Pub. L. 101-42, sec. 5 (as amended)
TRANSFER OF LAND TO BE HELD IN TRUST.
SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF LAND TO BE HELD IN TRUST.
(a) Lands To Be Taken in Trust.—The Secretary shall accept any real property located in Coos and Curry Counties not to exceed one thousand acres for the benefit of the Tribe if conveyed or otherwise transferred to the Secretary: Provided, That, at the time of such acceptance, there are no adverse legal claims on such property including outstanding liens, mortgages, or taxes owed. The Secretary may accept any additional acreage in the Tribe's service area pursuant to his authority under the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984).
(b) Lands To Be Part of the Reservation.—Subject to the conditions imposed by this section, the land transferred shall be taken in the name of the United States in trust for the Tribe and shall be part of its reservation.
(c) Lands To Be Nontaxable.—Any real property taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe under this section shall be exempt from all local, State, and Federal taxation as of the date of transfer.
(d) Creation of the Coquille Forrest.—
(1) Definitions.—In this subsection:
(A) the term “Coquille Forest” means certain lands
in Coos County, Oregon, comprising approximately 5,400
acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled “Coquille
Forest Proposal”, dated July 8, 1996.
(B) the term “ Secretary” means the Secretary of the
Interior.
(C) the term “the Tribe” means the Coquille Tribe
of Coos County, Oregon.
(2) Map.—The map described in subparagraph (d)(l)(A),
and such additional legal descriptions which are applicable,
shall be placed on file at the local District Office of the Bureau
of Land Management, the Agency Office of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, and with the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources and the House Committee on Resources.
(3) Interim period.—From the date of enactment of this
subsection until two years after the date of enactment of this
subsection, the Bureau of Land Management shall:
(A) retain Federal jurisdiction for the management
of lands designated under this subsection as the Coquille
Forest and continue to distribute revenues from such lands
in a manner consistent with existing law; and,
(B) prior to advertising, offering or awarding any timber
sale contract on lands designated under this subsection
as the Coquille Forest, obtain the approval of the Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs, acting on behalf of and in
consultation with the Tribe.
(4) Transition planning and designation.—
(A) During the two year interim period provided for
in paragraph (3), the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs,
acting on behalf of and in consultation with the Tribe,
is authorized to initiate development of a forest management
plan for the Coquille Forest. The Secretary, acting
through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management,
shall cooperate and assist in the development of such plan
and in the transition of forestry management operations
for the Coquille Forest to the Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs.
(B) Two years after the date of enactment of this
subsection, the Secretary shall take the lands identified
under subparagraph (d)(l)(A) into trust, and shall hold
such lands in trust, in perpetuity, for the Coquille Tribe.
Such lands shall be thereafter designated as the Coquille
Forest.
(C) So as to maintain the current flow of revenue
from land subject to the Act entitled “An Act relating to
the revested Oregon and California Railroad and reconveyed
Coos Bay Wagon Road grant land situated in the
State of Oregon” (the O&C Act), approved August 28, 1937
(43 U.S.C. 1181a et seq.), the Secretary shall redesignate,
from public domain lands within the tribe's service area,
as defined in this Act, certain lands to be subject to the
O&C Act. Lands redesignated under this subparagraph
shall not exceed lands sufficient to constitute equivalent
timber value as compared to lands constituting the Coquille
Forest.
(5) Management.—
(A) In general.—Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, shall manage the Coquille Forest in accordance with the laws pertaining to the management of Indian trust land.
(B) Administration.—
(i) Unprocessed logs.—Unprocessed logs harvested from the Coquille Forest shall be subject to the same Federal statutory restrictions on export to foreign nations that apply to unprocessed logs harvested from Federal land.
(ii) Sales of timber.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all sales of timber from land subject to this subsection shall be advertised, offered, and awarded according to competitive bidding practices, with sales being awarded to the highest responsible bidder.
(6) Indian self determination act agreement.—No sooner than two years after the date of enactment of this
subsection, the Secretary may, upon a satisfactory showing
of management competence and pursuant to the Indian Self-
Determination Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.), enter into a binding
Indian self-determination agreement (agreement) with the
Coquille Indian Tribe. Such agreement may provide for the
tribe to carry out all or a portion of the forest management
for the Coquille Forest.
(A) Prior to entering such an agreement, and as a
condition of maintaining such an agreement, the Secretary
must find that the Coquille Tribe has entered into a binding
memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the State of
Oregon, as required under paragraph 7.
(B) The authority of the Secretary to rescind the
Indian self-determination agreement shall not be encumbered.
(i) The Secretary shall rescind the agreement
upon a demonstration that the tribe and the State
of Oregon are no longer engaged in a memorandum
of agreement as required under paragraph 7.
(ii) The Secretary may rescind the agreement on
a showing that the Tribe has managed the Coquille
Forest in a manner inconsistent with this subsection,
or the Tribe is no longer managing, or capable of
managing, the Coquille Forest in a manner consistent
with this subsection.
(7) Memorandum of agreement.—The Coquille Tribe
shall enter into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the
State of Oregon relating to the establishment and management
of the Coquille Forest. The MOA shall include, but not be
limited to, the terms and conditions for managing the Coquille
Forest in a manner consistent with paragraph (5) of this subsection,
preserving public access, advancing jointly-held
resource management goals, achieving tribal restoration objectives
and establishing a coordinated management framework.
Further, provisions set forth in the MOA shall be consistent
with federal trust responsibility requirements applicable to
Indian trust lands and paragraph (5) of this subsection.
(8) Public Access.—The Coquille Forest shall remain
open to public access for purposes of hunting, fishing, recreation
and transportation, except when closure is required by state
or federal law, or when the Coquille Indian Tribe and the State of Oregon agree in writing that restrictions on access
are necessary or appropriate to prevent harm to natural
resources, cultural resources or environmental quality; Provided,
That the State of Oregon's agreement shall not be
required when immediate action is necessary to protect
archaeological resources.
(9) State regulatory and civil jurisdiction.—In addition
to the jurisdiction described in paragraph 7 of this subsection,
the State of Oregon may exercise exclusive regulatory
civil jurisdiction, including but not limited to adoption and
enforcement of administrative rules and orders, over the following
subjects:
(A) management, allocation and administration of fish
and wildlife resources, including but not limited to
establishment and enforcement of hunting and fishing seasons,
bag limits, limits on equipment and methods, issuance
of permits and licenses, and approval or disapproval of
hatcheries, game farms, and other breeding facilities; Provided,
That nothing herein shall be construed to permit
the State of Oregon to manage fish or wildlife habitat
on Coquille Forest lands;
(B) allocation and administration of water rights,
appropriation of water and use of water;
(C) regulation of boating activities, including equipment
and registration requirements, and protection of the
public's right to use the waterways for purposes of boating
or other navigation;
(D) fills and removals from waters of the State, as
defined in Oregon law;
(E) protection and management of the State's proprietary
interests in the beds and banks of navigable waterways;
(F) regulation of mining, mine reclamation activities,
and exploration and drilling for oil and gas deposits;
(G) regulation of water quality, air quality (including
smoke management), solid and hazardous waste, and
remediation of releases of hazardous substances;
(H) regulation of the use of herbicides and pesticides;
and
(I) enforcement of public health and safety standards,
including standards for the protection of workers, well
construction and codes governing the construction of
bridges, buildings, and other structures.
(10) Savings clause, state authority.—
(A) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
grant tribal authority over private or State-owned lands.
(B) To the extend that the State of Oregon is regulating
the foregoing areas pursuant to a delegated Federal
authority or a Federal program, nothing in this subsection
shall be construed to enlarge or diminish the State's authority
under such law.
(C) Where both the State of Oregon and the United
States are regulating, nothing herein shall be construed
to alter their respective authorities.
(D) To the extent that Federal law authorizes the
Coquille Indian Tribe to assume regulatory authority over
an area, nothing herein shall be construed to enlarge or
diminish the tribe's authority to do so under such law.
(E) Unless and except to the extent that the tribe
has assumed jurisdiction over the Coquille Forest pursuant
to Federal law, or otherwise with the consent of the State,
the State of Oregon shall have jurisdiction and authority
to enforce its laws addressing the subjects listed in subparagraph
10 of this subsection on the Coquille Forest against
the Coquille Indian Tribe, its members and all other persons
and entities, in the same manner and with the same
remedies and protections and appeal rights as otherwise
provided by general Oregon law. Where the State of Oregon
and Coquille Indian Tribe agree regarding the exercise
of tribal civil regulatory jurisdiction over activities on the
Coquille Forest lands, the tribe may exercise such jurisdiction
as its agreed upon.
(11) In the event of a conflict between Federal and State
law under this subsection, Federal law shall control.