Rob Bishop: “I include in the Record additional background that is necessary for this particular bill. Background and Need for H.R.…”

“I include in the Record additional background that is necessary for this particular bill. Background and Need for H.R. 4257, Advancing Conservation and Education Act The Advancing Conservation and Education (ACE) Act is based on existing provisions in western State enabling acts allowing States to select replacement lands in lieu of State school grants that were not completed by the United States. Congress granted most of the western States land to be held in trust by the States and used to support public education and other public purposes. Many of these State trust lands parcels are in a ``checkerboard'' pattern inside federal areas managed for conservation, such as national parks and monuments, national wildlife refuges, wilderness study areas, and areas of critical environmental concern. The intermingling of land ownership creates significant problems for both federal land managers and the States, since the latter are required to manage State trust lands to provide revenue for public education. Through its land use planning process, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) identifies lands that are difficult or uneconomic to manage, such as ``checkerboard'' areas. H.R. 4257 will help meet the goal of rationalizing land ownership in the west by creating an additional authority for the United States to acquire State lands in federal conservation areas, and compensating the States with equal- value replacement federal lands within the State.…”