Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “National Forest Small Tracts Act Amendments Act of 2015”.
National Forest Small Tracts Act Amendments Act of 2015
AN ACT
To amend the Small Tracts Act to expand the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to sell or exchange small parcels of National Forest System land to enhance the management of the National Forest System, to resolve minor encroachments, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Additional authority for sale or exchange of small parcels of National Forest System land
Increase in maximum value of small parcels— Section 3 of Public Law 97–465 (commonly known as the Small Tracts Act; 16 U.S.C. 521e) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking “$150,000” and inserting “$500,000”.
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “which are—” and inserting “which involve any one of the following:”;
in paragraph (1)—
by striking “parcels” and inserting “Parcels”; and
by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting a period;
in paragraph (2)—
by striking “parcels” the first place it appears and inserting “Parcels”; and
by striking “; or” at the end and inserting a period;
in paragraph (3), by striking “road” and inserting “Road”; and
by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
“(4) Parcels of 40 acres or less which are determined by the Secretary to be physically isolated, to be inaccessible, or to have lost their National Forest character.
“(5) Parcels of 10 acres or less which are not eligible for conveyance under paragraph (2), but which are encroached upon by permanent habitable improvements for which there is no evidence that the encroachment was intentional or negligent.
“(6) Parcels used as a cemetery, a landfill, or a sewage treatment plant under a special use authorization issued by the Secretary. In the case of a cemetery expected to reach capacity within 10 years, the sale, exchange, or interchange may include, in the sole discretion of the Secretary, up to 1 additional acre abutting the permit area to facilitate expansion of the cemetery.”
by striking “The Secretary is authorized” and inserting the following:
“(a) Conveyance authority; consideration—The Secretary is authorized”
by striking “The Secretary shall insert” and inserting the following:
“(b) Inclusion of terms, covenants, conditions, and reservations—The Secretary shall insert”
by striking “convenants” and inserting “covenants”; and
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(c) Disposition of proceeds
“(1) Deposit in sisk fund—The net proceeds derived from any sale or exchange conducted under the authority of paragraph (4), (5), or (6) of section 3 shall be deposited in the fund established by Public Law 90–171 (commonly known as the Sisk Act; 16 U.S.C. 484a).
“(2) Use—Amounts deposited under paragraph (1) shall be available to the Secretary until expended for—
“(A) the acquisition of land or interests in land for administrative sites for the National Forest System in the State from which the amounts were derived;
“(B) the acquisition of land or interests in land for inclusion in the National Forest System in that State, including land or interests in land which enhance opportunities for recreational access;
“(C) the performance of deferred maintenance on administrative sites for the National Forest System in that State or other deferred maintenance activities in that State which enhance opportunities for recreational access; or
“(D) the reimbursement of the Secretary for costs incurred in preparing a sale conducted under the authority of section 3 if the sale is a competitive sale.”