Volume 68 · 271
Public Law 83–426
Relating to the administrative jurisdiction of certain public lands in the State of Oregon, and for other purposes.
Approved June 24, 1954
Statutory text
AN ACT
Relating to the administrative jurisdiction of certain public lands in the State of Oregon, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That
those unselected and unpatented odd-numbered sections within the indemnity limits of the Oregon and California Railroad land grant authorized by the Act of July 25, 1866 (14 Stat. 239), as amended by the Act of April 10, 1869 (16 Stat. 47), and for which payment was made by
National-forest lands.
the United States to such railroad or its successors in interest under the Act of June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218), pursuant to the decree in the case of United States against Oregon and California R. R. Co. (8 F. (2d) 645), which were included within the boundaries of national forests by proclamations of the President of the United States issued under the dates of June 17, 1892, September 28, 1893, October 5, 1906, January
27 Stat. 1027; 28 Stat. 1243; 34 Stat. 3239, 3270, 3280, 3300.
25, 1907, March 1, 1907, and March 2, 1907, are hereby declared to be revested Oregon and California railroad grant lands; and said lands shall continue to be administered as national-forest lands by the Secretary of Agriculture subject to all laws, rules, and regulations applicable to the national forests: Provided, That all revenues hereafter derived
Revenues.
from said lands and those revenues heretofore derived from such lands and placed in special deposit by agreement between the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of title II of the Act approved August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 874) as hereby amended, and said lands shall not
hereafter be subject to the provisions of any other laws or parts of laws which otherwise prescribe the disposal or distribution of receipts from lands of the United States, except that none of the provisions of this Act shall affect revenues heretofore distributed. No part of said lands or the resources thereof shall be subject to exchange under the provisions of this or any other law applicable to national-forest lands or otherwise.
Subsection (a) of title II of the Act approved August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 874), is amended by adding at the end thereof the following proviso: “: Provided, however, That for the purposes of this subsection
County payments.
the portion of the said revested Oregon and California railroad grant lands in each of said counties which was not assessed for the year 1915 shall be deemed to have been assessed at the average assessed value of the grant lands in said county”.
Sec. 2.
The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture
Administrative exchanges.
are authorized and directed, within two years after the enactment of this Act, to exchange administrative jurisdiction of revested Oregon and California railroad grant lands lying within the boundaries of any national forest or within two miles of such boundaries, and national-forest lands of approximately equal aggregate value, when by such exchange the administration of the lands will be facilitated. Such exchanges shall be made subject to outstanding contracts, permits or other existing rights: Provided, That the said national-forest lands, administrative jurisdiction of which is transferred to the Secretary of the Interior, shall be excluded from the national forest and shall become subject to administration under the same provisions of law as the revested lands in exchange for which they were transferred, and the revested lands, administrative jurisdiction of which is transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture, shall become a part of the national forests subject to administration under the laws applicable to national forests: Provided further, That
Equal value.
subject to the requirement of approximate equal aggregate value for the overall exchange, the revested lands and the national-forest lands, administrative jurisdiction of which is exchanged in any county, shall be approximately equal in area unless otherwise agreed to by the counties concerned. The exchanges provided for herein shall in each case be evidenced by an order signed by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture and such orders shall be transmitted to the Division of the Federal Register for filing and publication.
Publication in FR.
Lands in lieu of certain national forest land.
Sec. 3.
For the purpose of consolidating and thereby facilitating administration and accounting the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to designate in the several counties in which the lands described in section 1 of this Act are situated (such designation to be published in the Federal Register), an area of national-forest land of a value
Publication in FR.
substantially equal to the value of the lands in such county from which all revenues shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of title II of the Act of August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 874), and upon such
designation the provisions of that Act shall be applicable to the lands so designated in lieu of the lands described in section 1 of this Act: Provided, however, That such designation shall not become effective
Approval.
until approved by the county court of the county in which the lands are located.
Sec. 4.
For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of sections 2 and 3 of this Act there are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as the Congress may from time to time determine to be necessary.
Approved June 24, 1954.