Sponsors (2)
The bill expands and protects tribal land and treaty rights and safeguards the Elwha River’s values, improving legal clarity for tribes and agencies, but it limits potential tribal gaming revenue, may constrain some local development and water uses, and transfers federal land without a required valuation.
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe gains ~1,082.63 acres placed into trust and added to their Reservation, increasing tribal landholdings and local self-governance.
Members of the S'Klallams Tribe keep their Treaty of Point No Point rights; the Act cannot be used to diminish their treaty rights.
The designated portion of the Elwha River will be managed consistent with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, protecting river values for recreation and ecosystem health.
The Act prohibits treating the transferred land as 'Indian lands' for IGRA purposes, preventing new Class II/III gaming and limiting a potential source of tribal economic development.
The federal government transfers land without requiring valuation or appraisal, reducing transparency about the financial implications for federal taxpayers.
Managing the river under Wild and Scenic standards could restrict certain local land or water uses (for example, development or water projects), affecting nearby residents, businesses, and local governments.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Transfers ~1,082.63 acres of federal land into trust for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, adds it to the reservation, sets river management rules, and excludes it from gaming status.
Introduced April 29, 2025 by Maria E. Cantwell · Last progress April 29, 2025
Transfers about 1,082.63 acres of federal land into trust for the benefit of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and incorporates that land into the Tribe's reservation. The bill requires a federal survey and allows minor boundary and mapping corrections, directs that the identified portion of the Elwha River be managed consistent with Wild and Scenic Rivers law as modified by existing Elwha River restoration law, exempts the land from federal valuation/appraisal/equalization requirements, and states the land shall not be treated as "Indian lands" for purposes of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. It also preserves treaty rights from the 1855 Treaty of Point No Point.