H.R. 2388
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act
Sponsor: Emily Randall · 0 cosponsors
In plain English: what this bill does
The bill would place about 1,082.63 acres of federal land in Washington State, now part of Olympic National Park, into trust for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, and make that land part of the tribe's reservation. Part of the land along the Elwha River would be managed under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, with some modifications allowed. The land would not count as Indian gaming land, and nothing in the bill would change the tribe's treaty rights.
Who this affects
- Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe: would receive about 1,082.63 acres of federal land from Olympic National Park, held in trust for the tribe and added to its reservation.
- Olympic National Park: the approximately 1,082.63 acres shown on the named map would no longer be federal park land once taken into trust.
- Interior Department (Secretary of the Interior): would survey the new land's boundaries and could make minor boundary adjustments and fix minor map, acreage or description errors.
- Owners of federal rights in the land: the trust transfer would be subject to all valid existing rights of the United States.
Words to know
- Held in trust: the federal government holds legal title to the land for the tribe's benefit, and the tribe uses it.
- Reservation: land set aside under federal law for a tribe's government and members.
- Indian gaming: casinos and other gambling run on tribal land under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
- Wild and Scenic Rivers Act: a federal law that protects certain rivers in their natural condition.
For example
Made-up situation: A park ranger's old cabin sits on land the bill transfers to the tribe. Under the bill, that land would be held in trust for the tribe and become part of its reservation, and the cabin's land would no longer be part of the park. The bill does not say what happens to the cabin itself.
Written by AI from the bill's text below; it can be wrong. How it's written
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act
This bill takes approximately 1,082.63 acres of specified lands in Washington into trust for the benefit of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Land taken into trust shall be part of the tribe's reservation.
Further, the bill prohibits gaming on the land taken into trust.
Text of the bill
(a) Definitions. In this section:
(1) Reservation. The term Reservation means the Lower Elwha Indian Reservation, also known as the Lower Elwha Reservation, located in the State of Washington.
(2) Secretary. The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
(3) Tribe. The term Tribe means the Lower Elwha Tribal Community, also known as the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, located in the State of Washington.
(b) Land held in trust
(1) In general. Subject to all valid existing rights of the United States, the approximately 1,082.63 acres of Federal land generally depicted as NPS Parcels to be Transferred to Tribe on the map entitled Olympic National Park Proposed Transfer of Elwha Lands, numbered 149/178020, and dated December 2021 is hereby taken into and held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe.
(2) Inclusion in reservation. The land taken into trust under paragraph (1) shall be part of the Reservation.
(3) Law applicable to certain land. The land taken into trust under paragraph (1) shall not be subject to any requirements for valuation, appraisal, or equalization under any Federal law.
(c) Land management. Of the land taken into and held in trust under subsection (b)(1), the portion of the Elwha River subject to section 3(c)(3) of the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act (Public Law 102–495; 106 Stat. 3175) shall be managed in accordance with subsection (b) of the first section of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1271), except for necessary modifications under section 3(c)(3) of the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act (Public Law 102–495; 106 Stat. 3175).
(d) Map and survey
(1) Boundary adjustment; survey. As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct a survey to define the boundaries of the land taken into and held in trust under subsection (b)(1).
(2) Adjustments. The Secretary may—
(A) make minor boundary adjustments to the land taken into and held in trust under subsection (b)(1); and
(B) correct any minor errors in any map, acreage estimate, or description of that land.
(e) Gaming prohibition. No land taken into and held in trust for the benefit of the Tribe under this section shall be considered Indian lands for the purpose of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).