Sponsors (2)
The bill helps tribes, New Mexico land grants, and local governments reclaim and legally protect historic cemetery lands at no cost to preserve burial sites, but it forgoes sale revenue, shifts upkeep costs to recipients, may exclude some descendant claimants, and grants waiver authority that could weaken procedural safeguards.
Eligible Indian tribes, qualifying New Mexico land grants, and state/local governments can acquire historic cemetery parcels at no cost and keep them legally restricted for cemetery use, enabling preservation and local management of ancestral burial sites.
The Secretary may waive certain administrative requirements when need is demonstrated, allowing faster and more flexible transfers to qualified claimants.
Narrow eligibility criteria (federally recognized tribes and specified New Mexico land grants) may exclude descendant groups or unrecognized claimants seeking access to ancestral burial sites.
Recipient tribes or governments will likely assume ongoing upkeep and potential liability costs because parcels are limited to cemetery use and conveyed without sale revenue.
Waiver authority for administrative requirements could reduce procedural safeguards and lead to inconsistent application or disputes over bona fide claims.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to convey small cemetery parcels on Forest Service land to qualified tribes, governments, or qualified New Mexico land grants subject to cemetery-use restrictions.
Official title: Small Cemetery Conveyance Act
Introduced July 2, 2025 by Teresa Leger Fernandez · Last progress March 17, 2026
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer small parcels of National Forest System land that are or were used as cemeteries to qualified recipients (state/local governments, federally recognized Indian Tribes, or certain New Mexico land grant entities). Conveyances may include up to 1 acre adjacent to the cemetery (or up to 40 acres for tribal determinations), are generally without purchase price, and carry a cemetery-only use restriction — with reversion to the U.S. if the restriction is violated. The bill also adds a waiver allowing the Secretary to relax certain conveyance requirements for qualified persons who demonstrate need, and it clarifies that the changes do not alter application of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The measure defines key terms (cemetery, Indian Tribe, qualified land grant–merced, qualified person), preserves NAGPRA applicability, and supplements existing conveyance authorities under the Small Tract Act framework to help resolve ownership and stewardship of small cemetery sites on Forest Service lands.