16 USC § 539m - Findings and purposes

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t16/s539m"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_prima_facie"
title: "16 USC § 539m - Findings and purposes"
title_number: 16
title_name: "CONSERVATION"
section_number: "539m"
section_name: "Findings and purposes"
chapter_number: 2
chapter_name: "NATIONAL FORESTS"
subchapter_number: "I"
subchapter_name: "ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION"
positive_law: false
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Pub. L. 108–7, div. F, title IV, § 402, Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 279.)"
---


# § 539m. Findings and purposes

**(a)** **Findings** 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)** **Purposes** 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.

---

**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 108–7, div. F, title IV, § 402, Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 279.)

## 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 , , , 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

> “The provisions of this title [see Short Title note below] shall take effect immediately on enactment of this Act [
> 
> ].”

, , , provided that:

### Short Title of 2014 Amendment

> “This Act [amending
> 
> ] may be cited as the ‘Sandia Pueblo Settlement Technical Amendment Act’.”

, , , provided that:

### Short Title

> “This title [enacting this section and sections 539m–1 to 539m–12 of this title, amending
> 
> , Public Lands, and enacting provisions set out as a note above] may be cited as the ‘T’uf Shur Bien Preservation Trust Area Act’.”

, , , provided that: