Chacoan Culture Preservation Act

(Reported to Senate from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources with amendment, S. Rept. 96-1019)

Chacoan Culture Preservation Act - Establishes the Chaco Culture National Historical Park in the State of New Mexico. Abolishes the Chaco Canyon National Monument, as such, and makes any funds available for such monument available for the Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

Designates specified outlying sites as the Chaco Culture Archeological Protection Sites.

Requires the Secretary of the Interior to continue to search for additional evidences of Chacoan sites and submit to Congress, within two years after the effective date of this Act and thereafter as needed, recommendations for additions to or deletions from the list of such archeological protection sites. Specifies that additions to or deletions from such list shall be made only by an Act of Congress.

Authorizes the Secretary to acquire lands, waters, and interest therein within the boundaries of such park and the archeological protection sites by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange. Specifies that property owned by the State of New Mexico or any political subdivision thereof may be acquired by exchange or donation only. Specifies that property held in trust for the benefit of any Indian tribe or individual member thereof may be acquired only with the consent of such tribe or member.

Authorizes the respective tribal authorities to convey by exchange, purchase, or donation the beneficial interest in any lands designated by this Act and held in trust by the United States for the respective tribes, to the Secretary, subject to such terms and conditions as the tribal authority deems necessary and which the Secretary deems are consistent with the purposes of this Act.

Directs the Secretary to attempt to acquire private lands or interest therein by exchange prior to acquiring lands by any other method authorized by this Act.

Directs the Secretary to attempt to enter into cooperative agreements with owners of private property for such archeological protection sites. Requires the Secretary to acquire fee title to any such private property only if it is necessary to prevent direct and material damage to, or destruction of, Chaco cultural resources and no cooperative agreement with the owner of the private interest can be effected.

Directs the Secretary, for the purpose of completing an exchange for such acquisitions, to designate a pool of at least three times such private acreage, comprised of Federal property interests of a similar resource character to property to be exchanged. Sets forth requirements concerning the site of Federal property. Permits the Secretary to include within such pool any Federal property under his jurisdiction except units of the National Park System, National Forest System, or the National Wildlife Refuge that are nominated by the owner of the private property to be exchanged. Requires generally that such exchanges be on the basis of equal value, and specifies that either party to the exchange may pay or accept cash in order to equalize the value of the property exchange.

Permits the exchange of all Federal lands, waters, and interest therein excluded from the boundaries of Chaco Canyon National Monument by this Act for non-Federal property to be acquired pursuant to this Act.

Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with the owners, including the beneficial owners, of properties located in whole or in part within the park or the archeological protection sites, to protect, preserve, maintain, or administer such sites regardless of whether title to the property or site is vested in the United States. Specifies that nothing in this Act shall be deemed to prevent the continuation of traditional Native American religious uses of properties which are the subject of such cooperative agreements.

Directs the Secretary to administer the park in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the provisions of law generally applicable to the administration of units of the National Park System.

Directs the Secretary to protect, preserve, maintain, and administer the Chaco Culture Archeological Protection Sites in a manner that will preserve the Chaco cultural resource and provide for its interpretation and research. Directs the Secretary to manage such sites in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the provisions of law generally applicable to public lands as defined in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. Specifies that lands held in trust by the Secretary for an Indian tribe or any individual member thereof or held in restricted fee status shall continue to be so managed or held by the Secretary.

Prohibits any activities upon the upper surface of the archeological protection sites which would endanger their cultural values.

Specifies that nothing in this Act shall be deemed to provent the continuation of livestock grazing on properties which are the subject of cooperative agreements.

Directs the Secretary, within three complete fiscal years from the date of enactment of this Act, to transmit to specified Congressional committees a general management plan for the park to be developed by the Director, National Park Service, in consultation with the Directors, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Governor, State of New Mexico and a joint management plan for the identification, research, and protection of the archeological protection sites, to be developed by the Director, National Park Service, in consultation and concurrence with the Directors, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Governor, State of New Mexico.

Authorizes the Secretary, consistent with the purposes of the Division of Cultural Research of the Southwest Cultural Resources Center, operated by the National Park Service, to continue and expand research and data gathering activities to further the purposes of this Act and knowledge of the Chaco culture. Requires the Secretary, within six months of the effective date of this Act, to submit to specified congressional committees a plan for the continued operational program of the Division.

Specifies that the Secretary shall, through such resources center, be responsible for the development of a computer-generated data base of the San Juan Basin and make such information available to Federal and private groups.

Requires the head of any Federal agency with jurisdiction over or authority to permit any Federal undertaking with respect to the archaeological protection sites to afford the Secretary an opportunity for written comment on such undertaking prior to the approval of funds or issuance of a permit for such undertaking.