Title to Forest Lieu Selection Lands

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Title to Forest Lieu Selection Lands

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the Agency's Nationally Significant

lands List which identifies lands to be retained by the United States

as part of the national Forest System; and the Final List Of Lands

Quitclaimed By The United States in compliance with steps three and

four of a 5-step procedure imposed by the Act of July 2, 1993.

Following publication of this notice the Agency will file in the

appropriate county office a disclaimer of interest for the parcels on

the Final List Of Lands Quitclaimed By The United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice is effective December 26, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

J. Kenneth Myers, Lands Staff, Forest Service, USDA, P.O. Box 96090,

Washington, D.C. 20090-6090, (202) 205-1248.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Certain provisions of the Act of June 4, 1897 (16 U.S.C. 473-475;

the Organic Administration Act), which provided for the management of

the forest reserves of the United States, included a provision known as

``forest lieu selection.'' Under that provision, persons who had

patented public land, or a claimant to such land, which fell within a

proclaimed forest reserve boundary in the western United States, were

authorized to convey or relinquish their land or claim to such land

(``base land'') to the United States and to select an equal acreage of

vacant public land open to settlement (``in-lieu land''). The forest

reserves were renamed as national forests in 1905.

In 1905, Congress repealed the forest lieu selection authorization,

but protected previously made contracts and claims. This protection

preserved the rights of those persons who had relinquished their

inholdings by providing a deed to the United States, but who had not

yet realized or exercised their selection rights under the forest lieu

selection provision of the Organic Administration Act. In legislation

enacted in 1922 and 1930, Congress provided further opportunity to

resolve remaining claims by authorizing reconveyance of the base lands

back to the former owners or their heirs or assigns. Consequently, most

of the claims for in-lieu land were resolved.

However, Congress became concerned about allegations of abuse of

the provisions of the 1930 Act, which by the 1950's was leading to

reconveyance of valuable national forest and national park lands. In

1960, legislation was enacted to provide for compensation to people who

had not received appropriate relief under the prior acts. Section 4 of

the 1960 Act repealed the 1930 Act and sought to close all unresolved

claims under the 1897 Act. The legislation provided that any base lands

for which payment was made, or any base lands for which payment might

have been made but for which no demand was made, would become a part of

appropriate national forest, national park, or other Federal area.

However, no payments were made under the 1960 Act, continuing the

unresolved title status of some of the base lands.

Thus, most of these base lands with questionable title have

continued to be considered part of the national forests, although some

have been continuously occupied by private parties since before 1960.

Other base lands have been the subject of court decisions, raising

further questions about the United States' claim of title.

In the mid-1980's, the Forest Service, pursuant to a request from

Congress, compiled a list of grantors and base lands relinquished to

the United States under the 1897 Act provision for which selection or

other rights were not realized or exercised. This list was submitted to

the 98th Congress and was used by it and subsequent Congresses for

deliberations on legislation eventually enacted as the Act of July 2,

1993.

The 1993 Act was enacted to finally resolve the title status of the

remaining base lands, using a 5-step procedure to either retain or

quitclaim all right, title, and interest in and to the base lands. The

first step in the 5-step procedure, which required the Secretary of

Agriculture, acting through the Forest Service, to compile and publish

an initial list of base lands in the Federal Register, was completed by

the Agency on December 30, 1993 (58 FR 69321). Copies of relevant

portions of the December 30, 1993, Federal Register were distributed to

interested parties and appropriate federal, state, and county offices.

The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land

Management, also published an initial list of base lands located on

public lands administered by that Agency on December 30, 1993.

Step two, which provided a 180-day comment period ending July 2,

1994, allowed persons to submit information on parcels not included in

the Initial List but believed to meet the conditions set forth in the

Act for review and possible addition to the Initial List. Numerous

comments were submitted by individuals or their representatives

informing the Agency of their claim or interest in parcels already

included on the Initial List and requesting the

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Agency to provide them with a copy of future notices concerning the

Act. Other comments identified specific lands and requested that they

be added to the Initial List. The Agency determined that five such

parcels met the conditions of the Act and were thereby added to the

Initial List. The parcels added to the Initial list during the review

period are Arizona 30 and 53, Idaho 5, New Mexico 23, and Oregon 2a.

Specific details on Arizona 30 and New Mexico 23 are identified in this

notice in TABLE 1, Nationally Significant Lands List, while the details

on Arizona 53, Idaho 5, and Oregon 2a are identified in this notice in

TABLE 2, Final List of Lands Quitclaimed By the United States.

During the public review and comment period the Agency identified

numerous errors in the Initial List. These errors, which consisted

primarily of typographical errors in legal descriptions and the

placement of parcels in the incorrect meridian or county, have been

corrected and are displayed as corrected in this notice. The

information under the heading ``DEED BOOK'' and ``VOL PAGE'' was

included in the Initial List to afford interested parties the

opportunity to research county records on Parcel information. Since

this information is no longer needed it is not included in this notice.

The Agency also identified several parcels or portions of parcels

on the Initial List which did not meet the conditions of the Act and

therefore do not appear on either the National Significant Lands List

or the Final List of Lands Quitclaimed By the United States. Eliminated

from the Initial List in their entirety are: California Parcel 96,

which is a duplicate of California Parcel 95: Utah Parcel 16, which was

never relinquished to the United States; Utah Parcel 17, which is a

perfected lieu selection; and Wyoming Parcel 22, the status of which

Congress previously addressed by Private Law 89-281 and the United

States quitclaimed its interest by deed dated December 12, 1966.

Eliminated in part from the Initial List are: a portion of Arizona

Parcel 12 in section 29 due to a typographical error; the SWSW of

section 8 of South Dakota Parcel 51 which was never relinquished to the

United States , and the SWSW of section 8 of South Dakota Parcel 56,

which is within the boundaries of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial

and under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior.

Steps 3 and 4 require the compilation, publication, and

distribution of a list of nationally significant lands to be retained

by the United States and a final list of lands to be disclaimed by the

United States. This notice, which contains Table 1, Nationally

Significant Lands List, and Table 2, Final List of Lands Quitclaimed By

The United States, completes the Federal Register publication

requirements of the Act. Preparation of these tables has been

coordinated with the Bureau of Land Management.

The tables present the information grouped by State, by meridian,

and by county. The first column identifies the parcel of base land by

an agency identifier (PARCEL ID NO.). The second column lists the names

of the individual or entity that relinquished base lands to the United

States under the 1897 Act (GRANTOR NAME). Columns 3 through 7 show the

legal description of the base lands by Township (T), Range (R), section

(sec.), and the legal subdivisions of the section. The standard

procedure for identifying legal subdivisions has been modified for

brevity. For example, the south one-half of the north one-half of a

section is SN, the south one-half of the northeast one-quarter of the

southwest one-quarter of a section is SNESW, the east one-half of the

southeast one-quarter is ESE, and so fourth. Column 8 shows the acres,

rounded to the nearest acre, associated with the legal description of

the parcel.

Nationally Significant Lands List Title to Which is Confirmed in the

United States

(Step 3)

TABLE 1, at the end of this notice, presents the list of lands

removed from the Initial List and determined by the Agency to be

nationally significant lands. This is the final identification of lands

to be retained by the United States. In accordance with the provisions

of SEC. 2(c)(2) of the Act, all right, title, and interest, in and to

the lands identified in TABLE 1, Nationally Significant Lands List, and

not previously vested in the United States, are vested and confirmed in

the United States.

Anyone claiming that any lands identified in TABLE 1, Nationally

Significant Lands List is a ``taking'' of property has one year from

the date of this publication to file a petition in the United States

Court of Federal Claims for monetary compensation under the Act.

Identification of nationally significant lands does not of itself

entitle any party to compensation. The burden is on the claimant to

prove a compensable taking claim.

Final List of Lands Quitclaimed by the United States

(Step 4)

TABLE 2, at the end of this notice, presents the Final List of

Lands Quitclaimed By the United States in accordance with the

provisions of SEC. 2(a) of the Act. Pursuant to the Act the United

States quitclaims to the listed owner or entryman, his heirs, devisees,

successors, and assigns, all right, title, and interest of the United

States in and to the land described in TABLE 2, Final List of Lands

Quitclaimed By the United States, effective on the date of this notice.

Issuance of Disclaimer of Interest

(Step 5)

The Agency will, within 6 months of the date of this notice, issue

documents of disclaimer confirming the quitclaiming of all right,

title, and interest of the United States in and to the base lands

included in TABLE 2, Final List of Lands Quitclaimed By the United

States, subject to valid existing rights, to the listed grantors, their

heirs, devises, successors, and assigns. The documents of disclaimer

will be recorded in appropriate county, Agency, and Bureau of Land

Management records. These documents may further describe the lands

quitclaimed where the legal descriptions listed in Table 2 are

identified as a part or portion of an aliquot part.

The acceptance of benefits under the Act of July 2, 1993, (Pub. L.

103-48), or failure to seek benefits provided under this Act within the

time allotted with respect to any base lands or other lands, will be

considered a waiver of any claim against the United States with respect

to those lands or to any revenues therefrom.

Dated: December 19, 1995.

David G. Unger,

Associate Chief.

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[FR Doc. 95-31214 Filed 12-22-95; 8:45 am]

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