legislative text - s. 1805 - the organ mountains-desert peaks conservation act

8/13/2019 Legislative Text - S. 1805 - The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks Conservation Act

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FLO13B14 S.L.C.

113 TH CONGRESS1ST SESSION S.

llTo designate the Organ Mountains and other public land as componentsof the National Wilderness Preservation System in the State of NewMexico, to establish the Organ MountainsDesert Peaks National Monu-ment, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

llllllllllMr. U DALL of New Mexico (for himself and Mr. H EINRICH ) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on llllllllll

A BILL

To designate the Organ Mountains and other public landas components of the National Wilderness PreservationSystem in the State of New Mexico, to establish theOrgan MountainsDesert Peaks National Monument,and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1

tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,2

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.3

This Act may be cited as the Organ Mountains4

Desert Peaks Conservation Act.5

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.6

In this Act:7


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(1) M ANAGEMENT PLAN .The term manage-1

ment plan means the management plan for the2

Monument developed under section 4(d).3

(2) M ONUMENT .The term Monument4

means the Organ MountainsDesert Peaks Na-5

tional Monument established by section 4(a).6

(3) P UBLIC LAND ORDER .The term Public7

Land Order means the Public Land Order 833,8

dated May 21, 1952 (17 Fed. Reg. 4822).9

(4) S ECRETARY .The term Secretary means10

the Secretary of the Interior.11

(5) S TATE .The term State means the State12

of New Mexico.13

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS.14

(a) I N GENERAL .In accordance with the Wilderness15

Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.), the following areas in the16

State are designated as wilderness and as components of17

the National Wilderness Preservation System:18

(1) A DEN LAVA FLOW WILDERNESS .Certain19

land administered by the Bureau of Land Manage-20

ment in Don a Ana County comprising approximately21

27,673 acres, as generally depicted on the map enti-22

tled Potrillo Mountains Complex and dated De-23

cember 10, 2013, which shall be known as the24

Aden Lava Flow Wilderness.25


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(2) B ROAD CANYON WILDERNESS .Certain1




tled Desert Peaks Wilderness and dated Decem-5

ber 10, 2013, which shall be known as the Broad6

Canyon Wilderness.7

(3) C INDER CONE WILDERNESS .Certain land8

administered by the Bureau of Land Management in9

Don a Ana County comprising approximately 16,93510

acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled11

Potrillo Mountains Complex and dated December12

10, 2013, which shall be known as the Cinder Cone13

Wilderness.14

(4) O RGAN MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS .Certain15




tled Organ Mountains Area and dated December19

10, 2013, which shall be known as the Organ20

Mountains Wilderness, the boundary of which shall21

be offset 400 feet from the centerline of Dripping22

Springs Road in T. 23 S., R. 04 E., sec. 7, New23

Mexico Principal Meridian.24


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(5) P OTRILLO MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS .Cer-1

tain land administered by the Bureau of Land Man-2

agement in Don a Ana and Luna counties comprising3

approximately 125,854 acres, as generally depicted4

on the map entitled Potrillo Mountains Complex5

and dated December 10, 2013, which shall be known6

as the Potrillo Mountains Wilderness.7

(6) R OBLEDO MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS .Cer-8


agement in Don a Ana County comprising approxi-10

mately 16,776 acres, as generally depicted on the11

map entitled Desert Peaks Complex and dated12

December 10, 2013, which shall be known as the13

Robledo Mountains Wilderness.14

(7) S IERRA DE LAS UVAS WILDERNESS .Cer-15


agement in Don a Ana County comprising approxi-17


map entitled Desert Peaks Complex and dated19

December 10, 2013, which shall be known as the20

Sierra de las Uvas Wilderness.21

(8) W HITETHORN WILDERNESS .Certain land22

administered by the Bureau of Land Management in23

Don a Ana and Luna counties comprising approxi-24



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map entitled Potrillo Mountains Complex and1

dated December 10, 2013, which shall be known as2

the Whitethorn Wilderness.3

(b) M ANAGEMENT .Subject to valid existing rights,4

the wilderness areas designated by subsection (a) shall be5

administered by the Secretary in accordance with this Act6

and the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.) except7

that8

(1) any reference in the Wilderness Act to the9

effective date of that Act shall be considered to be10

a reference to the date of enactment of this Act; and11

(2) any reference in the Wilderness Act to the12

Secretary of Agriculture shall be considered to be a13

reference to the Secretary of the Interior.14

(c) I NCORPORATION OF A CQUIRED L AND AND INTER -15

ESTS IN L AND .Any land or interest in land that is with-16

in the boundary of a wilderness area designated by sub-17

section (a) that is acquired by the United States shall18

(1) become part of the wilderness area within19

the boundaries of which the land is located; and20

(2) be managed in accordance with21

(A) the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et22

seq.);23

(B) this Act; and24

(C) any other applicable laws.25


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(d) G RAZING .Grazing of livestock in the wilderness1

areas designated by subsection (a), where established be-2

fore the date of enactment of this Act, shall be adminis-3

tered in accordance with4

(1) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act (165

U.S.C. 1133(d)(4)); and6

(2) the guidelines set forth in Appendix A of7

the Report of the Committee on Interior and Insular8

Affairs to accompany H.R. 2570 of the 101st Con-9

gress (H. Rept. 101405).10

(e) M ILITARY O VERFLIGHTS .Nothing in this sec-11

tion restricts or precludes12

(1) low-level overflights of military aircraft over13

the wilderness areas designated by subsection (a),14

including military overflights that can be seen or15

heard within the wilderness areas;16

(2) the designation of new units of special air-17

space over the wilderness areas designated by this18

Act; or19

(3) the use or establishment of military flight20

training routes over wilderness areas designated by21

this Act.22

(f) B UFFER ZONES .23


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(1) I N GENERAL .Nothing in this section cre-1

ates a protective perimeter or buffer zone around2

any wilderness area designated by subsection (a).3

(2) A CTIVITIES OUTSIDE WILDERNESS 4

AREAS .The fact that an activity or use on land5

outside any wilderness area designated by subsection6

(a) can be seen or heard within the wilderness area7

shall not preclude the activity or use outside the8

boundary of the wilderness area.9

(g) P ARAGLIDING .The use of paragliding within10

areas of the Potrillo Mountains Wilderness designated by11

subsection (a)(5) in which the use has been established12

before the date of enactment of this Act, shall be allowed13

to continue in accordance with section 4(d)(1) of the Wil-14

derness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)), subject to any terms15

and conditions that the Secretary determines to be nec-16

essary.17

(h) P OTENTIAL W ILDERNESS A REA .18

(1) R OBLEDO MOUNTAINS POTENTIAL WILDER -19

NESS AREA .20

(A) I N GENERAL .Certain land adminis-21

tered by the Bureau of Land Management,22

comprising approximately 100 acres as gen-23

erally depicted as Potential Wilderness on the24

map entitled Desert Peaks Complex and25


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(II) the associated right-of-way is1

relinquished or not renewed; and2

(III) the conditions in the poten-3

tial wilderness area designated by sub-4

paragraph (A) are compatible with the5

Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et6

seq.).7

(i) R ELEASE OF W ILDERNESS STUDY A REAS .Con-8

gress finds that, for purposes of section 603(c) of the Fed-9

eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.10

1782(c)), the public land in Don a Ana County adminis-11

tered by the Bureau of Land Management not designated12

as wilderness by subsection (a)13

(1) has been adequately studied for wilderness14

designation;15

(2) is no longer subject to section 603(c) of the16

Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 197617

(43 U.S.C. 1782(c)); and18

(3) shall be managed in accordance with19

(A) the Federal Land Policy and Manage-20

ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.);21

(B) this Act; and22

(C) any other applicable laws.23


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SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL MONUMENT.1

(a) E STABLISHMENT .There is established as a Na-2

tional Monument in the State certain land administered3

by the Bureau of Land Management in Don a Ana County4

comprising approximately 498,815 acres, as generally de-5

picted on the maps entitled Organ Mountains Area,6

Potrillo Mountains Complex, and Desert Peaks Com-7

plex and dated December 10, 2013, to be known as the8

Organ MountainsDesert Peaks National Monument.9

(b) P URPOSE .The purpose of the Monument is to10

conserve, protect, and enhance for the benefit and enjoy-11

ment of present and future generations the cultural, ar-12

chaeological, historical, natural, wildlife, geological, eco-13

logical, watershed, educational, scenic, and recreational re-14

sources and values of the Monument.15

(c) M ANAGEMENT .16

(1) I N GENERAL .The Secretary (acting17

through the Director of the Bureau of Land Man-18

agement) shall manage the Monument19

(A) in a manner that conserves, protects,20

and enhances the resources of the Monument;21

and22

(B) in accordance with23

(i) the Federal Land Policy and Man-24

agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et25

seq.);26


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(ii) this Act; and1

(iii) any other applicable laws.2

(2) U SES .3

(A) I N GENERAL .The Secretary shall4

allow only such uses of the Monument that the5

Secretary determines would further the purpose6

described in subsection (b).7

(B) U SE OF MOTORIZED VEHICLES .8

(i) I N GENERAL .Except as needed9

for administrative purposes or to respond10

to an emergency, the use of motorized ve-11

hicles in the Monument shall be permitted12

only on roads designated for use by motor-13

ized vehicles in the management plan.14

(ii) N EW ROADS .No additional road15

shall be built within the Monument after16

the date of enactment of this Act unless17

the road is necessary for public safety or18

natural resource protection.19

(C) G RAZING .The Secretary shall permit20

grazing within the Monument, where estab-21

lished before the date of enactment of this22

Act23


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(i) subject to all applicable laws (in-1

cluding regulations) and Executive orders;2

and3

(ii) consistent with the purpose de-4

scribed in subsection (b).5

(D) U TILITY RIGHT -OF - WAY UPGRADES .6

Nothing in this section precludes the Secretary7

from renewing or authorizing the upgrading8

(including widening) of a utility right-of-way in9

existence as of the date of enactment of this10

Act through the Monument in a manner that11

minimizes harm to the purpose of the Monu-12

ment described in subsection (b)13

(i) in accordance with14

(I) the National Environmental15

Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 432116

et seq.); and17

(II) any other applicable law; and18

(ii) subject to such terms and condi-19

tions as the Secretary determines to be ap-20

propriate.21

(E) R IGHT -OF - WAY .Subject to applicable22

law, the Secretary may issue rights-of-way for23

watershed restoration projects and small-scale24

flood prevention projects within the boundary of25


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the Monument if the right-of-way is consistent1

with the purpose of the Monument described in2

subsection (b).3

(d) M ANAGEMENT P LAN .4

(1) I N GENERAL .Not later than 3 years after5

the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary6

shall develop a management plan for the Monument.7

(2) C ONSULTATION .The management plan8

shall be developed in consultation with9

(A) interested Federal agencies;10

(B) State, tribal, and local governments;11

and12

(C) the public.13

(3) C ONSIDERATIONS .In preparing and imple-14

menting the management plan, the Secretary shall15

(A) consider the recommendations of In-16

dian tribes and pueblos on methods for pro-17

viding access to, and protection for, traditional18

cultural and religious sites in the Monument;19

and20

(B) include a watershed health assessment21

to identify opportunities for watershed restora-22

tion.23

(e) I NCORPORATION OF A CQUIRED L AND AND INTER -24

ESTS IN L AND .25


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(1) I N GENERAL .Any land or interest in land1

that is within the boundary of the Monument des-2

ignated by subsection (a) or within the State trust3

land described in paragraph (2) that is acquired by4

the United States shall5

(A) become part of the Monument; and6

(B) be managed in accordance with7

(i) this Act; and8

(ii) any other applicable laws.9

(2) D ESCRIPTION OF STATE TRUST LAND .10

The State trust land referred to in paragraph (1) is11

the State trust land in T. 22 S., R 01 W., New Mex-12

ico Principal Meridian and T. 22 S., R. 02 W., New13

Mexico Principal Meridian.14

(f) T RANSFER OF A DMINISTRATIVE J URISDICTION .15

On the date of enactment of this Act, administrative juris-16

diction over the approximately 2,050 acres of land gen-17

erally depicted as Parcel D on the map entitled Organ18

Mountains Area and dated December 10, 2013, shall19

(1) be transferred from the Secretary of De-20

fense to the Secretary;21

(2) become part of the Monument; and22

(3) be managed in accordance with23

(A) this Act; and24

(B) any other applicable laws.25


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SEC. 5. GENERAL PROVISIONS.1

(a) M APS AND L EGAL DESCRIPTIONS .2

(1) I N GENERAL .As soon as practicable after3

the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary4

shall file maps and legal descriptions of the Monu-5

ment and the wilderness areas designated by this6

Act with7

(A) the Committee on Energy and Natural8

Resources of the Senate; and9

(B) the Committee on Natural Resources10

of the House of Representatives.11

(2) F ORCE OF LAW .The maps and legal de-12

scriptions filed under paragraph (1) shall have the13

same force and effect as if included in this Act, ex-14

cept that the Secretary may correct errors in the15

maps and legal descriptions.16

(3) P UBLIC AVAILABILITY .The maps and17

legal descriptions filed under paragraph (1) shall be18

on file and available for public inspection in the ap-19

propriate offices of the Bureau of Land Manage-20

ment.21

(b) N ATIONAL L ANDSCAPE CONSERVATION S YS -22

TEM .The Monument and the wilderness areas des-23

ignated by this Act shall be administered as components24

of the National Landscape Conservation System.25


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(c) F ISH AND W ILDLIFE .Nothing in this Act af-1

fects the jurisdiction of the State with respect to fish and2

wildlife located on public land in the State, except that3

the Secretary, after consultation with the New Mexico De-4

partment of Game and Fish, may designate zones where,5

and establish periods during which, no hunting or fishing6

shall be permitted for reasons of public safety, administra-7

tion, or compliance with applicable law.8

(d) W ITHDRAWALS .9

(1) I N GENERAL .Subject to valid existing10

rights, the Federal land within the Monument, the11

wilderness areas designated by this Act, and any12

land or interest in land that is acquired by the13

United States in the Monument or wilderness areas14

after the date of enactment of this Act is withdrawn15

from16

(A) entry, appropriation, or disposal under17

the public land laws;18

(B) location, entry, and patent under the19

mining laws; and20

(C) operation of the mineral leasing, min-21

eral materials, and geothermal leasing laws.22

(2) P ARCEL A .The approximately 1,300 acres23

of land generally depicted as Parcel A on the map24

entitled Organ Mountains Area and dated Decem-25


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ber 10, 2013, is withdrawn in accordance with para-1

graph (1), except that the land is not withdrawn2

from disposal under the Act of June 14, 1926 (com-3

monly known as the Recreation and Public Pur-4

poses Act) (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.).5

(3) P ARCEL B .The approximately 6,500 acres6

of land generally depicted as Parcel B on the map7

entitled Organ Mountains Area and dated Decem-8

ber 10, 2013, is withdrawn in accordance with para-9

graph (1), except that the land is not withdrawn for10

purposes of the issuance of oil and gas pipeline11

rights-of-way.12

(e) C LIMATOLOGIC D ATA COLLECTION .Subject to13

such terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe,14

nothing in this Act precludes the installation and mainte-15

nance of hydrologic, meteorologic, or climatologic collec-16

tion devices in the Monument or wilderness areas des-17

ignated by section 3(a) if the facilities and access to the18

facilities are essential to flood warning, flood control, or19

water reservoir operation activities.20

SEC. 6. BORDER SECURITY.21

(a) I N GENERAL .Nothing in this Act22

(1) prevents the Secretary of Homeland Secu-23

rity from undertaking law enforcement and border24

security activities, in accordance with section 4(c) of25


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the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(c)), within the1

areas designated as wilderness by this Act, including2

the ability to use motorized access within a wilder-3

ness area while in pursuit of a suspect;4

(2) affects the 2006 Memorandum of Under-5

standing among the Department of Homeland Secu-6

rity, the Department of the Interior, and the De-7

partment of Agriculture regarding cooperative na-8

tional security and counterterrorism efforts on Fed-9

eral land along the borders of the United States; or10

(3) prevents the Secretary of Homeland Secu-11

rity from conducting any low-level overflights over12

the wilderness areas designated by this Act that may13

be necessary for law enforcement and border secu-14

rity purposes.15

(b) W ITHDRAWAL AND A DMINISTRATION OF CER -16

TAIN A REA .17

(1) W ITHDRAWAL .The area identified as18

Parcel E on the map entitled Potrillo Mountains19

Complex and dated December 10, 2013, is with-20

drawn in accordance with section 5(d)(1).21

(2) A DMINISTRATION .Except as provided in22

paragraphs (3) and (4), the Secretary shall admin-23

ister the area described in paragraph (1) in a man-24


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ner that, to the maximum extent practicable, pro-1

tects the wilderness character of the area.2

(3) U SE OF MOTOR VEHICLES .The use of3

motor vehicles, motorized equipment, and mechan-4

ical transport shall be prohibited in the area de-5

scribed in paragraph (1) except as necessary for6

(A) the administration of the area (includ-7

ing the conduct of law enforcement and border8

security activities in the area); or9

(B) grazing uses by authorized permittees.10

(4) E FFECT OF SUBSECTION .Nothing in this11

subsection precludes the Secretary from allowing12

within the area described in paragraph (1) the in-13

stallation and maintenance of communication or sur-14

veillance infrastructure necessary for law enforce-15

ment or border security activities.16

(c) R ESTRICTED ROUTE .The route excluded from17

the Potrillo Mountains Wilderness identified as Re-18

strictedAdministrative Access on the map entitled19

Potrillo Mountains Complex and dated December 10,20

2013, shall be21

(1) closed to public access; but22

(2) available for administrative and law enforce-23

ment uses, including border security activities.24


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(c) M ODIFICATION OF P UBLIC L AND ORDER .The1

Public Land Order is modified to exclude the land de-2

scribed in section 4(f).3

(d) P UBLICATION IN F EDERAL REGISTER .As soon4

as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the5

Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register6

(1) a legal description of the land described in7

section 4(f);8

(2) a legal description of the land described in9

subsection (a);10

(3) a description of the withdrawal of land11

under subsection (b); and12

(4) a description of the modifications to the13

Public Land Order under subsection (c).14

(e) R EIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS .The Secretary of15

the Army shall reimburse the Secretary for any costs in-16

curred by the Secretary in carrying out this section.17

SEC. 9. LAND EXCHANGES.18

(a) I N GENERAL .Subject to subsections (c) through19

(f), the Secretary shall attempt to enter into an agreement20

to initiate an exchange under section 2201.1 of title 43,21

Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations),22

with the Commissioner of Public Lands of New Mexico,23

by the date that is 18 months after the date of enactment24

of this Act, to provide for a conveyance to the State of25


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all right, title, and interest of the United States in and1

to Bureau of Land Management land in the State identi-2

fied under subsection (b) in exchange for the conveyance3

by the State to the Secretary of all right, title, and interest4

of the State in and to parcels of State trust land within5

the boundary of the Monument identified under that sub-6

section or described in section 4(e)(2).7

(b) I DENTIFICATION OF L AND FOR E XCHANGE .8

The Secretary and the Commissioner of Public Lands of9

New Mexico shall jointly identify the Bureau of Land10

Management land and State trust and eligible for ex-11

change under this section, the exact acreage and legal de-12

scription of which shall be determined by surveys approved13

by the Secretary and the New Mexico State Land Office.14

(c) A PPLICABLE L AW .A land exchange under sub-15

section (a) shall be carried out in accordance with section16

206 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of17

1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716).18

(d) C ONDITIONS .A land exchange under subsection19

(a) shall be subject to20

(1) valid existing rights; and21

(2) such terms as the Secretary and the State22

shall establish.23

(e) V ALUATION , A PPRAISALS , AND E QUALIZATION .24


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(1) I N GENERAL .The value of the Bureau of1

Land Management land and the State trust land to2

be conveyed in a land exchange under this sub-3

section4

(A) shall be equal, as determined by ap-5

praisals conducted in accordance with para-6

graph (2); or7

(B) if not equal, shall be equalized in ac-8

cordance with paragraph (3).9

(2) A PPRAISALS .10

(A) I N GENERAL .The Bureau of Land11

Management land and State trust land to be12

exchanged under this section shall be appraised13

by an independent, qualified appraiser that is14

agreed to by the Secretary and the State.15

(B) R EQUIREMENTS .An appraisal under16

subparagraph (A) shall be conducted in accord-17

ance with18

(i) the Uniform Appraisal Standards19

for Federal Land Acquisitions; and20

(ii) the Uniform Standards of Profes-21

sional Appraisal Practice.22

(3) E QUALIZATION .23

(A) I N GENERAL .If the value of the Bu-24

reau of Land Management land and the State25


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trust land to be conveyed in a land exchange1

under this section is not equal, the value may2

be equalized by3

(i) making a cash equalization pay-4

ment to the Secretary or to the State, as5

appropriate, in accordance with section6

206(b) of the Federal Land Policy and7

Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.8

1716(b)); or9

(ii) reducing the acreage of the Bu-10

reau of Land Management land or State11

trust land to be exchanged, as appropriate.12

(B) C ASH EQUALIZATION PAYMENTS .13

Any cash equalization payments received by the14

Secretary under subparagraph (A)(i) shall be15

(i) deposited in the Federal Land Dis-16

posal Account established by section17

206(a) of the Federal Land Transaction18

Facilitation Act (43 U.S.C. 2305(a)); and19

(ii) used in accordance with that Act.20

(f) L IMITATION .No exchange of land shall be con-21

ducted under this section unless mutually agreed to by the22

Secretary and the State.23


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legislative text - s. 1805 - the organ mountains-desert peaks conservation act

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