16 U.S.C. § 715d — Purchase or rental of approved areas or

Page 1270 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 715a Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SHORT TITLE OF 1976 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 94–215, § 1, Feb 17, 1976, 90 Stat. 189, provided: ‘‘That this Act [amending sections 668dd, 715a, 715k–3, 715k–5, 718a, 718b, and 718d of this title] may be cited as the ‘Wetlands Loan Extension Act of 1976’.’’ § 715a. Migratory Bird Conservation Commission; creation; composition; duties; approval of areas of land and water recommended for purchase or rental A commission to be known as the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, consisting of the Secretary of the Interior, as chairman, the Ad- ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of Agriculture and two Members of the Senate, to be selected by the President of the Senate, and two Members of the House of Representatives to be selected by the Speaker, is created and authorized to consider and pass upon any area of land, water, or land and water that may be recommended by the Sec- retary of the Interior for purchase or rental under this subchapter, and to fix the price or prices at which such area may be purchased or rented; and no purchase or rental shall be made of any such area until it has been duly approved for purchase or rental by said commission. Any Member of the House of Representatives who is a member of the commission, if reelected to the succeeding Congress, may serve on the commis- sion notwithstanding the expiration of a Con- gress. Any vacancy on the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original ap- pointment. The ranking officer of the branch or department of a State to which is committed the administration of its game laws, or his au- thorized representative, and in a State having no such branch or department, the governor thereof, or his authorized representative, shall be a member ex officio of said commission for the purpose of considering and voting on all questions relating to the acquisition, under this subchapter, of areas in his State. For purposes of this subchapter, the purchase or rental of any area of land, water, or land and water includes the purchase or rental of any interest in any such area of land, water, or land and water. (Feb. 18, 1929, ch. 257, § 2, 45 Stat. 1222; 1939 Reorg. Plan No. II, § 4(f), (h), eff. July 1, 1939, 4 F.R. 2731, 53 Stat. 1433; Pub. L. 90–261, Mar. 2, 1968, 82 Stat. 39; Pub. L. 94–215, § 4, Feb. 17, 1976, 90 Stat. 190; Pub. L. 101–233, § 13, Dec. 13, 1989, 103 Stat. 1977.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1989—Pub. L. 101–233 substituted ‘‘Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency’’ for ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’. 1976—Pub. L. 94–215 inserted provision including in the purchase or rental of any area of land, water, or land and water the purchase or rental of any interest in any such area of land, water, or land and water. 1968—Pub. L. 90–261 substituted the Secretary of Transportation for the Secretary of Commerce in the membership of the Commission. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Reorg. Plan No. II of 1939, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, transferred functions of Secretary of Agriculture relat- ing to conservation of wildlife, game, and migratory birds to Secretary of the Interior, and provided that Secretary of the Interior should be chairman of Migra- tory Bird Conservation Commission and that Secretary of Agriculture should be a member thereof. § 715b. Annual report The commission created by section 715a of this title shall, through its chairman, annually re- port in detail to Congress, not later than the first Monday in December, the operations of the commission during the preceding fiscal year. (Feb. 18, 1929, ch. 257, § 3, 45 Stat. 1223.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries TERMINATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS For termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions of law requiring submittal to Congress of any annual, semiannual, or other regular periodic report listed in House Document No. 103–7 (in which a report required under this section is listed on page 177), see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance. § 715c. Areas recommended for approval; char- acter The Secretary of the Interior may not rec- ommend any area for purchase or rental under the terms of this subchapter unless the Sec- retary of the Interior— (1) has determined that such area is nec- essary for the conservation of migratory birds; and (2) has consulted with the county or other unit of local government in which such area is located and with the Governor of the State concerned or the appropriate State agency. (Feb. 18, 1929, ch. 257, § 4, 45 Stat. 1223; 1939 Reorg. Plan No. II, § 4(f), eff. July 1, 1939, 4 F.R. 2731, 53 Stat. 1433; Pub. L. 89–669, § 7(a), Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 929; Pub. L. 95–552, § 2, Oct. 30, 1978, 92 Stat. 2071.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1978—Pub. L. 95–552 substituted ‘‘may not recommend any area’’ for ‘‘shall recommend no area’’, incorporated existing provision in item (1) and added item (2). 1966—Pub. L. 89–669 struck out ‘‘game’’ from ‘‘migra- tory game birds’’. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Transfer of functions of Secretary of Agriculture to Secretary of the Interior by Reorg. Plan No. II of 1939, see Transfer of Functions note set out under section 715a of this title. § 715d. Purchase or rental of approved areas or interests therein; gifts and devises; United States lands The Secretary of the Interior may— (1) purchase or rent such areas or interests therein as have been approved for purchase or Page 1271 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 715f rental by the Commission at the price or prices fixed by the Commission; and (2) acquire, by gift or devise, any area or in- terests therein; which he determines to be suitable for use as an inviolate sanctuary, or for any other manage- ment purpose, for migratory birds. The Sec- retary may pay, when deemed necessary by him and from moneys authorized to be appropriated for the purposes of this subchapter (A) the pur- chase or rental price of any such area or interest therein, and (B) the expenses incident to the lo- cation, examination, survey, and acquisition of title (including options) of any such area or in- terest therein. No lands acquired, held, or used by the United States for military purposes shall be subject to any provisions of this subchapter. (Feb. 18, 1929, ch. 257, § 5, 45 Stat. 1223; 1939 Reorg. Plan No. II, § 4(f), eff. July 1, 1939, 4 F.R. 2731, 53 Stat. 1433; Pub. L. 95–616, § 5(a), Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3113.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1978—Pub. L. 95–616 incorporated existing provisions in pars. (1) and (2) and cls. (A) and (B), made provisions applicable to interests in approved areas, and inserted authority for purchase or acquisition for other manage- ment purposes. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Transfer of functions of Secretary of Agriculture to Secretary of the Interior by Reorg. Plan No. II of 1939, see Transfer of Functions note set out under section 715a of this title. §§ 715d–1, 715d–2. Repealed. Pub. L. 89–669, § 8(a), Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 930 Sections, act June 15, 1935, ch. 261, title III, §§ 302, 303, 49 Stat. 382, provided for acceptance of land in exchange for other land or timber, etc. rights and for acceptance of land in exchange for patent to nonmineral public land. See section 668dd(b)(3) of this title. § 715d–3. Omitted Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section, act June 15, 1935, ch. 261, title V, § 501, 49 Stat. 383, authorized President to allocate out of appro- priation made to him by resolution of April 8, 1935, a sum for acquisition of areas for bird sanctuaries and refuges. § 715e. Examination of title; easements and res- ervations The Secretary of the Interior may do all things and make all expenditures necessary to secure the safe title in the United States to the areas which may be acquired under this sub- chapter, but no payment shall be made for any such areas until the title thereto shall be satis- factory to the Attorney General or his designee, but the acquisition of such areas by the United States shall in no case be defeated because of rights-of-way, easements, and reservations which from their nature will in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior in no manner interfere with the use of the areas so encum- bered for the purposes of this subchapter, but such rights-of-way, easements, and reservations retained by the grantor or lessor from whom the United States receives title under this sub- chapter or any other Act for the acquisition by the Secretary of the Interior of areas for wildlife refuges shall be subject to rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior for the occupation, use, operation, protection, and administration of such areas as inviolate sanc- tuaries for migratory birds or as refuges for wildlife; and it shall be expressed in the deed or lease that the use, occupation, and operation of such rights-of-way, easements, and reservations shall be subordinate to and subject to such rules and regulations as are set out in such deed or lease or, if deemed necessary by the Secretary of the Interior, to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by him from time to time. (Feb. 18, 1929, ch. 257, § 6, 45 Stat. 1223; June 15, 1935, ch. 261, title III, § 301, 49 Stat. 381; 1939 Reorg. Plan No. II, § 4(f), eff. July 1, 1939, 4 F.R. 2731, 53 Stat. 1433; Pub. L. 91–393, § 6, Sept. 1, 1970, 84 Stat. 835.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1970—Pub. L. 91–393 inserted ‘‘or his designee’’ after ‘‘Attorney General’’. 1935—Act June 15, 1935, inserted ‘‘under said sections or any other Act for the acquisition by the Secretary of Agriculture of areas for wildlife refuges’’ and ‘‘or as refuges for wildlife’’, and inserted clause beginning ‘‘as are set out in such deed or lease or, if deemed nec- essary’’ etc. Executive Documents TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS Transfer of functions of Secretary of Agriculture to Secretary of the Interior by Reorg. Plan No. II of 1939, see Transfer of Functions note set out under section 715a of this title. § 715e–1. Omitted Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section, act June 15, 1935, ch. 261, title III, § 304, 49 Stat. 382, applying section 715e of this title to ex- changes effected under former sections 715d–1 and 715d–2, has been omitted due to the repeal of sections 715d–1 and 715d–2 by Pub. L. 89–669, § 8(a), Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 930. § 715f. Consent of State to conveyance in fee No deed or instrument of conveyance in fee shall be accepted by the Secretary of the Inte- rior under this subchapter unless the State in which the area lies shall have consented by law to the acquisition by the United States of lands in that State. (Feb. 18, 1929, ch. 257, § 7, 45 Stat. 1223; 1939 Reorg. Plan No. II, § 4(f), eff. July 1, 1939, 4 F.R. 2731, 53 Stat. 1433; Pub. L. 103–434, title XIII, Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4565.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1994—Pub. L. 103–434 inserted ‘‘in fee’’ after ‘‘convey- ance’’.