Sponsor
Jay Obernolte
Representative · R-CA
Directs a Forest Service land exchange: ~1,460 acres of tribal non‑Federal land swapped for ~1,475 acres of National Forest land with easements and cultural protections.
Representative · R-CA
The bill returns ancestral land to the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation and expands protected national forest while preserving a cultural landmark and simplifying boundary implementation, but it imposes survey costs on the tribe, preserves federal access easements, and reduces statutory public-sale transparency for the exchange.
Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation: can acquire roughly 1,475 acres of Federal land within one year after offering ~1,460 acres, returning ancestral lands to the tribe.
Residents and visitors near San Bernardino National Forest: conveyed Federal parcels will be incorporated into the San Bernardino National Forest, expanding federally managed protected public forestland.
Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation and local communities: the bill requires a recorded agreement to preserve the Arrowhead landmark's historical and cultural integrity, protecting a public cultural site.
Local and state governments and taxpayers: the land exchange is exempted from FLPMA §206 public-sale/competition requirements, reducing public-sale transparency and third‑party review of the transfer.
Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation: the Nation must pay for surveys of the non‑Federal land, imposing a direct financial cost on the tribe.
Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation: conveyed Federal parcels retain reserved Forest Service easements for road access, limiting the Nation's full control over some transferred land.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the Secretary of Agriculture (through the Forest Service) to complete a land exchange with the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation if the Nation offers specified parcels of about 1,460 acres of non‑Federal land. In return, the United States will convey about 1,475 acres of National Forest System land to the Nation, subject to reserved Forest Service easements and survey, mapping, and cultural‑site protections. The bill sets deadlines and procedures: the Secretary must accept an offer within one year of receiving it; the Nation must pay for and complete its land survey and must enter into a recorded agreement to preserve the cultural integrity of the Arrowhead landmark within one year of enactment. Land acquired by the United States will be added to the San Bernardino National Forest and managed under applicable law; the exchange is exempted from a specific FLPMA provision (43 U.S.C. § 1716).
Official title: Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation Land Exchange Act
Introduced June 11, 2025 by Jay Obernolte · Last progress September 15, 2026