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Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after introducing H.R. 3027, the Meers Point Boundary Clarification Act, with the support of the entire Arizona House delegation, which will authorize the conveyance of four small parcels of land within the boundaries of the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge (Imperial NWR) for the purposes of addressing a long-term boundary inconsistency:
“For years, property owners in Meers Point, Arizona have been dealing with a situation where the federal government technically owns part of their living rooms and properties. This long overdue and commonsense clarification will finally allow these land owners to have a clear title for their lots and will remove regulatory hurdles that are preventing real estate transactions.
“H.R. 3027 is good for private property owners, is good for taxpayers as it reduces the federal footprint and requires that all conveyance costs are paid for with private monies, and is good for the state of Arizona as it makes a parcel currently under state ownership whole. I am pleased that the entire Arizona House delegation joined us in introducing this commonsense legislation.”
Background
Prior to 1968, all of the land surrounding Martinez Lake was Imperial NWR and jointly administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In 1968, portions of Imperial NWR were withdrawn to BLM ownership, and refuge property lines were surveyed and reestablished in their current locations. The lots at Meers Point actually straddled the line between BLM and Imperial NWR, but there was no action taken at that time to clarify the lot boundaries.
In 1983, some of the BLM lands, including the majority of these lots, came into State ownership through a BLM/State land exchange. In 1991, the State of Arizona subsequently sold the lots to private parties. Surveys completed in 1991 at the time of sale revealed that four lots were encroaching on the refuge. The surveys were amended to reflect the true refuge boundary, and the State only sold the portions that they owned. Again, the issue of the lot encroachments was not addressed at that time.
Surveys completed by Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in 2004 reaffirmed the refuge boundary from 1968 and identified the four encroachments. These encroachments are tied to three private parcels (lots 35, 37, and 38), and one parcel still in state ownership but under lease (lot 34).
The encroachments collectively only total about .75 acres, but the issue is serious as it prevents the private land owners from having clear title for the lots. Additionally, clear titles cannot be obtained until the boundary discrepancy is resolved. This negatively affects real estate transactions and loans related to these properties.
Conveyance of this acreage will not significantly impact the Imperial NWR as these areas are small, with little wildlife value, and are not important for the management of the Refuge.
This issue has been going on for some time now and Congressman Raul Grijalva (AZ-03) introduced a similar bill in the previous three Congresses. Due to redistricting, the Imperial NWR is now within Congressman Gosar’s Congressional District.
Testimonials from a few of the property owners involved can be viewed HERE
Current Sponsors and Original Cosponsors: Paul Gosar*, Raul Grijalva*, Trent Franks, Ruben Gallego, Ann Kirkpatrick, Martha McSally, Matt Salmon, David Schweikert and Kyrsten Sinema
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