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Title 16 — ConservationRelease 119-73not60

§539m Findings and Purposes

Title 16 › Chapter 2— NATIONAL FORESTS › Subchapter I— ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION › § 539m

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates the T’uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area in the Cibola National Forest. The Pueblo of Sandia got a land grant in 1748 that Congress confirmed in 1858 (11 Stat. 374). In 1994 the Pueblo sued the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (Civil No. 1:94CV02624), saying federal surveys left out land in the Cibola National Forest, including part of the Sandia Mountain Wilderness. The law confirms the status of national forest and wilderness land in the area, resolves issues tied to that lawsuit and two Solicitor opinions dated December 9, 1988 (M–36963; 96 I.D. 331) and January 19, 2001 (M–37002), and aims to provide a fair settlement for the Pueblo, the parties, and the public.

Full Legal Text

Title 16, §539m

Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Congress finds that—
(1)in 1748, the Pueblo of Sandia received a grant from a representative of the King of Spain, which grant was recognized and confirmed by Congress in 1858 (11 Stat. 374); and
(2)in 1994, the Pueblo filed a civil action against the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (Civil No. 1:94CV02624), asserting that Federal surveys of the grant boundaries erroneously excluded certain land within the Cibola National Forest, including a portion of the Sandia Mountain Wilderness.
(b)The purposes of sections 539m to 539m–12 of this title are—
(1)to establish the T’uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area in the Cibola National Forest;
(2)to confirm the status of national forest land and wilderness land in the Area while resolving issues associated with the civil action referred to in subsection (a)(2) and the opinions of the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior dated December 9, 1988 (M–36963; 96 I.D. 331) and January 19, 2001 (M–37002); and
(3)to provide the Pueblo, the parties to the civil action, and the public with a fair and just settlement of the Pueblo’s claim.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Sections 539m to 539m–12 of this title, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original “this title”, meaning title IV of div. F of Pub. L. 108–7, Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 279, which is classified generally to sections 539m to 539m–12 of this title. For complete classification of title IV to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out below and Tables.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 108–7, div. F, title IV, § 415, Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 294, provided that: “The provisions of this title [see

Short Title

note below] shall take effect immediately on enactment of this Act [Feb. 20, 2003].”

Short Title

of 2014 Amendment Pub. L. 113–119, § 1, June 9, 2014, 128 Stat. 1185, provided that: “This Act [amending section 539m–11 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Sandia Pueblo Settlement Technical Amendment Act’.”

Short Title

Pub. L. 108–7, div. F, title IV, § 401, Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 279, provided that: “This title [enacting this section and sections 539m–1 to 539m–12 of this title, amending section 1746 of Title 43, Public Lands, and enacting provisions set out as a note above] may be cited as the ‘T’uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area Act’.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

16 U.S.C. § 539m

Title 16 — Conservation

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60