APPENDIX Statements or letters were received from: Aldrich, Donald, president, Montana Wildlife Federation, Missoula, Pag 6 Bear, R. G., executive director, the Desert Protective Council, Inc., 6 Bell, Roscoe E., director, department of natural resources, State of 6 Dahl, Harvey, chairman, Public Land Committee, Nevada State 6 Gray, W. Howard, chairman, Public Lands Committee, American 5 Harrison, Homer, regional vice president, California Wildlife Federation, Inc., San Francisco, Calif 6 Jackson, LeRoy M., chairman, Kern County Board of Supervisors, 7 6 6 7 Johnston, W. P., consulting geologist, Reno, Nev Mendiburu, Joe, vice president, California Wool Growers, Bakersfield, Calif.. Pomeroy, Kenneth B., chief forester, American Forestry Association, Romney, Miles P., manager, Utah Mining Association, Salt Lake City, Smith, John J., administrator, Inyo County, Calif., Independence, Smith, Dr. Spencer M., Jr., secretary of the Citizens Committee on Steffani, E. C., assistant county engineer, San Jose, Calif Ward, C. D., National Association of Counties, Washington, D.C... 6 6 7 6 6 7 5 6 Winter, N. A., Jr., president, Arizona Game Protective Association, 6 Witty, James C., president, Arizona State Horsemen's Association, Phoenix, Ariz.. 6. Zahn, Kenneth V., and Vernon Wertz, American Federation of Mineralogical Societies and the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies.. 5 TV IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC LAWS 88-607 AND 88-608 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 1967 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON PUBLIC LANDS OF THE COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:15 a.m., in room 3110, New Senate Office Building, Senator Frank Church presiding. Present: Senators Church, Bible, and Allott. Also Present: Stewart French, chief counsel; Porter Ward, professional staff member; and Roy M. Whitacre, professional staff member. Senator CHURCH. Gentlemen, the hearing will come to order. Other Senators are planning to attend, but it is a quarter past the hour and, in order to complete the hearing this morning, I think we should proceed. This is the time that has been regularly set and noticed for the hearings into the implementation of two public laws enacted by the 88th Congress, and signed by the President in 1964. Both of these laws are closely related to the legislation enacted and approved by the 88th Congress for the establishment of the Public Land Law Review Commission to study existing laws and procedures relating to the administration of the public lands of the United States. One of these laws, Public Law 88-607, provides legislative guidelines for the orderly classification and management of public lands during the period that the overall study of these lands is being made by the Public Land Law Review Commission. The second law, Public Law 88-608, is for the sale of public lands, a public sale act, and describes the procedures under which land classified for disposal may be sold. We will make both of these laws part of the record at this point. (The laws referred to follow:) Public Law 88-607, 88th Congress, H.R. 5159, September 19, 1964 An Act to authorize and direct that certain lands exclusively administered by the Secretary of the Interior be classified in order to provide for their disposal or interim management under principles of multiple use and to produce a sustained yield of products and services, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, consistent with and supplemental to the Taylor Grazing Act of June 28, 1934, as amended (48 Stat. 1269; 43 U.S.C. 315), and pending the implementation of recommendations to be made by the Public Land Law Review Commission (a) The Secretary of the Interior shall develop and promulgate regulations containing criteria by which he will determine which of the public lands and other Federal lands, including those situated in the State of Alaska exclusively administered by him through the Bureau of Land Management shall be (a) disposed of because they are (1) required for the orderly growth and development of a community or (2) are chiefly valuable for residential, commercial, agricultural (exclusive of lands chiefly valuable for grazing and raising forage crops), industrial, or public uses or development or (b) retained, at least during this period, in Federal ownership and managed for (1) domestic livestock graz ing, (2) fish and wildlife development and utilization, (3) industrial develop ment, (4) mineral production, (5) occupancy, (6) outdoor recreation, (7) timber production, (8) watershed protection, (9) wilderness preservation, or (10) pres ervation of public values that would be lost if the land passed from Federal ownership. No such regulation shall become effective until the expiration of at least thirty days after the Secretary or his designee has held a public hearing thereon. Before such public hearing is held, a notice of at least thirty days shall have been given through publication in the Federal Register and notifica tion to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representa tives, both of whom shall receive with the notice a copy of the proposed regulation. (b) The Secretary of the Interior shall, as soon as possible, review the public lands as defined herein, in the light of the criteria contained in the regulations issued with this section to determine which lands shall be classified as suitable for disposal and which lands he considers to contain such values as to make them more suitable for retention in Federal ownership for interim management under the principles enunciated in this section. In making his determinations the Secretary shall give due consideration to all pertinent factors, including, but not limited to, ecology, priorities of use, and the relative values of the various resources in particular areas. (1) None of the land subject to this Act shall be given a designation or classification unless such designation or classification is authorized by statute or defined in regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior. SEC. 2. At least sixty days prior to taking the following action the Secretary of the Interior or his designee shall give such public notice of the proposed action as he deems appropriate, including publication in the Federal Register and in a newspaper having general circulation in the area or areas in the vicinity of the affected land: (a) Classification for sale or other disposal under any statute of a tract of land in excess of two thousand five hundred and sixty acres. (b) Classification for management by the Bureau of Land Management of an area in excess of two thousand five hundred and sixty acres when the action will exclude from the area permanently, or for a substantial period of time, one or more uses enumerated in section 1 of this Act. SEC. 3. The Secretary of the Interior shall develop and administer for multiple use and sustained yield of the several products and services obtainable therefrom those public lands that are determined to be suitable for interim management in accordance with regulations promulgated pursuant to this Act. SEC. 4. Publication of notice in the Federal Register by the Secretary of the Interior of a proposed classification under this Act shall have the effect of segregating such land from settlement, location, sale, selection, entry, lease, or other formal disposal under the public land laws, including the mining and mineral leasing laws, except to the extent that the proposed classification or subsequent notification thereof specifies that the land shall remain open for one or more of such forms of disposal under the public land laws. The segregative effect of such proposal classification shall continue for a period of two year from the date of publication unless classification has theretofore been completed in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the regulations to be promulgated hereunder, or unless the Secretary of the Interior shall terminate it sooner. Lands classified for sale or other disposal shall be offered for sale or such other disposal within two years of the date of publication of the proposed classification and if not so offered for sale or other disposal the segregative effect shall cease at the expiration of two years from the date of publication. The proposed classification or proposed sale or other disposal may be continued beyond the two-year period if notice of such proposed continuance, including a statement of necessity for continued segregation, is submitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and published in the Federal Register not more than ninety days nor less than thirty days prior to the expiration of the two-year period specified herein; and thereupon the segregative effect shall be extended for such additional period as is specified in the notice, not exceeding two years, unless Congress or the Secretary of the Interior terminates the segregation at any earlier date. SEC. 5. As used in this Act, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (a) The term "public lands" means any lands (1) withdrawn or reserved by Executive Order Numbered 6910 of November 26, 1934, as amended, or 6964 of February 5, 1935, as amended, or (2) within a grazing district established pursuant to the Act of June 28, 1934 (48 Stat. 1269), as amended, or (3) located in the State of Alaska, which are not otherwise withdrawn or reserved for a Federal use or purpose. (b) "Multiple use" means the management of the various surface and subsurface resources so that they are utilized in the combination that will best meet the present and future needs of the American people; the most judicious use of the land for some or all of these resources or related services over areas large enough to provide sufficient latitude for periodic adjustments in use to conform to changing needs and conditions; the use of some land for less than all of the resources; and harmonious and coordinated management of the various resources, each with the other, without impairment of the productivity of the land, with consideration being given to the relative values of the various resources, and not necessarily the combination of uses that will give the greatest dollar return or the greatest unit output. (c) "Sustained yield of the several products and services" means the achievement and maintenance of a high-level annual or regular periodic output of the various renewable resources of land without impairment of the productivity of the land. SEC. 6. The purposes of this Act are declared to be supplemental to the purposes for which any of the Federal lands in section 1 of this Act have been designated acquired, withdrawn, reserved, held, or administered. This Act shall not be construed as a repeal, in whole or in part, of any existing law, including, but not limited to, the mining and mineral leasing laws. SEC. 7. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as (a) Restricting prospecting, locating, developing, mining, entering, leasing, or patenting the mineral resources of the lands to which this Act applies under law applicable thereto pending action inconsistent therewith under this Act. (b) Restricting the entry and settlement of lands open to entry and settlement under the public land laws pending action inconsistent therewith under this Act. (c) Restricting the Secretary of the Interior from disposing of lands under applicable statutes after the land has been classified in accordance with this Act. (d) Affecting the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the several States with respect to the lands referred to herein. SEC. 8. The authorizations and requirements of this Act shall expire June 30, 1969, except that the segregation prior to June 30, 1969, of any public lands from settlement, location, sale, selection, entry, lease, or other form of disposal under the public land laws shall continue for the period of time allowed by this Act. Approved September 19, 1964. Public Law 88-608, 88th Congress, H.R. 5498, September 19, 1964 An act to provide temporary authority for the sale of certain public lands. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That pending the implementation of recommendations to be made by the Public Land Law Review Commission, in addition to any other authority that he may have, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to dispose of public lands that have been classified for disposal in accordance with a determination that (a) the lands are required for the orderly growth and development of a community or (b) the lands are chiefly valuable for residential, commercial, agricultural (exclusive of lands chiefly valuable for grazing and raising forage crops), industrial, or public uses or development. Such disposals shall be in tracts not exceeding five thousand one hundred and twenty acres each to qualified governmental agencies at the appraised fair market value thereof as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or to qualified individuals through competitive bidding at not less than the appraised fair market value as determined by the Secretary of the Interior. SEC. 2. At least ninety days prior to offering lands for sale in accordance with this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall notify the head of the governing body of the political subdivision of the State having jurisdiction over zoning in the geographic area within which the lands are located or, in the absence of such political subdivision, the Governor of the State, in order to afford the appropriate body with the opportunity of zoning for the use of the land in accordance with local planning and development. No sale shall be conducted under the authority of this Act until zoning regulations have been enacted by the appropriate local authority. SEC. 3. At least thirty days before entering into an agreement with a governmental agency or of the opening of bids from individuals, notice of the offering of lands for sale in accordance with this Act shall be furnished by the Secretary of the Interior through a newspaper of general circulation in the area in which the lands are situated and by publication of the notice in the Federal Register. SEC. 4. All patents or other evidences of title issued under this Act shall contain a reservation to the United States of all mineral deposits which shall thereupon be withdrawn from appropriation under the public land laws including the mining and mineral leasing laws. Patents and other evidences of title may contain such reservations and reasonable restrictions as are necessary in the public interest, but no restriction to insure proper development of the lands after they have passed from Federal ownership shall be imposed. SEC. 5. For the purposes of this Act the following terms have the following meanings (a) "Public lands" means any public lands which are withdrawn by Executive Order Numbered 6910, dated November 26, 1934, as amended, or by Executive Order Numbered 6964, dated February 5, 1935, as amended, or pursuant to section 1 of the Act of June 28, 1934 (48 Stat. 1269), as amended (43 U.S.C. 315), and not otherwise reserved, or which are vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved public lands in Alaska. (b) "Qualified governmental agency" means any of the following, including their lawful agents and instrumentalities: (A) the State, county, municipality, or other local government subdivision within which the land is located and (B) any municipality within convenient access to the lands if the lands are within the same State as the municipality. (c) "Qualified individual" means (A) any individual who is a citizen or otherwise a national of the United States (or who has declared his intention to become a citizen) aged twenty-one years or more: (B) any partnership or association, each of the members of which is a qualified individual as defined in subparagraph (A); and (C) any corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of any State thereof, and authorized to hold title to real property in the State in which the land is located. SEC. 6. Ninety per centum of the proceeds from lands sold in the State of Alaska pursuant to this Act shall be transferred to the State of Alaska in consideration for which the State shall surrender its right to select an equal acreage of land pursuant to section 6(b) of the Alaska Statehood Act (72 Stat. 339). SEC. 7. The authority granted by this Act shall expire June 30, 1969, except that sales concerning which notice has been given in accordance with section 3 hereof prior to June 30, 1969, may be consummated and patents issued in connection therewith after June 30, 1969. Approved September 19, 1964. Senator CHURCH. We have today as witnesses Mr. Harry Anderson, Assistant Secretary for Public Land Management, Department of the Interior; and Mr. Boyd L. Rasmussen, Director of the Bureau of Land Management. I know you gentlemen are accompanied by staff assistants. If you would like to come forward and introduced your staff assistants and proceed with your prepared testimony, I shall be pleased to hear you at this time. |