43 U.S.C. § 1712 — Land use plans

Page 530 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1711 SUBCHAPTER II—LAND USE PLANNING AND LAND ACQUISITION AND DISPOSITION § 1711. Continuing inventory and identification of public lands; preparation and mainte- nance (a) The Secretary shall prepare and maintain on a continuing basis an inventory of all public lands and their resource and other values (in- cluding, but not limited to, outdoor recreation and scenic values), giving priority to areas of critical environmental concern. This inventory shall be kept current so as to reflect changes in conditions and to identify new and emerging re- source and other values. The preparation and maintenance of such inventory or the identifica- tion of such areas shall not, of itself, change or prevent change of the management or use of public lands. (b) As funds and manpower are made available, the Secretary shall ascertain the boundaries of the public lands; provide means of public identi- fication thereof including, where appropriate, signs and maps; and provide State and local gov- ernments with data from the inventory for the purpose of planning and regulating the uses of non-Federal lands in proximity of such public lands. (Pub. L. 94–579, title II, § 201, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2747.) § 1712. Land use plans (a) Development, maintenance, and revision by Secretary The Secretary shall, with public involvement and consistent with the terms and conditions of this Act, develop, maintain, and, when appro- priate, revise land use plans which provide by tracts or areas for the use of the public lands. Land use plans shall be developed for the public lands regardless of whether such lands pre- viously have been classified, withdrawn, set aside, or otherwise designated for one or more uses. (b) Coordination of plans for National Forest System lands with Indian land use planning and management programs for purposes of development and revision In the development and revision of land use plans, the Secretary of Agriculture shall coordi- nate land use plans for lands in the National Forest System with the land use planning and management programs of and for Indian tribes by, among other things, considering the policies of approved tribal land resource management programs. (c) Criteria for development and revision In the development and revision of land use plans, the Secretary shall— (1) use and observe the principles of multiple use and sustained yield set forth in this and other applicable law; (2) use a systematic interdisciplinary ap- proach to achieve integrated consideration of physical, biological, economic, and other sciences; (3) give priority to the designation and pro- tection of areas of critical environmental con- cern; (4) rely, to the extent it is available, on the inventory of the public lands, their resources, and other values; (5) consider present and potential uses of the public lands; (6) consider the relative scarcity of the val- ues involved and the availability of alter- native means (including recycling) and sites for realization of those values; (7) weigh long-term benefits to the public against short-term benefits; (8) provide for compliance with applicable pollution control laws, including State and Federal air, water, noise, or other pollution standards or implementation plans; and (9) to the extent consistent with the laws governing the administration of the public lands, coordinate the land use inventory, plan- ning, and management activities of or for such lands with the land use planning and manage- ment programs of other Federal departments and agencies and of the States and local gov- ernments within which the lands are located, including, but not limited to, the statewide outdoor recreation plans developed under chapter 2003 of title 54, and of or for Indian tribes by, among other things, considering the policies of approved State and tribal land re- source management programs. In imple- menting this directive, the Secretary shall, to the extent he finds practical, keep apprised of State, local, and tribal land use plans; assure that consideration is given to those State, local, and tribal plans that are germane in the development of land use plans for public lands; assist in resolving, to the extent practical, in- consistencies between Federal and non-Fed- eral Government plans, and shall provide for meaningful public involvement of State and local government officials, both elected and appointed, in the development of land use pro- grams, land use regulations, and land use deci- sions for public lands, including early public notice of proposed decisions which may have a significant impact on non-Federal lands. Such officials in each State are authorized to fur- nish advice to the Secretary with respect to the development and revision of land use plans, land use guidelines, land use rules, and land use regulations for the public lands with- in such State and with respect to such other land use matters as may be referred to them by him. Land use plans of the Secretary under this section shall be consistent with State and local plans to the maximum extent he finds consistent with Federal law and the purposes of this Act. (d) Review and inclusion of classified public lands; review of existing land use plans; modification and termination of classifica- tions Any classification of public lands or any land use plan in effect on October 21, 1976, is subject to review in the land use planning process con- ducted under this section, and all public lands, regardless of classification, are subject to inclu- sion in any land use plan developed pursuant to this section. The Secretary may modify or ter- minate any such classification consistent with such land use plans. Page 531 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1713 (e) Management decisions for implementation of developed or revised plans The Secretary may issue management deci- sions to implement land use plans developed or revised under this section in accordance with the following: (1) Such decisions, including but not limited to exclusions (that is, total elimination) of one or more of the principal or major uses made by a management decision shall remain subject to reconsideration, modification, and termination through revision by the Secretary or his delegate, under the provisions of this section, of the land use plan involved. (2) Any management decision or action pur- suant to a management decision that excludes (that is, totally eliminates) one or more of the principal or major uses for two or more years with respect to a tract of land of one hundred thousand acres or more shall be reported by the Secretary to the House of Representatives and the Senate. If within ninety days from the giving of such notice (exclusive of days on which either House has adjourned for more than three consecutive days), the Congress adopts a concurrent resolution of nonapproval of the management decision or action, then the management decision or action shall be promptly terminated by the Secretary. If the committee to which a resolution has been re- ferred during the said ninety day period, has not reported it at the end of thirty calendar days after its referral, it shall be in order to either discharge the committee from further consideration of such resolution or to dis- charge the committee from consideration of any other resolution with respect to the man- agement decision or action. A motion to dis- charge may be made only by an individual fa- voring the resolution, shall be highly privi- leged (except that it may not be made after the committee has reported such a resolution), and debate thereon shall be limited to not more than one hour, to be divided equally be- tween those favoring and those opposing the resolution. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, and it shall not be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the mo- tion was agreed to or disagreed to. If the mo- tion to discharge is agreed to or disagreed to, the motion may not be made with respect to any other resolution with respect to the same management decision or action. When the committee has reprinted, or has been dis- charged from further consideration of a reso- lution, it shall at any time thereafter be in order (even though a previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) to move to proceed to the consideration of the resolution. The motion shall be highly privileged and shall not be debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, and it shall not be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the motion was agreed to or disagreed to. (3) Withdrawals made pursuant to section 1714 of this title may be used in carrying out management decisions, but public lands shall be removed from or restored to the operation of the Mining Law of 1872, as amended (R.S. 2318–2352; 30 U.S.C. 21 et seq.) or transferred to another department, bureau, or agency only by withdrawal action pursuant to section 1714 of this title or other action pursuant to appli- cable law: Provided, That nothing in this sec- tion shall prevent a wholly owned Government corporation from acquiring and holding rights as a citizen under the Mining Law of 1872. (f) Procedures applicable to formulation of plans and programs for public land management The Secretary shall allow an opportunity for public involvement and by regulation shall es- tablish procedures, including public hearings where appropriate, to give Federal, State, and local governments and the public, adequate no- tice and opportunity to comment upon and par- ticipate in the formulation of plans and pro- grams relating to the management of the public lands. (Pub. L. 94–579, title II, § 202, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2747; Pub. L. 113–287, § 5(l)(6), Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3271.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (c)(9), is Pub. L. 94–579, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2743, known as the Fed- eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. For com- plete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. The Mining Law of 1872, as amended, referred to in subsec. (e)(3), is act May 10, 1872, ch. 152, 17 Stat. 91, which was incorporated into the Revised Statutes of 1878 as R.S. §§ 2319 to 2328, 2331, 2333 to 2337, and 2344, which are classified to sections 22 to 24, 26 to 28, 29, 30, 33 to 35, 37, 39 to 42, and 47 of Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining. For complete classification of R.S. §§ 2318–2352, see Tables. AMENDMENTS 2014—Subsec. (c)(9). Pub. L. 113–287 substituted ‘‘chap- ter 2003 of title 54’’ for ‘‘the Act of September 3, 1964 (78 Stat. 897), as amended’’. § 1713. Sales of public land tracts (a) Criteria for disposal; excepted lands A tract of the public lands (except land in units of the National Wilderness Preservation System, National Wild and Scenic Rivers Sys- tems, and National System of Trails) may be sold under this Act where, as a result of land use planning required under section 1712 of this title, the Secretary determines that the sale of such tract meets the following disposal criteria: (1) such tract because of its location or other characteristics is difficult and uneconomic to manage as part of the public lands, and is not suitable for management by another Federal department or agency; or (2) such tract was acquired for a specific pur- pose and the tract is no longer required for that or any other Federal purpose; or (3) disposal of such tract will serve impor- tant public objectives, including but not lim- ited to, expansion of communities and eco- nomic development, which cannot be achieved prudently or feasibly on land other than pub- lic land and which outweigh other public ob- jectives and values, including, but not limited to, recreation and scenic values, which would be served by maintaining such tract in Federal ownership.