16 U.S.C. § 544g: Land acquisition

The Secretary is authorized to acquire any lands or interests therein within the special management areas and the Dodson/Warrendale Special Purchase Unit which the Secretary determines are needed to achieve the purposes of sections 544 to 544p of this title: Provided , That any lands, waters, or interests therein owned by either State or any political subdivision thereof may be acquired only by donation or exchange. Lands within the State of Oregon acquired by the Secretary pursuant to sections 544 to 544p of this title shall become part of the Mount Hood National Forest. Lands within the State of Washington acquired by the Secretary pursuant to this section shall become part of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. All lands acquired by the Secretary pursuant to sections 544 to 544p of this title shall be subject to the laws and regulations pertaining to the National Forest System and sections 544 to 544p of this title. acquire only such land or interests therein as is reasonably necessary to accomplish the purposes of sections 544 to 544p of this title; and do so only in cases where all reasonable efforts to acquire with the consent of the owner such lands, or interests therein, have failed. on November 17, 1986 , were used primarily for educational, religious, or charitable purposes, single-family residential purposes, farming, or grazing so long as the existing character of that use is not substantially changed or permitted for change; are located in counties with land use ordinances in which the Secretary has concurred pursuant to section 544f of this title , unless such lands are being used, or are in imminent danger of being used, in a manner incompatible with such ordinances; are within the boundaries of the Dodson/Warrendale Special Purchase Unit; or are owned by an Indian tribe, held in trust by the United States for an Indian tribe or member of an Indian tribe, or otherwise administered by the United States for the benefit of an Indian tribe or member of an Indian tribe. In exercising authority to acquire lands pursuant to this section the Secretary shall give prompt and careful consideration to any offer made by any person or entity owning any land, or interest in land, within the boundaries of a special management area. In considering such offer, the Secretary shall take into consideration any hardship to the owner which might result from any undue delay in acquiring the property. The Secretary is authorized and directed, in conformance with the provisions of this subsection, to acquire by exchange any parcel of unimproved forest land at least forty acres in size within the boundaries of the special management areas which is owned by any private forest land owner if, after November 17, 1986 , but within one hundred and eighty days after final adoption of the management plan, such private forest land owner offers to the United States such parcel of forest land. In exercising this authority to acquire forest lands pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary may accept title to such lands and convey to the owner federally owned lands deemed appropriate by the Secretary within the States of Oregon and Washington, regardless of the State in which the transferred lands are located. Forest lands exchanged pursuant to this subsection shall be of approximately equal value: Provided , That the Secretary may accept cash from or pay cash to the grantor in such an exchange in order to equalize minor differences in the values of the properties exchanged: Provided further , That the Secretary may reserve in any conveyance pursuant to this subsection such easements, subsurface rights, and any other interests in land deemed necessary or desirable: Provided further , That the valuation of lands exchanged shall be determined in terms of forest uses for timber. It is the intention of Congress that land exchanges pursuant to this subsection shall be completed no later than five years after November 17, 1986 . In the event that exchanges authorized by this section leave any private forest land owner with ownership of an uneconomic remnant of forest land contiguous to a special management area, the Secretary is authorized to acquire such forest lands as if they were within the boundaries of a special management area. The following-described Federal lands and interests therein are hereby identified as candidate lands for exchanges conducted pursuant to this section: Provided , That the determination of which candidate lands will be exchanged, and in what sequence, shall be at the discretion of the Secretary. Subject to valid existing rights, such lands are hereby withdrawn from all forms of entry or appropriation or disposal under the public land laws, and from location, entry, and patent under the United States mining law, and from disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing and all amendments thereto until the Secretary determines such lands are no longer needed to complete exchanges authorized by this section: Provided , That such period shall not extend beyond five years: GIFFORD PINCHOT NATIONAL FOREST Wind River-Panther Creek Area Section Township Range 35 4N 7E 36 4N 7E Approx. 430 acres. South Swift Area Section Township Range 13 6N 5E 23 6N 5E 17 6N 6E 18 6N 6E Approx. 1,920 acres. National Area Section Township Range 6 14N 7E 7 14N 7E 18 14N 7E 30 14N 7E Approx. 2,560 acres. Buck Creek-Willard Area Section Township Range 16 3N 9E 1 4N 9E 2 4N 9E 3 4N 9E 10 4N 9E 11 4N 9E 12 4N 9E 15 4N 9E 21 4N 9E 22 4N 9E 26 4N 9E 27 4N 9E 28 4N 9E 29 4N 9E 30 4N 9E 31 4N 9E 32 4N 9E 33 4N 9E 34 4N 9E 35 4N 9E 6 4N 10E 7 4N 10E 5 5N 10E 6 5N 10E 7 5N 10E 8 5N 10E 9 5N 10E 30 5N 10E 31 5N 10E 32 5N 10E Approx. 14,460 acres. SIUSLAW NATIONAL FOREST East Beaver Area Section Township Range 33 2S 9W 34 2S 9W 2 3S 9W 3 3S 9W 4 3S 9W 8 3S 9W 9 3S 9W 17 3S 9W Approx. 3,053 acres. WILLAMETTE NATIONAL FOREST Ida-McCoy Area Section Township Range 21 10S 6E 28 10S 6E Approx. 680 acres. MOUNT HOOD NATIONAL FOREST Estacada Area Section Township Range 15 4S 5E Approx. 560 acres. Hood River Area Section Township Range 4 1N 9E 36 1N 10E 31 1N 11E 2 1S 9E 3 1S 9E 4 1S 9E 5 1S 9E 6 1S 9E Approx. 5,800 acres. Zig-Zag Area Section Township Range 22 2S 7E 29 2S 7E Approx. 280 acres. Total acreage: 29,743. In this subsection, the term “landowner” means the owner of legal or equitable title as of September 1, 2000 . Except as provided in paragraph (3), land acquired or conveyed by purchase or exchange under this section shall be appraised in conformity with the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions. without regard to the effect of any zoning or land use restriction made in response to sections 544 to 544p of this title; but subject to any other current zoning or land use restriction imposed by the State or locality in which the land is located on the date of the offer. any zoning or land use restriction made in response to sections 544 to 544p of this title; and any other current zoning or land use restriction that applies to the land on the date of the offer. To facilitate priority land exchanges through which land within the boundaries of the White Salmon Wild and Scenic River or within the scenic area is conveyed to the United States, the Secretary may accept title to such land as the Secretary determines to be appropriate within the States, regardless of the State in which the land conveyed by the Secretary in exchange is located, in accordance with land exchange authorities available to the Secretary under applicable law. any exchange described in paragraph (1) for which an agreement to initiate has been executed as of September 30, 2000 , shall continue; and any timber stumpage proceeds collected under the exchange shall be retained by the Forest Service to complete the exchange. For the purposes of sections 100506(c) and 200306 of title 54, the boundaries of the scenic area, including special management areas and the Dodson/Warrendale Special Purchase Unit shall be treated as if they were within the boundaries of the Mount Hood or Gifford Pinchot National Forests as of January 1, 1965 . publication of a notice in the Federal Register and in newspapers of general circulation in the counties in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area; and posting of a notice in each facility of the United States Postal Service located in those counties. The mailing shall occur within twenty working days of the receipt of the list; and The mailing shall constitute constructive notice to landowners, and proof of receipt by the addressee shall not be required.” The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized and directed to negotiate with Skamania County for the exchange of lands or interests in lands constituting the Wind River Nursery Site within the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington. In return for the Nursery Site properties, Skamania County is authorized and directed to negotiate with the Forest Service the conveyance of approximately 120 acres of high biodiversity, special management lands located near Table Mountain within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, title to which must be acceptable to the Secretary of Agriculture. Before this exchange can occur, it must be of equal value and the Secretary and the Skamania County Board of Commissioners must agree on the exact parcels of land to be included in the exchange. An agreement signed by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Skamania County Board of Commissioners describing the properties involved and a certification that the exchange is of equal value must be completed no later than September 30, 1999 . During this two-year negotiating period, the Wind River Nursery property shall not be conveyed to another party. The Forest Service shall maintain the site in a tenantable condition. Except as provided herein, the exchange shall be for equal value in accordance with land exchange authorities applicable to the National Forest System. The Secretary is directed to equalize values by not only cash and exchange of lands, easements, reservations, and other interests in lands, but also by full value credit for such services as Skamania County provides to the Gifford Pinchot and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and as the Secretary and Skamania County deem appropriate. The Secretary may accept services in lieu of cash when the Secretary can discern cash value for the services and when the Secretary determines such services would provide direct benefits to lands and resources and users of such lands and resources under the jurisdiction of the Secretary. Any cash equalization which Skamania County elects to make may be made up to 50 percent of the fair market value of the Federal property, and such cash equalization may be made in installments over a period not to exceed 25 years. Payments received as partial consideration shall be deposited into the fund in the Treasury established under the Act of December 4, 1967 [ 16 U.S.C. 484a ], commonly known as the Sisk Act, and shall be available for expenditure as provided in the Act except that the Secretary may not use those funds to purchase lands within Skamania County. In defining the Federal estate to be conveyed, the Secretary may require such additional terms and conditions as deemed necessary in connection with assuring equal value and public interest considerations in this exchange including, but not limited to, continued research use of the Wind River Experimental Forest and protection of natural, cultural, and historic resources, existing administrative sites, and a scenic corridor for the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail. This authorization is predicated on Skamania County’s Board of Commissioners commitment to give foremost consideration to preservation of the overall integrity of the site and conservation of the educational and research potential of the site, including providing for access to and assurance of the continued administration and operation of forestry research on the adjacent Thornton Munger Research Natural Area. The Secretary is further directed to cooperate with Skamania County to address applicable Federal and State environmental laws. Notwithstanding the processes involved with the National Environmental Policy Act [of 1969, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.] and the State Environmental Policy Act, should the Secretary of Agriculture and the Skamania County Board of Commissioners fail to reach an agreement on an equal value exchange defined under the terms of this legislation by September 30, 1999 , the Wind River Nursery Site shall remain under Forest Service ownership and be maintained by the Forest Service in a tenantable condition.”