Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1829 will ensure that two rural communities in eastern Arizona have the space to lay their beloved community members to rest. I thank Congressman Crane for spearheading this critical issue on behalf of his constituents. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. McDowell). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1829.
H.R. 1829: Apache County and Navajo County Conveyance Act of 2025
Introduced Mar 4, 20250 cosponsors
Sponsor
Elijah Crane
Republican · AZ-2
Bill Progress
IntroducedMar 4
Committee
Pass HouseMay 13
Pass Senate
Signed
Law
Latest Action · Mar 4, 2026
Passed the House, received in Senate
Two Arizona towns need room to bury their dead
4 min readLast updated June 18, 2026
Why it matters
The cemeteries serving Pinedale and Alpine, Arizona sit on national forest land the towns don't own — so they can't expand them when plots fill up. H.R. 1829 hands roughly 15 acres of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest to Navajo and Apache Counties for free, on the condition the land stays a cemetery. It has already cleared the House and won favorable approval from a Senate committee.
H.R. 1829 makes two separate land handoffs, both inside the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.
Navajo County would get about 5 acres around Pinedale: roughly 2.5 acres under the existing cemetery, plus 2.5 acres next to it for expansion. The county has to ask for it in writing within 180 days of the bill becoming law.
Apache County would get about 10.62 acres around Alpine: the 2.56-acre existing cemetery, plus an 8.06-acre "proposed townsite tract" that is far larger than the cemetery itself. Apache County gets a full year to make its request.
In both cases the land changes hands for free, by quitclaim deed. The catch is built in: the land has to be used as a cemetery, and if a county ever uses it for something else, ownership reverts to the federal government.
H.R. 1829 Bill Summary
What H.R. 1829 actually does.
1
Pinedale gets land to grow its cemetery
The Agriculture Secretary must transfer about 5 acres of Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest land to Navajo County — the existing Pinedale cemetery plus an adjacent expansion area — if the county requests it within 180 days of enactment.
2
Alpine gets its cemetery plus a townsite tract
The Secretary must transfer about 10.62 acres to Apache County: the 2.56-acre existing Alpine cemetery and an 8.06-acre proposed townsite tract, if the county requests it within 365 days of enactment.
3
The land has to stay a cemetery
Both counties are required to use the transferred land as a cemetery. If either county uses it for a purpose inconsistent with that, the land reverts to the federal government.
4
No purchase price, but the counties cover the costs
The land is conveyed without payment to the federal government. In exchange, the counties must pay every cost tied to the transfer.
5
Counties pay for surveys and environmental review
Each county must cover the cost of any required survey, environmental analysis, and resource surveys. A formal survey sets the exact acreage and legal boundaries.
6
A federal cleanup-review step is skipped
The transfers are exempted from the environmental review the Forest Service would normally run before conveying federal land, and the deals are subject to any existing legal rights on the parcels.
Who benefits from H.R. 1829?
Families in Pinedale and Alpine
People in these small mountain communities would get more reliable burial space close to home, managed by their own county instead of the Forest Service.
Navajo County, Arizona
The county would own the Pinedale cemetery land outright — existing plots and expansion room — giving it direct control over burial space and local planning.
Apache County, Arizona
The county would take ownership of the Alpine cemetery and a larger adjacent tract, letting it manage the site locally rather than working around federal ownership.
Local officials handling burials
County governments could expand and maintain cemetery land without negotiating use of federal forest land every time they need to act.
Who is affected by H.R. 1829?
U.S. Forest Service
The agency would have to complete the transfers, approve the surveys, keep public map records on file, and give up federal ownership of the parcels.
Apache-Sitgreaves forest users
People who use these specific parcels would lose access to them as public forest land, since they would become county-owned cemetery property.
Apache and Navajo Counties
The counties take on the transaction costs, the survey and review bills, and the long-term responsibility of owning and operating cemetery land.
Federal taxpayers
The federal government would convey the land without payment, though the counties — not federal taxpayers — would cover the direct transaction costs.
On the Record
What Congress Is Saying
H.R. 1829 has come up 10 times in the Congressional Record so far.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1829, the Apache County and Navajo County Conveyance Act of 2025, a commonsense bill that will help rural Arizona communities meet an essential public service need. This legislation would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey small parcels of land within the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest to Apache County and Navajo County for the expansion of existing cemeteries. These cemeteries are running out of space. Without this bill, local families face serious barriers in accessing burial services close to home.
H.R. 1829 also appeared in 2 routine cosponsor filings.
HR1829 Legislative Journey
Passed Committee
Mar 4, 2026
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Committee Action
Feb 12, 2026
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.
Committee Action
May 14, 2025
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
House: Vote: 1975-1976
May 13, 2025
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H1975-1976)
House: Committee Action
Mar 4, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
About the Sponsor
Elijah Crane
Republican, Arizona's 2nd congressional district · 3 years in Congress
Committees: Homeland Security, Oversight and Government Reform
View full profile →
Committee Sponsors
Energy and Natural Resources Committee
8D11R1I
|0 signed20 not yet0 of 20 committee members cosponsored
No committee members have cosponsored this bill
Natural Resources Committee
20D25R
|0 signed45 not yet0 of 45 committee members cosponsored
No committee members have cosponsored this bill
36 Republicans across these committees haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
H.R. 1829 Quick Facts
Cosponsors
0
- Committee
- Energy and Natural Resources
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Introduced
- Mar 4, 2025
Passed the House, received in Senate
Mar 4, 2026
Official Sources
H.R. 1829 on Congress.gov
Full bill text, cosponsors, actions, and committee referrals for the Apache County and Navajo County Conveyance Act of 2025.
Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests (USDA Forest Service)
Official Forest Service page for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, whose land parcels near Pinedale and Alpine would be conveyed under this bill.
Senate Subcommittee Hearing — Feb. 12, 2026
Hearing where the Senate Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Subcommittee received testimony on H.R. 1829 alongside other public lands bills.
Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining
The Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction over this bill, responsible for oversight of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service.
House Committee on Natural Resources
The House committee that originally received and advanced H.R. 1829 before it passed the full House by voice vote.
Navajo County, Arizona — Official Government Site
Official website for Navajo County, which would receive approximately 5 acres of Pinedale cemetery land under this bill.
Apache County, Arizona — Official Government Site
Official website for Apache County, which would receive approximately 10.62 acres including the Alpine Cemetery townsite tract under this bill.
42 U.S.C. 9620 — CERCLA Section 120 (Federal Facilities)
The CERCLA provision whose subsection (h) environmental review requirements are explicitly waived for these land conveyances.
H.R. 1829 Common Questions
How much cemetery land would Navajo County get in Pinedale?
About 5 acres total under H.R. 1829: roughly 2.5 acres of existing cemetery land, plus another 2.5 acres next to it for expansion.
How much land would Apache County get in Alpine?
About 10.62 acres under H.R. 1829: the 2.56-acre existing Alpine cemetery, plus an 8.06-acre proposed townsite tract that is much larger than the cemetery itself.
Why is the Apache County parcel so much bigger than the cemetery?
Apache County's share includes an 8.06-acre proposed townsite tract on top of the 2.56-acre cemetery. The whole parcel still has to be used as a cemetery, or it reverts to the federal government.
Do the counties have to pay for the land?
No. H.R. 1829 conveys the land without consideration — no purchase price. But each county must cover all transfer costs, including surveys and any environmental analysis or resource reviews required by federal law.
What happens if the land stops being used as a cemetery?
It goes back to the federal government. H.R. 1829 says if either county uses the land in a way inconsistent with cemetery use, all right, title, and interest revert to the United States.
How long do the counties have to claim the land?
Navajo County has to request its Pinedale parcel within 180 days of H.R. 1829 becoming law. Apache County gets a full year — 365 days — to request its Alpine land.
Where does H.R. 1829 stand now?
The House passed it by voice vote in May 2025. In March 2026 the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ordered it reported favorably with a substitute amendment, so it now awaits a full Senate vote.
Based on H.R. 1829 bill text
H.R. 1829 Bill Text
“To require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain lands within the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, and for other purposes.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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