S-1513-119
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 554.
Sponsored by Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
What it does
This bill would take approximately 1,082.63 acres of federal land in Washington State, currently part of Olympic National Park, into trust for the benefit of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, making it part of the Lower Elwha Reservation. It exempts the land from federal appraisal or valuation requirements, directs the Interior Secretary to survey and define boundaries, restricts a portion along the Elwha River to management under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act with prior modifications, and bars the land from being used for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
Who benefits
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, which gains trust land, expanded reservation boundaries, and associated jurisdictional and economic control over the parcels. Tribal members who may use the land for housing, cultural, or economic development purposes (excluding gaming) also benefit.
Who is hurt
The National Park Service loses management authority and acreage from Olympic National Park. The general public loses access to that portion of federally managed park land under Park Service rules, though treaty fishing and other uses may continue. No private landowners or businesses appear directly affected, as the land is federal, not private.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue this bill restores ancestral lands to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe that were historically part of their homeland before federal park designation, supporting tribal sovereignty and self-determination consistent with decades of restoration efforts following the Elwha River dam removals. They contend the gaming prohibition and treaty-rights preservation language address concerns about scope while honoring the tribe's historical and cultural ties to the Elwha watershed.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that removing land from Olympic National Park sets a precedent for reducing federally protected park acreage without the standard valuation and appraisal safeguards Congress typically requires for land transfers. They contend that exempting the transfer from valuation requirements bypasses normal oversight mechanisms, and that any permanent reduction in national park land, however limited in acreage, should undergo more rigorous review of public access and environmental management effects.
Constitutional context
Congress has plenary authority over federal lands under Article IV, Section 3's Property Clause, and taking land into trust for tribes is a well-established exercise of Congress's power to legislate for Indian tribes under the Indian Commerce Clause (Art. I, §8, cl. 3) and its trust relationship with tribal nations; no landmark case directly constrains this type of land-into-trust transfer, which Congress has authorized many times by statute.
Checks and balances
Congress exercises its Property and Indian Commerce Clause authority to direct the land transfer, while the Interior Secretary (executive branch) implements survey, boundary, and management decisions with some discretion but no independent power to reverse the trust designation.
Historical precedent
Congress has previously enacted numerous tribe-specific land-into-trust statutes, and this bill builds on the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992, which authorized dam removal and related restoration on the same river system.