§1277 Land Acquisition

Summary

The Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture may buy land or land interests inside the set boundaries of any wild, scenic, or recreational river area they run. They must not buy fee title averaging more than 100 acres per mile on both sides of the river. State-owned land can only be taken by donation or by exchange. Land owned by an Indian tribe or a local government can only be bought with their consent if they have and follow a management plan the Secretary approves. Money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund may be used to buy land for these river areas. If a single parcel lies partly inside and partly outside the boundary, the Secretary may buy the whole parcel with the owner’s OK; the part outside the boundary won’t count toward the 100‑acre-per‑mile limit and must later be sold, leased, or exchanged. The Secretary can accept donated land, funds, or other property, and can trade nonfederal land inside a river area for federal land in the same State, with cash added if needed to equalize values. Federal agencies may transfer land they control to the appropriate Secretary, and land given to the Secretary of Agriculture near a national forest becomes national forest land. The Secretaries may not use condemnation (forced purchase) in places where half or more of the land above the ordinary high water mark on both sides is already owned in fee by the United States, the State, or local governments, although condemnation may be used to clear title or get needed easements for public access. They also may not condemn land inside an incorporated city, village, or borough that has a valid zoning ordinance that fits the river law’s goals; the Secretary must issue guidelines for what those local zoning rules should cover to prevent new incompatible commercial or industrial uses and to protect riverbank areas with rules on acreage, frontage, and setbacks. Owners of "improved property" at the time of acquisition may keep a noncommercial residential right to use the dwelling for up to 25 years or until the death(s) they choose; the Secretary pays the owner the fair market value of the property minus the value of the retained right. That retained right can be ended if it conflicts with the river area’s purposes, and the owner is paid the fair market value of the unexpired part. "Improved property" means a detached one‑family house begun before January 1, 1967, plus the land and accessory structures the Secretary deems reasonably needed for its residential use.