Las Cienegas Enhancement Act

H.R. 5016, the Las Cienegas Enhancement Act, proposes a land exchange between the federal government and a private entity, Las Cienegas Conservation, LLC, in southern Arizona. Under this bill, the Department of the Interior would acquire the "Empirita-Simonson" property to be added to the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area in exchange for a federally owned "Sahuarita" parcel.

For local residents, this bill aims to consolidate public lands for conservation and recreation while providing a new public access road to the Coronado National Forest. The exchange requires that the properties be of equal value, with any price differences settled through cash payments that would be reinvested into future land acquisitions in southern Arizona. Additionally, the bill would transfer a specific parcel of land to Pima County and adjust the conservation area's boundaries to exclude a local landfill in Elgin, Arizona.