described in §162.618(b) of this subpart, and the amount due is not in dispute, we may immediately take action to recover the amount of the unpaid rent and any associated interest charges or late payment penalties. We may also cancel the lease under § 162.619 of this subpart, or invoke any other remedies available under the lease or applicable law, including collection on any available bond or referral of the debt to the Department of the Treasury for collection. An action to recover any unpaid amounts will not be conditioned on the prior cancellation of the lease or any further notice to the tenant, nor will such an action be precluded by a prior cancellation.

(c) Partial payments and underpayments may be accepted by the Indian landowners or us, but acceptance will not operate as a waiver with respect to any amounts remaining unpaid or any other existing lease violations. Unless otherwise provided in the lease, overpayments may be credited as an advance against future rent payments, or refunded.

(d) If a personal or business check is dishonored, and a rent payment is therefore not made by the due date, the failure to make the payment in a timely manner will be a violation of the lease, and a notice of violation will be issued under $162.618 of this subpart. Any payment made to cure such a violation, and any future payments by the same tenant, must be made by an alternative payment method approved by

The tenant will pay

...

(b) $15.00

(c) 18% of balance due.

$162.617 How

For ⚫

Administrative fee for BIA processing of each notice or demand letter. Administrative fee charged by Treasury following referral for collection of delinquent debt.

will BIA determine whether the activities of a tenant under a lease are in compliance with the terms of the lease?

(a) Unless a lease provides otherwise. we may enter the leased premises at any reasonable time, without prior notice, to protect the interests of the Indian landowners and ensure that the tenant is in compliance with the operating requirements of the lease.

(b) If an Indian landowner notifies us that a specific lease violation has occurred, we will initiate an appropriate investigation within five business days of that notification.

§ 162.618 What will BIA do in the event of a violation under a lease?

(a) If we determine that a lease has been violated, we will send the tenant and its sureties a notice of violation within five business days of that determination. The notice of violation must be provided by certified mail, return receipt requested.

(b) Within ten business days of the receipt of a notice of violation, the tenant must:

(1) Cure the violation and notify us in writing that the violation has been cured;

(2) Dispute our determination that a violation has occurred and/or explain why we should not cancel the lease; or (3) Request additional time to cure the violation.

§ 162.619 What will BIA do if a violation of a lease is not cured within the requisite time period?

(a) If the tenant does not cure a violation of a lease within the requisite time period, we will consult with the Indian landowners, as appropriate, and determine whether:

(1) The lease should be canceled by us under paragraph (c) of this section and §§ 162.620 through 162.621 of this subpart;

(2) We should invoke any other remedies available to us under the lease,

including collecting on any available bond;

(3) The Indian landowners wish to invoke any remedies available to them under the lease; or

(4) The tenant should be granted additional time in which to cure the violation.

(b) If we decide to grant a tenant additional time in which to cure a violation, the tenant must proceed diligently to complete the necessary corrective actions within a reasonable or specified time period from the date on which the extension is granted.

(c) If we decide to cancel the lease, we will send the tenant and its sureties a cancellation letter within five business days of that decision. The cancellation letter must be sent to the tenant by certified mail, return receipt requested. We will also provide actual or constructive notice of a cancellation decision to the Indian landowners, as appropriate. The cancellation letter

will:

(1) Explain the grounds for cancellation;

(2) Notify the tenant of the amount of any unpaid rent, interest charges, or late payment penalties due under the lease;

(3) Notify the tenant of its right to appeal under part 2 of this chapter, as modified by § 162.620 of this subpart, including the amount of any appeal bond that must be posted with an appeal of the cancellation decision; and

(4) Order the tenant to vacate the property within 30 days of the date of receipt of the cancellation letter, if an appeal is not filed by that time.

§ 162.620 Will BIA's regulations concerning appeal bonds apply to cancellation decisions involving leases? (a) The appeal bond provisions in §2.5 of part 2 of this chapter will not apply to appeals from lease cancellation decisions made under §162.619 of this subpart. Instead, when we decide to cancel an agricultural lease, we may require that the tenant post an appeal bond with an appeal of the cancellation decision. The requirement to post an appeal bond will apply in addition to all of the other requirements in part 2 of this chapter.

(b) An appeal bond should be set in an amount necessary to protect the Indian landowners against financial losses that will likely result from the delay caused by an appeal. Appeal bond requirements will not be separately appealable, but may be contested during the appeal of the lease cancellation decision.

§162.621 When will a cancellation of a lease be effective?

A cancellation decision involving an agricultural lease will not be effective until 30 days after the tenant receives a cancellation letter from us. The cancellation decision will remain ineffective if the tenant files an appeal under § 162.620 of this subpart and part 2 of this chapter, unless the decision is made immediately effective under part 2. While a cancellation decision is ineffective, the tenant must continue to pay rent and comply with the other terms of the lease. If an appeal is not filed in accordance with § 162.620 of this subpart and part 2 of this chapter, the cancellation decision will be effective on the 31st day after the tenant receives the cancellation letter from us.

200-080 D-15

furnishes to maintain an operating balance against which the value of timber to be cut will be charged.

Advance payments means, in Timber Contract for the Sale of Estimated Volumes, non-refundable partial payments of the estimated value of the timber to be cut. Payments are furnished within 30 days of contract approval and prior to cutting. Advance payments are normally 25 percent of the estimated value of the forest products on each allotment. Advance payments may be required for tribal land.

Alaska Native means native as defined in section 3(b) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of December 18, 1971 (43 U.S.C. 1604).

ANCSA corporation means both profit and non-profit corporations established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1604).

Approval means authorization by the Secretary, Area Director, Superintendent, tribe or individual Indian in accordance with appropriate delegations of authority.

Approving officer means the officer approving instruments of sale for forest products or his/her authorized representative.

Authorized representative means an individual or entity duly empowered to make decisions under a direct, clear, and specific delegation of authority.

Authorized tribal representative means an individual or entity duly empowered to make decisions under a direct, clear, and specific delegation of authority from an Indian tribe.

Beneficial owner means an individual or entity who holds an ownership interest in Indian land.

Bid deposit means, in Timber Contract for the Sale of Estimated Volumes or in Timber Contract for the Sale of Predetermined Volumes, a deposit with bid furnished by prospective purchasers. At contract execution, the bid deposit of the successful bidder becomes a portion of the contract required advance deposit in estimated volume contracts or an installment payment in predetermined volume contracts.

Commercial forest land means forest land that is producing or capable of producing crops of marketable forest

products and is administratively available for intensive management and sustained production.

Expenditure plan means a written agreement between an Indian tribe and the Secretary documenting tribal commitment to undertake specified forest land management activities within general time frames.

Forest or forest land means an ecosystem at least one acre in size, including timberland and woodland, which: Is characterized by a more or less dense and extensive tree cover; contains, or once contained, at least ten percent tree crown cover, and is not developed or planned for exclusive non-forest re

source use.

Forest land management activities means all activities performed in the management of Indian forest land including:

(a) All aspects of program administration and executive direction such as:

(1) Development and maintenance of policy and operational procedures, program oversight, and evaluation;

(2) Securing of legal assistance and handling of legal matters;

(3) Budget, finance, and personnel management; and

(4) Development and maintenance of necessary data bases and program reports.

(b) All aspects of the development, preparation and revision of forest inventory and management plans, including aerial photography, mapping, field management inventories and re- inventories, inventory analysis, growth studies, allowable annual cut calculations, environmental assessment, and forest history, consistent with and reflective of tribal integrated resource management plans where such plans exist.

(c) Forest land development, including forestation, thinning, tree improvement activities, and the use of silvicultural treatments to restore or increase growth and yield to the full productive capacity of the forest environment.

(d) Protection against losses from wildfire, including acquisition and maintenance of fire fighting equipment and fire detection systems, construction of fire breaks, hazard reduction, prescribed burning, and the develop

ment of cooperative wildfire management agreements.

(e) Protection against insects and disease, including:

(1) All aspects of detection and evaluation;

(2) Preparation of project proposals containing project descriptions, environmental assessments and statements, and cost- benefit analyses necessary to secure funding;

(3) Field suppression operations and reporting.

(f) Assessment of damage caused by forest trespass, infestation or fire, including field examination and survey, damage appraisal, investigation assistance and report, demand letter, and testimony preparation.

(g) All aspects of the preparation, administration, and supervision of timber sale contracts, paid and free use permits, and other Indian forest product harvest sale documents, including;

(1) Cruising, product marketing, silvicultural prescription, appraisal and harvest supervision;

(2) Forest product marketing assistance, including evaluation of marketing and development opportunities related to Indian forest products and consultation and advice to tribes, tribal and Indian enterprises on maximization of return on forest products;

(3) Archeological, historical, environmental and other land management reviews, clearances, and analyses;

(4) Advertising, executing, and supervising contracts;

(5) Marking and scaling of timber; and

(6) Collecting, recording and distributing receipts from sales.

(h) Provision of financial assistance for the education of Indians and Alaska Natives enrolled in accredited programs of postsecondary and postgraduate forestry and forestry-related fields of study, including the provision of scholarships, internships, relocation assistance, and other forms of assistance to cover educational expenses.

(i) Participation in the development and implementation of tribal integrated resource management plans, including activities to coordinate current and future multiple uses of Indian forest lands.

(j) Improvement and maintenance of extended season primary and secondary Indian forest land road systems.

(k) Research activities to improve the basis for determining appropriate management measures to apply to Indian forest land.

Forest management deduction means a percentage of the gross proceeds from the sales of forest products harvested from Indian land which is collected by the Secretary pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 413 to cover in whole or in part the cost of managing and protecting such Indian forest lands.

Forest management plan means the principal document, approved by the Secretary, reflecting and consistent with an integrated resource management plan, which provides for the regulation of the detailed, multiple-use operation of Indian forest land by methods ensuring that such lands remain in a continuously productive state while meeting the objectives of the tribe and which shall include: Standards setting forth the funding and staffing requirements necessary to carry out each management plan, with a report of current forestry funding and staffing levels; and standards providing quantitative criteria to evaluate performance against the objectives set forth in the plan.

Forest products means marketable products extracted from Indian forests, such as: Timber; timber products, including lumber, lath, crating, ties, bolts, logs, pulpwood, fuelwood, posts, poles, and split products; bark; Christmas trees, stays, branches, firewood, berries, mosses, pinyon nuts, roots, acorns, syrups, wild rice, mushrooms, and herbs; other marketable material; and gravel which is extracted from, and utilized on, Indian forest land.

Forestry-related field or forestry-related curriculum means a renewable natural resource management field necessary to manage Indian forest land and other professionally recognized fields as approved by the education committee established pursuant to § 163.40(a)(1).

Forest resources means all the benefits derived from Indian forest land, including forest products, soil productivity, water, fisheries, wildlife, recreation, and aesthetic or other traditional values of Indian forest land.

Forester intern means an Indian or Alaska Native who: Is employed as a forestry or forestry-related technician with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, an Indian tribe, or tribal forest-related enterprise; is acquiring necessary academic qualifications to become a forester or a professional trained in forestry-related fields; and is appointed to one of the Forester Intern positions established pursuant to § 163.40(b).

Indian means a member of an Indian tribe.

Indian enterprise means an enterprise which is designated as such by the Secretary or tribe.

Indian forest land means Indian land, including commercial, non-commercial, productive and non-productive timberland and woodland, that are considered chiefly valuable for the production of forest products or to maintain watershed or other land values enhanced by a forest cover, regardless of whether a formal inspection and land classification action has been taken.

Indian land means land title which is held by: The United States in trust for an Indian, an individual of Indian or Alaska Native ancestry who is not a member of a federally-recognized Indian tribe, or an Indian tribe; or by an Indian, an individual of Indian or Alaska Native ancestry who is not a member of a federally recognized tribe, or an Indian tribe subject to a restriction by the United States against alienation.

Indian tribe or tribe means any Indian tribe, band, nation, rancheria, Pueblo or other organized group or community which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians and shall mean, where appropriate, the recognized tribal government of such tribe's reservation.

Installment payments means, in Timber Contract for the Sale of Predetermined Volumes, scheduled partial payments of the total contract value based on purchaser bid. Payments made are normally not refundable.

Integrated resource management plan means a document, approved by an Indian tribe and the Secretary, which