including long-term leases to individuals for the habitation, cultivation and for the development of small trade and manufacturing concerns. (302) Law Enforcement and Regulatory Authority The Act provides for the enforcement of public land laws and regulations by Federal personnel or by appropriate local officials authorized by the Secretary of the Interior. (303) It authorizes cooperative agreements between the Department and local regulatory and enforcement authorities. (303) It authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make rules and regulations pertaining to the public lands. (310) Finance. It reasserts some provisions of the Public Land Administrators Act and authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to establish service charges and to require payment for the execution of applications and other documents pertaining to the public lands and to refund excess payments made to the Department. (304) It authorizes the Department to forfeit payments made by contractors who fail to meet contract obligations. (305) It establishes a capital working fund for the Bureau of Land Management. (306) It allows the Secretary of the Interior to accept contributions. (307) It allows the Bureau to renew contracts for aircraft used in survey and resource protection twice annually within each year without further competition. (303) It requires specific authorization for appropriations for all BLM programs with requests to be made every four years. (318) Domestic Livestock Grazing It authorizes the Secretary to conduct a study to determine the value of domestic livestock grazing on the public lands so that he may establish an equitable fee. Grazing fees may not be raised until a report due within one year is submitted to Congress. It prohibits any raise in the grazing fee for the year 1977. (401) It provides for ten-year grazing permits and for two years' notice before any permit is canceled in order to use the land for another public purpose unless there is an emergency situation. (402) It provides a formula for the distribution of funds collected from grazing fees. Fifty percent of a!! money collected will be used for range improvement programs. One-half of this money must be spent in the district or region where it is collected. The rest of the 50 percent may be spent in other areas at the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior. It also exempts the annual distribution and use of range improvement funds from provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act. (401) It provides for the appointment of grazing advisory boards to advise the Secretary of the Interior on allotment plans and on the distribution of range improvement funds. (403) It authorizes the use of helicopters in the administration of the Wild Horses and Burros Act. (404) Minerals and Energy It provides a formula for the distribution of funds collected under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 and under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. (317) It authorizes loans to States and local governments to relieve social and economic impacts caused by mineral development. (317) It requires persons now holding mining claims under the General Mining Law of 1872 to record those claims with the Bureau of Land Management. Failure to record claims will be considered evidence of abandonment. (314) Other Features It authorizes the Secretary to control mining to the extent that he can by regulation or otherwise, take actions necessary to prevent unnecessary or undue degradation of the land. (302) It authorizes the Bureau to revoke use permits when the permittee violates certain laws. (302) It prohibits unauthorized use, occupancy, or development of the public lands. (303) It authorizes studies, allows the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements and to accept contributions. (307) It requires an annual report to be made on the public lands. (311) It allows BLM personnel to enter into search and rescue operations. (312) It allows the Secretary to make correction in patents and other public land documents. (316) It provides broad authority to grant rights-of-way across public lands and to insert terms and conditions for their use. It allows cost sharing in financing the construction of roads and allows the Bureau to create rights-of-way corridors and to suspend or terminate the use of rights-of-way. (501-511) It directs the Bureau of Land Management to complete a study of potential wilderness areas within 15 years. (603) It repeals many of the old public land laws, including the Homestead Act for all States of the United States except Alaska where it will continue to be in force for ten years. (702) Editor's Note: Although the Homestead Act is still in effect in Alaska, all land disposal actions there have been suspended by the Alaska Native Claims Act and will remain in suspension until the claims of Alaska's Native People are satisfied. Although the Federal Land Policy Act is now the law of the land, some of its provisions cannot be implemented until the Department of the Interior has adopted implementing regulations. Interior officials say that this will take some time. However, under the provisions of the new Act all Departmental regulations will remain in force until replaced by the new regulations, and will serve as the basis for administration of the public lands until new regulations to implement the Act adopted. are Camping beside a sewerage treatment reservoir doesn't sound Water for the 160 acre reservoir The area is so in demand for In addition to the reservoir, mixed pines at an elevation of 5,600 feet. Because of the elevation, the area is closed during the winter months when the roads are apt to be blocked by snow. Opening and closing dates depend on the weather, but generally the area is open from April through October which includes California's 23-day deer season ending the third week end in October. There is a $2 per night user fee for overnight campers. The camping facilities include 19 sites suitable for motor homes, pick up campers, travel trailers or tents. Ten additional sites along the shore of the reservoir are reserved for walk-in tent camping. Flush toilets and hot showers are available for all campers. The ecology of the area is more fully understood by visiting Curtz Lake Environmental Study Area. Here three self-guided interpretative trails, built in 1972 and 1973 by the Bureau's Carson District Youth Conservation Corps, give the public an opportunity to observe and understand the area's environment. A vegetative trail, a soils-geology trail and an aquatic trail all interpret natural evolutionary processes. These interpretative trails are popular with organized school groups as well as the general public. Hiking trails link the camp ground with the study area, the small lakes, and the river so that the visitor can easily enjoy all the area's attractions. The area also has its history and its legends. Kit Carson led an expedition along the Carson River prior to crossing the Sierra Nevadas on his way to Sutter's Fort in California in the winter of 1843-44. Alpine County was logged in the 1860s and 70s, and the logs were floated down the Carson River to become timbers in the mines of the Comstock Lode near Virginia City. The grounds are now closed for the winter, but due to reopen in April. The area has proven popular with campers, and the Bureau is preparing to accommodate more than 13,000 campers. Total visitor use, including trail hikers and day users is expected to top 70,000 vistis for the coming sea son. So, if somebody suggests going camping on a sewer treatment reservoir, don't turn up your nose. It just could be an opportunity for an enjoyable and educational experience. Good fishing attests to the quality of the reservoir's water. 225-254 O-76-2 Ten Years Ago a Forest Fire Ravaged the Oxbow Today the Scars are Being Healed. The Oxbow 10 Years JOSEPH C. DOSE Chief, Division of Forestry August 20, 1966. The sun was a copper caul dron in a brassy sky. It blistered Everyone was deeply con- In Salem, the State Forester had issued fire season restrictions on May 31. The purpose of fire restrictions is to prevent the kind of activity in the woods that is apt to start a forest fire. Restrictions reduce the odds, but such efforts can never be 100 percent effective. On June 27 the weather continued to be dry, and the restrictions were strengthened. The Salem Weather Office issued a "red flag" warning on August 17. That meant that the fire danger was extreme. Actually, the dreaded thing had already happened. At Ives Peak, a fire had broken out on Weyerhaeuser holdings on August 9. Prompt action brought it under control, but only after 1,636 acres had burned. Any relief that might have been felt after the Ives Peak fire was short lived. On August 15 a second fire flared up on International Paper Company land along Russell Creek. That fire was also quickly brought under control after burning over 577 acres. But mop-up crews were still on the scene on August 20. The twentieth was hot and dry, and a strong east wind was blowing. At Wolf Point Lookout a 50 percent drop in the humidity was recorded for the 24 hour period. The Ives Peak and Russell Creek fires had emphasized the ex treme danger. Foresters were urging a complete shutdown of logging operations throughout the area. Such a proclamation was issued to become effective at 1:00 pm on August 22. A bit later, that proclamation was rescinded, and the shutdown time moved back to midnight August 21. But it was already too late; by proclamation time the Oxbow fire was out of control. What has become known as the Oxbow fire started on August 20, at approximately 1:36 pm. That was a Saturday, and most of the logging crews were already out of the woods because of the weekend and the impending proclamation closing down operations. The weather report for the day was discouraging. Clear skies with temperatures between 80 and 90 were forecast. The humidity would be low between 15 and 20 percent but what was most discouraging was the prediction of winds from the northeast of 15 to 20 miles per hour that would increase to 30 or 40 miles per hour toward evening. That weather report, in light of the tinder-box condition of the forest, was a recipe for disaster. Out along the Oxbow Road, employees of the Umpqua Navigation Company were operating a road roller. The Company was un Time and the efforts of man are starting to heal the land. Young seedlings have established a root system and growth will now come fast. der contract to the Bureau of Public Roads to pave a section of the road. At 1:36 pm three employees saw a plume of smoke rising from the edge of the road a few dozen yards behind them. They sent a fourth man for help and set out to fight the fire that then covered about a tenth of an acre. They had only hand tools for firefighting, and any chance they might have had to contain the blaze was lost when the predicted wind started to blow in gusts of gale-like intensity. Instantly the blaze flared out of the control of the three men. Meanwhile the man sent to find help had a bit of luck when he intercepted an International Paper Company truck with a two-way radio. The alarm was on the air by 1:45. By 1:55 the International Paper Company mop-up crew from the Russell Creek fire was on the scene, and a 15-man crew from the Western Lane Fire Patrol had arrived by 2:10. By then the fire had burned over two acres. Whipped by high wind, the fire defied the efforts of the men to control it. At 2:40 the blaze had spread across 150 acres. More men continued to arrive but there was little they could do. The fire had started to crown along a 5mile front. Now the situation was more than merely out of control. A crown fire is where the foliage in the crowns of the trees start to burn, as opposed to a ground fire where only the brush and litter on the floor of the forest burns. A crown fire is a killer, destroying all in its path. This fire was then throwing flame and sparks as much as two miles ahead of itself to start new fires in many directions. Men and equipment were now being evacuated from the area. Fighting a large crown fire is something like going into battle. Fire is the foe, and its wind propelled blaze advances like a band of Tartars on an ever widening front. Against such a foe, men are helpless. The only thing that can stop the advance is a change in the weather or a lack of fuel. Weather is critical. Hot dry weather favors the fire, and wind speeds the advance of the flames and makes the fire hotter. Conversely cool damp weather is the firefighter's friend, and rain is the greatest ally of all. But weather is unpredictable. You hope for rain, but in the meantime you try to shut off the fuel. The best time to fight a fire is when it first starts. Then the line of flame is short, and the fire hasn't started to crown. Even after the fire has a good start, ground fires are easier to control than crown fires, and they are not as dangerous. In order to be able to man a fire in its early stages BLM, the Forest Service and State and local forest agencies have organized interagency teams with lookouts to keep watch for smoke. Smoke is the first tattletale warning of wild fire. Hand in hand with the system of fire lookouts is a communications system, and behind the communications system are teams of trained firefighters. Behind the firefighters is a veritable arsenal of equipment and supplies. Yet against such opposition the Oxbow fire had some impressive advantages. It had ignited in near perfect burning conditions. There was an abundance of fuel. It had a strong wind behind it, and it reached the crowns of the trees before any effective countermeasures could be mobilized to stop it. Despite the fact that it was discovered almost immediately, and the word was out in a matter of minutes, the fire got the jump and grew into a monster before a sizeable force could get into action. But once the system started to work, it was like an army moving to counterattack. Trucks brought men and supplies into position. Bulldozers started through the forest plowing firelines while men followed to light backfires. When the backfire meets the main fire, both go out because of a lack of fuel. Aircraft flew in to dump fire retardant just ahead of the flames. No one expected this to put the fire out, but it slows the advance of the flames to give others time to get the backfires going. It was an army that moved against the Oxbow flames. Even so, it took eight days to bring them under control. Then it was time for an accounting. The fire had burned over 43,368 acres. Of this more than 24 thousand acres was saw timber. In crossing through the burn after the fire, one BLM forester noted that in some places the fire had been so hot that it was now completely out because nothing was left to smoulder. Land in the burned-over area lies in a checkerboard owner-ship pattern. BLM, State and private lands are intermingled. The fire had burned across property lines |