16 U.S.C. § 460vv–18: Land acquisition

Summary

The Secretary of Agriculture can buy, accept as gifts, or swap land or land rights needed to create and manage the Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation and Wilderness Area. The Secretary must promptly and carefully consider any offer from an owner inside the area and must weigh any hardship the owner would face if the sale is delayed. The Secretary can also acquire sites outside the area for visitor orientation, a lodge, and other facilities. Even if other laws limit purchases, the Secretary may acquire land in Le Flore County, Oklahoma outside the Ouachita National Forest only with the owner’s consent. Those lands will be managed under the Act of March 1, 1911 (commonly called the Weeks Act, 36 Stat. 961) and the normal national forest laws and rules, and the Ouachita National Forest boundaries will be extended to include them.

Title 16, §460vv–18

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Authority

The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to acquire by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange, any lands or interests therein, which the Secretary determines are needed to establish and manage the Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation and Wilderness Area.

(b)Offers

In exercising the authority conferred by this section to acquire lands, the Secretary of Agriculture shall give prompt and careful consideration to any offer made by an individual owning any land, or interest in land, within the Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation and Wilderness Area. In considering any such offer, the Secretary shall take into consideration any hardship to the owner which might result from any undue delay in acquiring the property.

(c)Additional facilities

The Secretary of Agriculture may acquire sites at locations outside such boundaries of the Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation and Wilderness Area, as he determines necessary, for visitor orientation and the establishment of a lodge and additional facilities to enhance the quality of the area.

(d)Additional lands

Notwithstanding the limitations contained in section 200306(a)(2) of title 54, the Secretary of Agriculture may acquire by purchase, exchange, donation or otherwise any right, title, and interest in lands in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, which are outside the boundaries of the Ouachita National Forest. No such right, title or interest may be acquired without the consent of the owner thereof. All lands and interests therein acquired under this subsection shall be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in accordance with the Act of March 1, 1911, commonly referred to as the Weeks Act (36 Stat. 961) and in accordance with the laws, rules, and regulations generally applicable to units of the national forest system. The Secretary of Agriculture shall extend the boundaries of the Ouachita National Forest to include such lands.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Act of March 1, 1911, referred to in subsec. (d), is act Mar. 1, 1911, ch. 186, 36 Stat. 961, popularly known as the Weeks Law, which enacted former section 513 and 514 and sections 515 to 519, 521, 552, and 563 of this title and amended section 480 and 500 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 552 of this title and Tables. Codification In subsec. (d), “section 200306(a)(2) of title 54” substituted for “section 7(a)(1) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965” on authority of Pub. L. 113–287, § 6(e), Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3272, which Act enacted Title 54, National Park Service and Related Programs.

§460vv–18 Land Acquisition