Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on an important piece of legislation that I have authored, H.R. 2963, The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2007. This legislation…
Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on an important piece of legislation that I have authored, H.R. 2963, The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2007. This legislation will place 1,178 acres of land currently maintained by the Bureau of Land Management, BLM, into trust for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians to manage and maintain. These lands are part of the Pechanga tribe's ancestral lands and contain numerous cultural, historical, and religious elements of importance to them.
Specifically, I want to discuss Section 2(h) of the bill, which is entitled ``Restricted Use of Transferred Lands.''
(h) Restricted Use of Transferred Lands.--
(1) In general.--The lands transferred under subsection (a)
may be used only for the protection, preservation, and
maintenance of the archaeological, cultural, and wildlife
resources thereon.
(2) No roads.--There shall be no roads other than for
maintenance purposes constructed on the lands transferred
under subsection (a).
When the restrictive language in this section was initially added to H.R. 4908, the original version of the bill I introduced in the 108th Congress, it was at the request of former House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo. It was added during the markup of the bill on September 22, 2004, with the purpose of ensuring that no commercial, casino or gaming related development would take place on the lands designated for transfer within the bill, and that those lands would be maintained as open space for the preservation, protection, and maintenance of the archaeological, cultural and wildlife resources thereon. The development restrictions were added with the assent of representatives of the Pechanga tribal government and myself as author of the legislation
Since I reintroduced this bill in the 110th Congress, my intent for this section has not changed. In fact, development restrictions within the bill were strengthened further with the addition of a prohibition of the construction of any roads upon the transferred land other than for the purpose of maintenance of archaeological, cultural and wildlife resources.
It is my intention as the author of H.R. 2963 that the legislation prohibit commercial, casino or gaming related construction or development on the lands designated in this bill, and that they be preserved as open space. I believe that the restrictions on the use of transferred lands included in this bill are a clear expression of this intent. Additionally, I have conferred with the Solicitor General's Office of the Department of the Interior who state that the wording of Section 2(h) implements this intent and the land use restrictions are enforceable by the Department of the Interior.
