Amendments to Federal Land Rights-of-way Authorities PDF Download

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands
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ISBN:
Category : Electric utilities
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electric utilities
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electric utilities
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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A succinct provision in an 1866 statute known as "R.S. 2477" granted rights of way across unreserved federal lands for "the construction of highways." The provision was repealed in 1976 by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), an act that also protected valid rights of way already established by that time. What definitions, criteria, and law should be applied to confirm or validate these R.S. 2477 rights of way has been controversial. The issues are important to states and communities whose highway systems are affected, and also because the rights of way may run either through undeveloped federal lands that might otherwise qualify for wilderness designation, or across lands that are now private or within federal reserves (such as parks or national forests) created after the highways might have been established. Section 315 of FLPMA authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue a "disclaimer of interest" if an interest or interests of the United States in lands has "terminated by operation of law or is otherwise invalid." A disclaimer is a recordable document that can help remove a cloud from land title because it has the same effect as if the United States had conveyed the interest in question. The Department of the Interior has finalized amendments to existing regulations on disclaimers of interest that allow states, state political subdivisions, and others to apply for disclaimers that previously were time-barred. A recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Utah and the Department of the Interior establishes an "acknowledgment process" whereby R.S. 2477 rights of way on certain federal lands can be validated and a disclaimer to them issued by the United States. Several other states have requested negotiations to develop MOUs regarding R.S. 2477 rights of way. The disclaimer regulation changes are controversial for many reasons; one of which is that Congress in § 108 of P.L. 104-208 prohibited regulations "pertaining to" R.S. 2477 from becoming effective without Congressional approval. The use of disclaimers to acknowledge R.S. 2477 rights of way is also controversial because the criteria that will be used to determine the validity of asserted R.S. 2477 claims are not set out, and without clearly stated criteria and standards, it is not clear whether the terms of § 315 have been met whether a disclaimable interest of the United States has terminated or not. Most agree that a resolution of R.S. 2477 validity issues is desirable, but there is disagreement on standards and on whether and how the Congress and the courts should be involved. H.R. 1639 in the 108th Congress would authorize a process for determining the validity of R.S. 2477 claims and define crucial terms for those determinations. A House-passed amendment to FY 2004 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations (H.R. 2691) would have prohibited implementation of the disclaimer regulation amendments in certain federal conservation areas, but was removed in conference. This report reviews the disclaimer provision of § 315 of FLPMA, the Utah MOU, the R.S. 2477 grant to construct highways and interpretation of it, the relationship of the new disclaimer regulations to that statute and to the statutory prohibition against rules that "pertain to" R.S. 2477, and H.R. 1639. It will be updated as events warrant; see CRS Report RS21402 for information on recent events.

Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture and Forestry
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ISBN:
Category : Forest reserves
Languages : en
Pages : 86

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Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Subcommittee on Public Lands
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Category : Irrigation laws
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Author: William Trenary Evans
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Category : Alaska
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs
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Category : Mining leases
Languages : en
Pages :

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Author: Congressional Research Congressional Research Service
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781505875508
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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The federal government owns roughly 640 million acres, about 28% of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States. Four agencies administer 608.9 million acres of this land: the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS) in the Department of the Interior (DOI), and the Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture. Most of these lands are in the West and Alaska. In addition, the Department of Defense administers 14.4 million acres in the United States consisting of military bases, training ranges, and more. Numerous other agencies administer the remaining federal acreage. The lands administered by the four land agencies are managed for many purposes, primarily related to preservation, recreation, and development of natural resources. Yet each of these agencies has distinct responsibilities. The BLM manages 247.3 million acres of public land and administers about 700 million acres of federal subsurface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM has a multiple-use, sustained-yield mandate that supports a variety of uses and programs, including energy development, recreation, grazing, wild horses and burros, and conservation. The FS manages 192.9 million acres also for multiple uses and sustained yields of various products and services, including timber harvesting, recreation, grazing, watershed protection, and fish and wildlife habitats. Most of the FS lands are designated national forests. Wildfire protection is increasingly important for both agencies. The FWS manages 89.1 million acres of the total, primarily to conserve and protect animals and plants. The National Wildlife Refuge System includes wildlife refuges, waterfowl production areas, and wildlife coordination units. The NPS manages 79.6 million acres in 401 diverse units to conserve lands and resources and make them available for public use. Activities that harvest or remove resources generally are prohibited. Federal land ownership is concentrated in the West. Specifically, 61.2% of Alaska is federally owned, as is 46.9% of the 11 coterminous western states. By contrast, the federal government owns 4.0% of lands in the other states. This western concentration has contributed to a higher degree of controversy over land ownership and use in that part of the country. Throughout America's history, federal land laws have reflected two visions: keeping some lands in federal ownership while disposing of others. From the earliest days, there has been conflict between these two visions. During the 19th century, many laws encouraged settlement of the West through federal land disposal. Mostly in the 20th century, emphasis shifted to retention of federal lands. Congress has provided varying land acquisition and disposal authorities to the agencies, ranging from restricted to broad. As a result of acquisitions and disposals, federal land ownership by the five agencies has declined by 23.5 million acres since 1990, from 646.9 million acres to 623.3 million acres. Much of the decline is attributable to BLM land disposals in Alaska and also reductions in DOD land. Numerous issues affecting federal land management are before Congress. They include the extent of federal ownership, and whether to decrease, maintain, or increase the amount of federal holdings; the condition of currently owned federal infrastructure and lands, and the priority of their maintenance versus new acquisitions; the optimal balance between land use and protection, and whether federal lands should be managed primarily to benefit the nation as a whole or instead to benefit the localities and states; and border control on federal lands along the southwest border.

Author:
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ISBN:
Category : Delegated legislation
Languages : en
Pages : 2288

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