilderness areas; (3) preserves military low-level overflights, flight testing, and special use airspace; (4) authorizes wildfire, insect, and disease control and essential climatological data collection devices per the Wilderness Act; (5) protects Native American treaty rights and traditional plant collection; (6) clarifies no buffer zones around wilderness areas; and (7) disclaims federal reserved water rights, requires state law for new water rights, and prohibits new water resource facilities (i.e., excluding wildlife guzzlers) in wilderness areas.

This section releases federal lands administered by the Secretary of the Interior in 11 wilderness study areas—the Sheldon Contiguous, Massacre Rim, Wall Canyon, Poodle Mountain, Buffalo Hills, Twin Peaks, Dry Valley Rim, Skedaddle, Five Springs, Fox Range, and Pole Creek Wilderness Study Areas—from the interim management requirements of section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)), which preserve wilderness characteristics pending congressional action. (Thus, such lands shall be managed instead in accordance with applicable land use plans under section 202 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1712) and existing cooperative conservation agreements.) This section directs that federal lands within the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge previously managed as potential wilderness or wilderness study areas—and not designated as wilderness by this Act—be managed solely in accordance with the refuge's comprehensive conservation plan under the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act (16 U.S.C. 668dd(e)). (Thus, such lands no longer must be managed to maintain suitability for future wilderness designation.)

This section authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to accept voluntary donations of valid existing grazing permits and leases for public lands within the Mosquito Valley and Horse Lake allotments of the Bureau of Land Management. For each donated permit or lease, the Secretary must terminate it and ensure a permanent end to grazing on the covered land. In the Horse Lake allotment, if the donated land is also covered by another valid, non-donated permit or lease, the Secretary must reduce the allotment's authorized livestock grazing level to reflect the donation.

This section establishes five National Conservation Areas (NCAs) in the State, comprising approximately 632,461 acres of federal land in the County, subject to valid existing rights and as generally depicted on maps entitled “Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act—National Conservation Areas & Wilderness (North)” and “(South)” dated November 14, 2024. (As background, NCAs are BLM-managed areas within the National Landscape Conservation System that conserve natural, cultural, scenic, and other resources while allowing compatible recreation and resource uses.) The NCAs are: (1) Massacre Rim Dark Sky NCA (~134,144 acres); (2) Kiba Canyon Range NCA (~145,302 acres); (3) Smoke Creek NCA (~271,986 acres); (4) Pah Rah NCA (~10,933 acres); and (5) Fox Range NCA (~70,096 acres).

This section establishes the purposes of the Conservation Areas as conserving, protecting, and enhancing their cultural, archaeological, natural, scientific, geological, historical, biological, wildlife, educational, recreational, scenic, and visual resources for present and future generations. For areas designated under section 501(1), (2), (3), and (5), it establishes the additional purpose of conserving, protecting, and enhancing their dark sky resources.

This section directs the Secretary to prepare and file a map and legal description for each Conservation Area with the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Natural Resources as soon as practicable after enactment. The maps and legal descriptions have the same force and effect as if included in this title (except that the Secretary may correct clerical and typographical errors), with copies available for public inspection in appropriate Bureau of Land Management offices.

This section requires the Secretary to manage each Conservation Area to conserve, protect, and enhance its resources in accordance with this section, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, other applicable laws, and as a component of the National Landscape Conservation System. Not later than 7 years after enactment, the Secretary must develop a comprehensive management plan for each Conservation Area—describing appropriate management direction, goals, and uses; incorporating extensive public input and relevant studies; and developed in consultation with affected Indian Tribes, state and local governments, federal permit holders, adjacent landowners, and the public. The section limits uses to those furthering the purposes described in section 502; authorizes land acquisition from willing sellers, donation, or exchange (with acquired lands incorporated into the Conservation Area); and withdraws federal lands in a Conservation Area from all forms of entry, appropriation, disposal under public land laws, mining laws, and operation of mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws (subject to valid existing rights, with additional acquired lands withdrawn upon acquisition). The section further (1) requires reasonable access to private lands within Conservation Area boundaries; (2) preserves tribal treaty rights and state jurisdiction over hunting, fishing, and trapping; (3) permits established livestock grazing (subject to reasonable regulations and consistent with Conservation Area purposes), with access for permit holders to allotments and infrastructure; (4) authorizes wildlife water projects in consultation with the state; (5) restricts motorized vehicles to designated routes in the management plan (or, prior to plan completion, existing Bureau of Land Management resource management plans), except for administrative or emergency use; (6) prohibits buffer zones around Conservation Areas; (7) allows wildland fire prevention and restoration operations; and (8) authorizes public-private partnerships for visitor facilities, programs, and projects.

This section withdraws specified federal lands from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws, subject to valid existing rights. The withdrawn lands total approximately 58,383 acres of National Forest System land (39,452 acres in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit depicted as “North Carson Range/Galena Withdrawal” and 18,931 acres in the Carson Ranger District of the Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest depicted as “Peavine Withdrawal,” per the map entitled “Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act—Withdrawals (South)” dated May 5, 2024); approximately 115,535 acres of Bureau of Land Management land (68,125 acres and 35,428 acres depicted as “Sand Hills/Petersen Mt. Withdrawal” and “Tule Peak Withdrawal” in the Carson City District; 10,596 acres depicted as “Granite-Banjo Withdrawal” in the Winnemucca District; and 177 acres and 1,209 acres depicted as “Smoke Creek Withdrawal” and “Massacre Rim Dark Sky Withdrawal” in the Northern California District, per maps entitled “Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act—Withdrawals (South)” and “(North)” dated May 5, 2024); and federal land in the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge described in Public Land Order No. 7761. The withdrawals do not affect existing utility rights-of-way or preclude new utility rights-of-way (including electric utility right-of-way application CAR374 in the Peavine Withdrawal Area), subject to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and other applicable laws.