§2301 — Title 43 Public Lands | U.S. Code

Summary

Congress says the Bureau of Land Management can sell or trade public land that its plans mark for disposal, and the Interior and Agriculture land agencies can buy land that fits their missions. Money from those sales can be used to buy private inholdings and other lands from willing sellers. Doing these sales and trades would let land ownership be reshaped to make resource management easier, save agency time and money, and help federal managers handle growing public use. Many private owners want to sell land inside parks, refuges, forests, and other managed areas, and buying those inholdings often helps both the owners and the government. The BLM may hire outside appraisers to prepare valuation reports, as long as those reports follow federal appraisal rules.

Title 43, §2301

Public Lands — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Congress finds that—

(1)the Bureau of Land Management has authority under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to sell land identified for disposal under its land use planning;

(2)the Bureau of Land Management has authority under that Act to exchange Federal land for non-Federal land if the exchange would be in the public interest;

(3)through land use planning under that Act, the Bureau of Land Management has identified certain tracts of public land for disposal;

(4)the Federal land management agencies of the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture have authority under existing law to acquire land consistent with the mission of each agency;

(5)the sale or exchange of land identified for disposal and the acquisition of certain non-Federal land from willing landowners would—

(A)allow for the reconfiguration of land ownership patterns to better facilitate resource management;

(B)contribute to administrative efficiency within Federal land management units; and

(C)allow for increased effectiveness of the allocation of fiscal and human resources within the Federal land management agencies;

(6)a more expeditious process for disposal and acquisition of land, established to facilitate a more effective configuration of land ownership patterns, would benefit the public interest;

(7)many private individuals own land within the boundaries of Federal land management units and desire to sell the land to the Federal Government;

(8)such land lies within national parks, national monuments, national wildlife refuges, national forests, and other areas designated for special management;

(9)Federal land management agencies are facing increased workloads from rapidly growing public demand for the use of public land, making it difficult for Federal managers to address problems created by the existence of inholdings in many areas;

(10)in many cases, inholders and the Federal Government would mutually benefit from Federal acquisition of the land on a priority basis;

(11)proceeds generated from the disposal of public land may be properly dedicated to the acquisition of inholdings and other land that will improve the resource management ability of the Federal land management agencies and adjoining landowners;

(12)using proceeds generated from the disposal of public land to purchase inholdings and other such land from willing sellers would enhance the ability of the Federal land management agencies to—

(A)work cooperatively with private landowners and State and local governments; and

(B)promote consolidation of the ownership of public and private land in a manner that would allow for better overall resource management;

(13)in certain locations, the sale of public land that has been identified for disposal is the best way for the public to receive fair market value for the land; and

(14)to allow for the least disruption of existing land and resource management programs, the Bureau of Land Management may use non-Federal entities to prepare appraisal documents for agency review and approval consistent with applicable provisions of the Uniform Standards for Federal Land Acquisition.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, referred to in pars. (1) to (3), is Pub. L. 94–579, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2743, which is classified principally to chapter 35 (§ 1701 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

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note set out under section 1701 of this title and Tables.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

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of 2018 Amendment Pub. L. 115–141, div. O, title III, § 301, Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 1074, provided that: “This title [amending section 2302 and 2304 to 2306 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act Reauthorization of 2018’.”

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Pub. L. 106–248, title II, § 201, July 25, 2000, 114 Stat. 613, provided that: “This title [enacting this chapter] may be cited as the ‘Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act’.”

§2301 Findings

Summary

Title 43, §2301

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

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References in Text

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Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

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