1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Resurveys Entitle Adjacent Landowners to Protection Act” or the “REAL Protection Act”.
Resurveys Entitle Adjacent Landowners to Protection Act
A BILL
To provide protections and certainty for private landowners related to resurveying certain Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the Forest Service, and for other purposes.
2. Resurvey Transparency; Notice requirements
Notice—
In general— Not later than 30 days before the commencement of a resurvey of Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, or the Forest Service, the Secretary concerned shall notify all property owners with land abutting or adjacent to the Federal land being resurveyed of the pending resurvey. If a resurvey extends the boundaries of Federal land, the Secretary concerned shall notify affected landowners of the results of the resurvey not later than 30 days after the completion of the survey.
Notification— The Secretary concerned shall use certified or registered mail to notify landowners under this subsection.
Identification of landowners— When identifying affected landowners for the purpose of notification under this subsection, the Secretary concerned shall use the most recently available tax records.
Public comment— Not later than 30 days after completing a resurvey, the Secretary concerned shall publish a notice in the Federal Register. Affected landowners may comment to the Secretary concerned and by submitting formal comments to the Federal Register notice.
3. Protection of persons
If a resurvey results in land previously thought to be privately owned to be reclassified as Federal land, the persons thought to be a private owner of such land—
shall—
be given the right of first refusal to purchase the land for fair market value minus the value of any significant improvements made to such lands; or
be reimbursed for the fair market value of any significant improvements made to such lands; and
may not be charged with willful trespass onto such land unless the person used such lands with the knowledge that the lands should be classified as Federal land.
4. Definitions
For the purposes of this Act:
Resurvey— The term resurvey means an official rerunning and remarking intended to supersede the records of the original survey.
Secretary concerned— The term Secretary concerned means—
the Secretary of the Interior, when referring Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management or the National Park Service; and
the Secretary of Agriculture, when referring to Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of the Forest Servcie.