Land Acquisition-Title Adjustment • Act of July 8, 1943 (Ch. 197, 57 Stat. 388; 7 U.S.C. 2253) If the Secretary of Agriculture shall find after the acquisition by the United States of any land or interest therein which is subject to his administration, custody, or control, other than land acquired by exchange of public domain land or resources, that the title thereto is legally insufficient for purposes for which such land or interest was acquired and no consideration there for has been paid by the United States, or that title or color of title to such land or interest was acquired through mistake, misunderstanding, error, or inadvertence, he is hereby authorized to execute and deliver on behalf of and in the name of the United States to the person from whom the title was acquired or to the person whom he finds entitled thereto a quitclaim deed to such land or interest: Provided, however, That if the person to whom such deed is made is the same person from whom the United Stated acquired title, or his successor in interest, any consideration given by the United States for such land or interest shall be restored or, in lieu thereof, the value equivalent of consideration as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture shall be paid to the United States; and any consideration or value equivalent so restored or paid shall, so far as is practicable, be restored to the jurisdiction, or deposited to the credit, of the department, agency, appropriation, or fund from which the consideration was transferred or paid at the time of the acquisition of title by the United States. (7 U.S.C. 2253) Sustained Yield Forest Management • Act of March 29, 1944 (Ch. 146, 58 Stat. 132; 16 U.S.C. 583, 583a-583i) Purpose Sec. 1. In order to promote the stability of forest industries, of employment, of communities, and of taxable forest wealth, through continuous supplies of timber; in order to provide for a continuous and ample supply of forest products; and in order to secure the benefits of forests in maintenance of water supply, regulation of stream flow, prevention of soil erosion, amelioration of climate, and preservation of wildlife, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior are severally authorized to establish by formal declaration, when in their respective judgments such action would be in the public interest, cooperative sustained-yield units which shall consist of federally owned or administered forest land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary establishing the unit and, in addition thereto, land which reasonably may be expected to be made the subject of one or more of the cooperative agreements with private landowners authorized by section 2 of this Act. (16 U.S.C. 583) Cooperative Agreements Sec. 2. The Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to forest land under his jurisdiction, and the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to forest land under his jurisdiction, are severally authorized for the purposes specified in section 1 of this Act, to enter into cooperative agreements with private owners of forest land within a cooperative sustained-yield unit, established pursuant to section 1 of this Act, providing for the coordinated management of such private forest land and of federally owned or administered forest lands with the sustained-yield unit involved. Each cooperative agreement may give the cooperating private land-owner the privilege of purchasing without competitive bidding at prices not less than their appraised value, subject to periodic re-adjustments of stumpage rates and to such other conditions and requirements as the Secretary may prescribe, timber and other forest products from federally owned or administered forest land within the unit, in accordance with the provisions of sustained-yield management plans formulated or approved by the Secretary for the unit; shall limit the time, rate, and method of cutting or otherwise harvesting timber and other forest products from the land of the cooperating private landowner, due consideration being given to the character and condition of the timber, to the relation of the proposed cutting to the sustained-yield plan for the unit, and to the productive capacity of the land; shall prescribe the terms and conditions, but not the price, upon which the cooperating private landowner may sell to any person timber and other forest products from his land, compliance by the purchaser with such conditions to be required by the contract of sale; shall contain such provisions as the Secretary deems necessary to protect the reasonable interest of other owners of forest land within the unit; and shall contain such other provisions as the Secretary believes necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Each cooperative agreement shall be placed on record in the county or counties in which the land of the cooperating private landowner covered thereby are located, and the costs incident to such recordation may be paid out of any funds available for the protection or management of federally owned or administered forest land within the unit. When thus recorded, the agreement shall be binding upon the heirs, successors, and assigns of the owner of such land, and upon purchasers of timber or other forest products from such land, throughout the life of such cooperative agreement. (16 U.S.C. 583a) Establish a Sustained-Yield Unit Sec. 3. The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior are further severally authorized, whenever in their respective judgments the maintenance of a stable community or communities is primarily dependent upon the sale of timber or other forest products from federally owned or administered forest land and such maintenance cannot effectively be secured by following the usual procedure in selling such timber or other forest products, to establish by formal declaration for the purpose of maintaining the stability of such community or communities a sustained-yield unit consisting of forest land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary establishing such unit, to determine and define the boundaries of the community or communities for whose benefit such unit is created, and to sell, subject to such conditions and requirements as the Secretary believes necessary, federally owned or administered timber and other forest products from such unit without competitive bidding at prices not less than their appraised values, to responsible purchasers within such community or communities. (16 U.S.C. 583b) Cooperative Agreements Sec. 4. Each of the said Secretaries is further authorized in his discretion to enter into cooperative agreements with the other Secretary, or with any Federal agency having jurisdiction over federally owned or administered forest land, or with any State or local agency having jurisdiction over publicly owned or administered forest land, providing for the inclusion of such land in any coordinated plan of management otherwise authorized by the provisions of this Act when by such a cooperative agreement he may be aided in accomplishing the purposes of this Act; but no federally or publicly owned or administered forest land not under the jurisdiction of the Secretary establishing the sustained-yield unit concerned shall be included in any such plan except in pursuance of a cooperative agreement made under this section. (16 U.S.C. 583c) Notices Sec. 5. Before any sustained-yield unit authorized by section 1 or section 3 of this Act shall be established, and before any cooperative agreement authorized by section 2 or section 4 of this Act shall be entered into, advance notice thereof shall be given by registered mail or by certified mail to each landowner whose land is proposed to be included and by publication in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the vicinity of the place where the timber is located, and the costs incident to such publication may be paid out of any funds available for the protection or management of the federally owned or administered forest land involved. This notice shall state: (1) the location of the proposed unit; (2) the name of each proposed cooperator; (3) the duration of the proposed cooperative agreement or agreements; (4) the location and estimated quantity of timber on the land of each proposed cooperator and on the Federal land involved; (5) the expected rate of cutting of such timber; and (6) the time and place of a public hearing to be held not less than thirty days after the first publication of said notice for the presentation of the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed action to the community or communities affected. Before any sale agreement made without competition and involving more than $500 in stumpage value of federally owned or administered timber shall be entered into under this Act, advance notice thereof shall be given by publication once weekly for four consecutive weeks in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the vicinity of the place where the timber is located, and the costs incident to such publication may be paid out of any funds available for the protection or management of federally owned or administered forest land within the unit concerned. This notice shall state: (1) the quantity and appraised value of the timber; (2) the time and place of a public hearing to be held not less than thirty days after the first publication of said notice if requested by the State or county where the timber is located or by any other person deemed to have a reasonable interest in the proposed sale or in its terms; and (3) the place where any request for a public hearing shall be made. Such requests need be considered only if received at the place designated in the notice not later than fifteen days after the first publication of such notice. If a request for a hearing is received within the time designated, notice of the holding of the hearing shall be given not less than ten days before time set for such hearing, in the same manner as provided for the original notice. The determination made by the Secretary having jurisdiction upon the proposals considered at any hearing, which determination may include the modification of the terms of such proposals, together with the minutes or other record of the hearing, shall be available for public inspection during the life of any coordinated plan of management or agreement entered into in consequence of such determination. (16 U.S.C. 583d) Authorities Sec. 6. In addition to any other remedy available under existing law, upon failure of any private owner of forest land which is subject to a cooperative agreement entered into pursuant to this Act to comply with the terms of such agreement, or upon failure of any purchaser of timber or other forest products from such land to comply with the terms and conditions required by such agreement to be included in the contract of sale, the Attorney General, at the request of the Secretary concerned, is authorized to institute against such owner or such purchaser a proceeding in equity in the proper district court of the United States, to require compliance with the terms and conditions of said cooperative agreement; and jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon said district courts to hear and determine such proceedings, to order compliance with the terms and conditions of cooperative agreements entered into pursuant to this Act, and to make such temporary and final orders as shall be deemed just in the premises. As used in this section the term "owner" shall include the heirs, successors, and assigns of the landowner entering into the cooperative agreements. (16 U.S.C. 583e) |