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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 567b. Conditions and requirements for cooperation in acquisition and management of State forests
No cooperative agreement shall be entered into or continued in
force under the authority of sections 567a to 567c of this title or
any land acquired hereunder turned over to the cooperating State
for administration, development, and management unless the State
concerned, as a consideration for the benefits extended to it
thereunder, complies in a manner satisfactory to the Secretary of
Agriculture with the following conditions and requirements which
shall constitute a part of every such agreement:
(a) In order to reduce the need for public expenditures in the
acquisition of lands which may be brought into public ownership
through the enforcement of appropriate tax delinquency laws, and,
by bringing about the handling of such lands upon a sound social
and economic basis, to terminate a system of indeterminate and
unsound ownership injurious to the private and public interest
alike, no additional lands shall be acquired within any State by
the United States under sections 567a to 567c of this title after
June 30, 1942, unless the State concerned has prior thereto
provided by law for the reversion of title to the State or a
political unit thereof of tax-delinquent lands and for blocking
into State or other public forests the areas which are more
suitable for public than private ownership, and which in the public
interest should be devoted primarily to the production of timber
crops and/or the maintenance of forests for watershed protection,
and for the enforcement of such law: Provided, That in the
administration of sections 567a to 567c of this title prior to June
30, 1942, preference will be given to States applying for
cooperation hereunder which provided by law for such reversion of
title under tax delinquency laws.
(b) In order to insure a stable and efficient organization for
the development and administration of the lands acquired under
sections 567a to 567c of this title, the State shall provide for
the employment of a State forester, who shall be a trained forester
of recognized standing.
(c) The Secretary of Agriculture and the appropriate authorities
of each cooperating State shall work out a mutually satisfactory
plan defining forest areas within the State which can be most
effectively and economically administered by said State, which plan
shall constitute a part of the cooperative agreement between the
United States and the State concerned: Provided, That nothing
herein shall be held to prevent the Secretary of Agriculture from
later agreeing with the proper State authorities to desirable
modifications in such plan.
(d) No payment of Federal funds shall be made for land selected
for purchase by the United States under sections 567a to 567c of
this title until such proposed purchase has been submitted to and
approved by the National Forest Reservation Commission created by
section 513 of this title.
(e) Subject to the approval of the National Forest Reservation
Commission, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to pay out
of any available money appropriated for carrying out the purposes
of sections 567a to 567c of this title any State, county, and/or
town taxes, exclusive of penalties, due or accrued on any forest
lands acquired by the United States under donations from the owners
thereof and which lands are to be included in a State or other
public forest pursuant to said sections.
(f) The State shall prepare such standards of forest
administration, development, and management as are necessary to
insure maximum feasible utility for timber production and watershed
protection, and are acceptable to the Secretary of Agriculture and
shall apply the same to lands acquired and placed under the
jurisdiction of the State pursuant to sections 567a to 567c of this
title.
(g) That with the exception of such Federal expenditures as may
be made for unemployment relief, the State shall pay without
assistance from the Federal Government the entire future cost of
administering, developing, and managing all forest lands acquired
and over which it has been given jurisdiction under sections 567a
to 567c of this title.
(h) During the period any cooperative agreement made under
sections 567a to 567c of this title remains in force, one-half of
the gross proceeds from all lands covered by said agreement and to
which the United States holds title shall be paid by the State to
the United States and covered into the Treasury. All such payments
shall be credited to the purchase price the State is to pay the
United States for said land, such purchase price to be an amount
equal to the total sum expended by the United States in acquiring
said lands. Upon payments of the full purchase price, either as
herein provided or otherwise, title to said lands shall be
transferred from the Federal Government to the State, and the
Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to take such action and
incur such expenditures, as may be necessary to effectuate such
transfer.
(i) Upon the request of the State concerned, any agreement made
pursuant to sections 567a to 567c of this title may be terminated
by the Secretary of Agriculture. The Secretary of Agriculture may,
with the consent and approval of the National Forest Reservation
Commission, after due notice given the State and an opportunity for
hearing by said Commission, terminate any such agreement for
violations of its terms and/or the provisions of said sections of
this title. If such agreement is terminated, the United States
shall reimburse the State for so much of the State funds as have
been expended in the administration, development, and management of
the lands involved as the Secretary of Agriculture may decide to be
fair and equitable.
(j) The State shall furnish the Secretary of Agriculture with
such annual, periodic, or special reports as he may require
respecting the State's operations under its agreement with him.
(k) When a State or political unit thereof acquires under tax
delinquency laws title to forest lands without cost to the United
States and which lands are included within a State or other public
forest, the Secretary of Agriculture, on behalf of the Federal
Government, may contribute annually out of any funds made available
under sections 567a to 567c of this title not to exceed one-half
the cost of administering, developing, and managing said lands.
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