16 U.S.C. § 521e: Small parcels and road…

Summary

Lets the Forest Service sell, swap, or trade small pieces of National Forest land when it cannot use any other legal way to do so. The Secretary must say each piece is worth no more than $500,000 before a sale or exchange can happen. Only certain kinds of parcels qualify. These include small parcels (40 acres or less) next to lands moved out of Federal ownership that are hard to manage; very small parcels (10 acres or less) that people have built on in good faith because of a bad survey or title; road rights-of-way surrounded by non-Federal land (with the neighbor who borders the road getting first chance to buy it); 40-acre-or-smaller parcels that are isolated, unreachable, or no longer have National Forest character; 10-acre-or-smaller parcels with permanent homes where there’s no sign the encroachment was on purpose or careless; and parcels used as a cemetery (plus up to 1 acre next to it), a landfill, or a sewage treatment plant under a special permit.

Title 16, §521e

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The National Forest System lands which may be sold, exchanged, or interchanged under sections 521c to 521i of this title are those the sale or exchange of which is not practicable under any other authority of the Secretary, which have a value as determined by the Secretary of not more than $500,000, and which are—

(1)parcels of forty acres or less which are interspersed with or adjacent to lands which have been transferred out of Federal ownership under the mining laws and which are determined by the Secretary, because of location or size, not to be subject to efficient administration;

(2)parcels of ten acres or less which are encroached upon by improvements occupied or used under claim or color of title by persons to whom no advance notice was given that the improvements encroached or would encroach upon such parcels, and who in good faith relied upon an erroneous survey, title search, or other land description indicating that there was not such encroachment;

(3)road rights-of-way, reserved or acquired, which are substantially surrounded by lands not owned by the United States and which are no longer needed by the United States, subject to the first right of abutting landowners to acquire such rights-of-way;

(4)parcels of 40 acres or less that are determined by the Secretary—

(A)to be physically isolated from other Federal land;

(B)to be inaccessible; or

(C)to have lost National Forest character;

(5)parcels of 10 acres or less that are not eligible for conveyance under paragraph (2) but are encroached on by a permanent habitable improvement for which there is no evidence that the encroachment was intentional or negligent; or

(6)parcels used as a cemetery (including a parcel of not more than 1 acre adjacent to the parcel used as a cemetery), a landfill, or a sewage treatment plant under a special use authorization issued or otherwise authorized by the Secretary.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Pub. L. 115–334, § 8621(a), substituted “$500,000” for “$150,000” in introductory provisions. Pars. (4) to (6). Pub. L. 115–334, § 8621(b), added pars. (4) to (6).

§521e Small Parcels and Road Rights-of-way

Summary

Title 16, §521e

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Citations & Metadata