Forest Service Omnibus Act of 1962

• Act of October 23, 1962 (P.L. 87-869, 76 Stat. 1157; 16 U.S.C. 551, 554d, 555a, 555b, 574, 579b; 7 U.S.C. 1011(f), 2253)

Land Acquisition by Exchange

Sec. 1. Where lands under the jurisdiction of the forest Service have been acquired and are being administered under laws which contain no provision for their exchange, the Secretary of Agriculture may convey such lands and in exchange therefor may accept on behalf of the United States title to any lands which in his opinion are suitable for use in connection with activities of the Forest Service. value of the lands so conveyed by the Secretary of Agriculture shall not exceed the value of the lands accepted by him. (16 U.S.C. 555a)

Amending Land Acquisition Authority

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Sec. 2. The Act of July 8, 1943 (57 Stat. 388), as amended (5 U.S.C. 567 (now 7 U.S.C. 2253)) is further amended by striking out the words "within twenty years". (7 U.S.C. 2253)

Expense for Employees' Recreation Facilities

Sec. 3. Not to exceed $35,000 annually of funds available to the Forest Service may be expended for providing recreation facilities, equipment, and services for use by employees of the Service located at isolated situations and, where deemed to be in the public interest, by members of the immediate families of such employees. U.S.c. 554d))

Repeal of Homesteaders Provision

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Sec. 4. The Act of June 11, 1906 (34 Stat. 233), amended and supplemented (16 U.S.C. 506-508, 509), is hereby repealed.

Repeal of Authorization to Sell Dead Timber to Homesteaders

Sec. 5. The provision of the Act of August 10, 1912 (37 Stat. 269, 287; 16 U.S.C. 489), which reads, "That the Secretary of Agriculture, under such rules and regulations as he shall establish, is hereby authorized and directed to

sell at actual cost, to homestead settlers and farmers, for their domestic use, the mature, dead, and down timber in national forests, but it is not the intent of this provision to restrict the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to permit the free use of timber as provided in the Act of June fourth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven,' is repealed.

Amending Provisions for Fines

Sec. 6. The Act of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat. 11, 35; 16 U.S.C. 551) is amended by deleting from the second full paragraph on page 35 the portion thereof reading "as is provided for in the Act of June fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight, amending section fifty-three hundred and eighty-eight of the Revised Statutes of the United States" and inserting in lieu thereof "by a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both". (16 U.S.C. 551)

Amending Trespass and Occupancy Regulating Authority

Sec. 7. Section 32(f) of the Act of July 22, 1937 (50 Stat. 526; 7 U.S.C. 1011(f) is amended to make the last sentence thereof read as follows: "Any violation of such rules and regulations shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both". (7 U.S.C. 1011(f))

Amending Reimbursement Limit for Damaged Property

Sec. 8. Section 2 of the Act of May 27, 1930 (46 Stat. 387; 16 U.S.C. 574) is amended by changing the amount in the proviso from $500 to $2,500. (16 U.S.C. 574)

Expense for Sidewalks, Curbs and Street Paving

Sec. 9. Funds available to the Forest Service shall be available for expenses of, or payment of assessment for, construction of sidewalks, curbs, or street paving along the boundary of Government-owned residential or otherwise improved lots. (16 U.S.C. 555b)

Deletion of Capitalization Limit

Sec. 10. Section 13 of the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1956 (70 Stat. 1034; 16 U.S.C. 579b) is hereby amended by deleting from the second sentence thereof the comma after the word 'assets" and the words "but such capitalization shall not exceed $25,000,000". (16 U.S.C.

579b)

Wilderness Act

• Act of September 3, 1964 (P.L. 88-577, 78 Stat. 890; 16 U.S.C. 1121(note), 1131-1136)

Sec. 1. This Act may be cited as the "Wilderness Act" (16 U.S.C. 1121(note)).

Purpose

Sec. 2. (a) In order to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify, all areas within the United States and its possessions, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness. For this purpose there is hereby established a National Wilderness Preservation System to be composed of federally owned areas designated by Congress as "wilderness areas", and these shall be administered for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness, and so as to provide for the protection of these areas, the preservation of their wilderness character, and for the gathering and dissemination of information regarding their use and enjoyment as wilderness; and no Federal lands shall be designated as "wilderness areas" except as provided for in this Act or by a subsequent Act.

(b) The inclusion of an area in the National Wilderness Preservation System notwithstanding, the area shall continue to be managed by the Department and agency having jurisdiction thereover immediately before its inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System unless otherwise provided by Act of Congress. No appropriation shall be available for the payment of expenses or salaries for the administration of the National Wilderness Preservation System as a separate unit nor shall any appropriations be available for additional personnel stated as being required solely for the purpose of managing or administering areas solely because they are included within the National Wilderness Preservation System.

(c) A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor

who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value. (16 U.S.C. 1131)

Previously Classified Areas

Sec. 3. (a) All areas within the national forests classified at least 30 days before the effective date of this Act by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Chief of the Forest Service as "wilderness", "wild", or "canoe" are hereby designated as wilderness areas. The Secretary of Agriculture shall-

(1) Within one year after the effective date of this Act, file a map and legal description of each wilderness area with the Interior and Insular Affairs Committees of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, and such descriptions shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act: Provided however, That correction of clerical and typographical errors in such legal descriptions and maps may be made.

(2) Maintain, available to the public, records pertaining to said wilderness areas, including maps and legal descriptions, copies of regulations governing them, copies of public notices of, and reports submitted to Congress regarding pending additions, eliminations, or modifications. Maps, legal descriptions, and regulations pertaining to wilderness areas within their respective jurisdictions also shall be available to the public in the offices of regional foresters, national forest supervisors, and forest rangers.

(b) The Secretary of Agriculture shall, within ten years after the enactment of this Act, review, as to its suitability or nonsuitability for preservation as wilderness, each area in the national forests classified on the effective date of this Act by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Chief of the Forest Service as "primitive" and report his findings to the President. President shall advise the United States Senate and House of Representatives of his recommendations with respect to the designation as "wilderness" or other reclassification of

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each area on which review has been completed, together with maps and a definition of boundaries. Such advice shall be given with respect to not less than one-third of all the areas now classified as "primitive" within three years after the enactment of this Act, not less than two-thirds within seven years after the enactment of this Act, and the remaining areas within ten years after the enactment of this Act. Each recommendation of the President for designation as "wilderness" shall become effective only if so provided by an Act of Congress. Areas classified as "primitive" on the effective date of this Act shall continue to be administered under the rules and regulations affecting such areas on the effective date of this Act until Congress has determined otherwise. Any such area may be increased in size by the President at the time he submits his recommendations to the Congress by not more than five thousand acres with no more than one thousand two hundred and eighty acres of such increase in any one compact unit; if it is proposed to increase the size of any area by more than five thousand acres or by more than one thousand two hundred and eighty acres in any one compact unit the increase in size shall not become effective until acted upon by Congress. Nothing herein contained shall limit the President in proposing, as part of his recommendations to Congress, the alteration of existing boundaries of primitive areas or recommending the addition of any contiguous area of national forest lands predominantly of wilderness value. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture may complete his review and delete such area as may be necessary, but not to exceed seven thousand acres, from the southern tip of the Gore Range-Eagles Nest Primitive Area, Colorado, if the Secretary determines that such action is in the public interest.

(c) Within ten years after the effective date of this Act the Secretary of the Interior shall review every roadless area of five thousand contiguous acres or more in the national parks, monuments and other units of the national park system and every such area of, and every roadless island within, the national wildlife refuges and game ranges, under his jurisdiction on the effective date of this Act and shall report to the President his

recommendation as to the suitability or nonsuitability of each such area or island for preservation as wilderness. The President shall advise the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of his recommendation with respect to the designation as wilderness of each such area or island on which review has been completed, together with a map thereof and a definition of its boundaries. Such advice shall be given with respect to not less than one-third of the areas and islands to be reviewed under this subsection within three years after enactment of this Act, not less than two-thirds within seven