16 U.S.C. § 485 — Exchange of lands in national forests; cut-

Page 937 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 485 feet wide on each side of the center line of the right-of-way thereof; shall confer on the locator the right to occupy and use so much of the sur- face of the land covered by the location as may be reasonably necessary to carry on prospecting, mining, and beneficiation of ores, including the taking of mineral deposits and timber required by or in the mining and ore-reducing operations, and no permit shall be required or charge made for such use or occupancy: Provided, however, That the cutting and removal of timber, except where clearing is necessary in connection with mining operations or to provide space for build- ings or structures used in connection with min- ing operations, shall be conducted in accordance with the rules for timber cutting on adjoining national-forest land, or rules and regulations issued by the Secretary of the Interior under sections 482o to 482q of this title with respect to public domain lands under his jurisdiction, and no use of the surface of the claim or the re- sources therefrom not reasonably required for carrying on mining and prospecting shall be al- lowed except under the national-forest rules and regulations or rules and regulations of the Sec- retary of the Interior, as the case may be, nor shall the locator prevent or obstruct other occu- pancy of the surface or use of surface resources under authority of such regulations, or permits issued thereunder, if such occupancy or use is not in conflict with mineral development. (July 12, 1951, ch. 222, § 1, 65 Stat. 118.) § 482p. Patents affecting lands within forest On and after July 12, 1951, all patents issued under the United States mining laws affecting lands within the above-described area shall con- vey title to the mineral deposits within the claim, together with the right to cut and re- move so much of the mature timber therefrom as may be needed in extracting and removing and beneficiation of the mineral deposits, if the timber is cut under sound principles of forest management as defined by such rules and regu- lations, but each patent shall reserve to the United States all title in or to the surface of the lands and products thereof, and no use of the surface of the claim or the resources therefrom not reasonably required for carrying on mining or prospecting shall be allowed except under the rules and regulations of the Department of Agri- culture or the Department of the Interior, re- spectively. (July 12, 1951, ch. 222, § 2, 65 Stat. 118.) § 482q. Perfection of mining claims within forest Valid mining claims within the said lands, ex- isting on July 12, 1951, and thereafter main- tained in compliance with the law under which they were initiated and the laws of the State of Arizona, may be perfected under sections 482o to 482q of this title, or under the laws under which they were initiated, as the claimant may desire. (July 12, 1951, ch. 222, § 3, 65 Stat. 119.) §§ 483, 484. Repealed. Pub. L. 86–596, § 3, July 6, 1960, 74 Stat. 335 Sections, act Sept. 22, 1922, ch. 404, §§ 1, 2, 42 Stat. 1017, related to exchange of lands in national forests with persons who have relinquished lands as basis for lieu selection, procedure, relinquishment of original lands to such persons, and selection of other lands in lieu of lands relinquished. § 484a. Exchange of lands in national forests; public schools; deposit of funds by school au- thority with insufficient exchange land; limi- tations on use Whenever an exchange of land is proposed by a State, county, or municipal government or public school district or other public school au- thority under sections 485 and 486 of this title or other authority under which the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to exchange national forest lands or other lands administered by the Forest Service, if the State, county, or munic- ipal government or public school authority pro- posing the exchange has insufficient land to offer, the exchange may be completed upon de- posit with the Secretary of Agriculture of a por- tion or all of the value of the selected land. Any amount so deposited shall be covered into a spe- cial fund in the Treasury which when appro- priated shall be available until expended by the Secretary of Agriculture for the acquisition of lands in the same State as the selected lands and which are determined by him to be suitable for the same purposes as the selected lands. Lands so acquired shall have the same status and shall be subject to the same laws, regula- tions, and rules as the selected lands. The provisions of this section shall not be ap- plicable to the conveyance in exchange of more than eighty acres to any one State, county, or municipal government or public school district or other public school authority. Lands may be conveyed to any State, county, or municipal government pursuant to this section only if the lands were being utilized by such entities on January 12, 1983. Lands so conveyed may be used only for the purposes for which they were being used prior to conveyance. (Pub. L. 90–171, Dec. 4, 1967, 81 Stat. 531; Pub. L. 97–465, § 8, Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2536.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1983—Pub. L. 97–465 inserted references to State, county, or municipal government in three places in ex- isting provisions and inserted provision authorizing the conveyance of lands to any State, county, or municipal government pursuant to this section only if the lands were being utilized by such entities on January 12, 1983, and requiring that lands so conveyed be used only for the purposes for which they were being used prior to conveyance. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SHORT TITLE This section is popularly known as the Sisk Act. § 485. Exchange of lands in national forests; cut- ting timber in national forests in exchange for lands therein When the public interests will be benefited thereby, the Secretary of Agriculture is author- ized in his discretion to accept on behalf of the United States title to any lands within the exte- Page 938 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 485a rior boundaries of the national forests which, in his opinion, are chiefly valuable for national- forest purposes, and in exchange therefor may patent not to exceed an equal value of such na- tional-forest land, in the same State, surveyed and nonmineral in character, or he may author- ize the grantor to cut and remove an equal value of timber within the national forests of the same State; the values in each case to be deter- mined by him. Before any such exchange is ef- fected notice of the contemplated exchange re- citing the lands involved shall be published once each week for four successive weeks in some newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties in which may be situated the lands to be accepted, and in some like newspaper pub- lished in any county in which may be situated any lands or timber to be given in such ex- change. Timber given in such exchanges shall be cut and removed under the laws and regulations relating to the national forests, and under the direction and supervision and in accordance with the requirements of the Secretary of Agri- culture. Lands conveyed to the United States under this section and section 486 of this title shall, upon acceptance of title, become parts of the national forest within whose exterior bound- aries they are located. (Mar. 20, 1922, ch. 105, § 1, 42 Stat. 465; Pub. L. 86–509, § 1(a), June 11, 1960, 74 Stat. 205.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Functions of Secretary of the Interior under this sec- tion and section 486 of this title, with respect to ex- changes of non-Federal lands for national forest lands or timber, transferred to Secretary of Agriculture, see Pub. L. 86–509, June 11, 1960, 74 Stat. 205, set out as a note under section 2201 of Title 7, Agriculture. ‘‘Secretary of Agriculture is authorized’’, ‘‘in his opinion’’, ‘‘he may authorize’’ and ‘‘the values in each case to be determined by him’’ substituted in text for ‘‘Secretary of the Interior is authorized’’, ‘‘in the opin- ion of the Secretary of Agriculture’’, ‘‘the Secretary of Agriculture may authorize’’ and ‘‘the values in each case to be determined by the Secretary of Agriculture’’, respectively, in view of transfer of functions under this section to Secretary of Agriculture from Secretary of the Interior by section 1(a) of Pub. L. 86–509, set out as a note under section 2201 of Title 7. § 485a. Omitted Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section, act Aug. 2, 1935, ch. 424, 49 Stat. 508, related to lands adjacent to Chelan National Forest. See Codi- fication note set out under sections 486a to 486w of this title. § 486. Exchange of lands in national forests; res- ervations of timber, minerals, or easements Either party to an exchange may make res- ervations of timber, minerals, or easements, the values of which shall be duly considered in de- termining the values of the exchanged lands. Where reservations are made in lands conveyed to the United States the right to enjoy them shall be subject to such reasonable conditions respecting ingress and egress and the use of the surface of the land as may be deemed necessary by the Secretary of Agriculture; where mineral reservations are made in lands conveyed by the United States it shall be so stipulated in the patents, and that any person who acquires the right to mine and remove the reserved deposits may enter and occupy so much of the surface as may be required for all purposes incident to the mining and removal of the minerals therefrom, and may mine and remove such minerals upon payment to the owner of the surface for dam- ages caused to the land and improvements thereon. All property, rights, easements, and benefits authorized by this section to be re- tained by or reserved to owners of lands con- veyed to the United States shall be subject to the tax laws of the States where such lands are located. (Mar. 20, 1922, ch. 105, § 2, as added Feb. 28, 1925, ch. 375, 43 Stat. 1090.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Functions of Secretary of the Interior under this sec- tion and section 485 of this title, with respect to ex- changes of non-Federal lands for national forest lands or timber, transferred to Secretary of Agriculture, see Pub. L. 86–509, June 11, 1960, 74 Stat. 205, set out as a note under section 2201 of Title 7, Agriculture. APPLICATION EXTENDED Act June 25, 1935, ch. 308, 49 Stat. 422, provided that this section should be extended and made applicable to exchanges of lands under acts Feb. 14, 1923, ch. 75, 42 Stat. 1245, and Feb. 7, 1929, ch. 160, 45 Stat. 1154, which authorize the United States to acquire privately owned lands situated within certain townships in the Lincoln National Forest in the State of New Mexico, by ex- changing therefor an equal value of unreserved and un- appropriated public lands within said State. §§ 486a to 486w. Omitted Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Exchanges of lands in or adjacent to national forests were authorized by Congress in the following instances: Absaroka National Forest—Act May 26, 1926, ch. 399, § 4, 44 Stat. 656. Arapaho National Forest—Acts Mar. 3, 1927, ch. 340, 44 Stat. 1378; Dec. 31, 1974, Pub. L. 93–575, 88 Stat. 1878. Ashley National Forest—Act Jan. 26, 1931, ch. 44, 46 Stat. 1040. Black Hills National Forest—Acts Feb. 15, 1927, ch. 152, 44 Stat. 1099; June 15, 1938, ch. 388, 52 Stat. 686. Boise National Forest—Acts July 1, 1930, ch. 85, 46 Stat. 841; May 17, 1934, ch. 292, 48 Stat. 779; June 5, 1942, ch. 342, § 1, 56 Stat. 320; July 17, 1959, Pub. L. 86–92, 73 Stat. 218; Pub. L. 106–493, § 1, Nov. 9, 2000, 114 Stat. 2213. Cache National Forest—Acts May 14, 1914, ch. 89, 38 Stat. 377; Feb. 17, 1917, ch. 86, 39 Stat. 922; Feb. 28, 1919, chs. 73, 77, 40 Stat. 1204, 1208; Feb. 25, 1932, ch. 57, 47 Stat. 55. Calaveras Bigtree National Forest—Acts Feb. 18, 1909, ch. 143, 35 Stat. 627; May 7, 1912, ch. 105, 37 Stat. 108. Caribou National Forest—Acts Apr. 18, 1914, ch. 63, 38 Stat. 346; June 5, 1920, ch. 262, 41 Stat. 1056; June 16, 1948, ch. 476, 62 Stat. 455. Carson National Forest—Acts Apr. 21, 1926, ch. 167, 44 Stat. 303; Apr. 16, 1928, ch. 378, 45 Stat. 431; May 31, 1949, ch. 152, 63 Stat. 144; Oct. 9, 1972, Pub. L. 92–474, 86 Stat. 790. Challis National Forest—Act Apr. 10, 1928, chs. 339, 340, 45 Stat. 415. Chattahoochee National Forest—Act July 20, 1956, ch. 656, 70 Stat. 594.