A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the Pleasant Valley Ranger District Administrative Site to Gila County, Arizona.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to transfer ownership of a specific piece of federal property — known as the Pleasant Valley Ranger District Administrative Site — to Gila County, Arizona. Essentially, the federal government would hand over this land and any buildings or facilities on it to the local county government. The Pleasant Valley Ranger District is part of the Tonto National Forest system managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

The bill primarily affects the federal government and Gila County, Arizona. Currently, the USDA (through the Forest Service) owns and manages this administrative site, which has likely been used for ranger station operations and forest management activities. If passed, Gila County would become the new owner and would be responsible for the property going forward. Local residents and communities near Pleasant Valley in Gila County could be affected depending on how the county chooses to use the property after the transfer.

This type of land conveyance — transferring federal property to a local government — is a relatively common practice, often pursued when the federal agency no longer needs the site for its operations and a local government has identified a use for it. The bill has moved through the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which approved it with an amendment, meaning it has cleared an important step in the legislative process before a potential full Senate vote.