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This bill would allow for the sale of small, isolated parcels of National Forest lands, including special use land, like cemeteries.

Isolated, inaccessible, and difficult to access parcels under 40 acres would be eligible for purchase at a price determined by the managing agency — but no more than $500,000. These parcels would be transferred over to new owners with long-term special use permits with accompanying potential liability issues covering cemeteries, landfills, and sewage treatment facilities.

This bill would eliminate the need for individual legislative proposals to address these types of land transfers. It would also resolve encroachments of permanent structures that can’t be settled under current laws.

Proceeds from the sale of National Forest lands would be deposited into a Sisk Act account, and those funds could then be used for acquisition of lands for administrative sites or recreation, or to maintain administrative sites, improve recreational access, or cover administrative costs from the sale.

","official_title":"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.","short_title":"National Forest Small Tracts Act Amendments Act of 2015","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"National Forest Small Tracts Act Amendments Act of 2015\n\n(Sec. 2) Amends the Small Tracts Act (the Act) to permit the sale, exchange, or interchange under such Act of National Forest System (NFS) lands the sale or exchange of which is not practicable under any other authority of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) which have a value determined to be not more than $500,000.\n\nIncludes as those lands permitted to be sold, exchanged, or interchanged under the Act:\n\n parcels of 40 acres or less which are determined to be physically isolated, to be inaccessible, or to have lost their National Forest character; parcels of 10 acres or less which are not eligible for conveyance under such Act, but which are encroached upon by permanent habitable improvements for which there is no evidence that the encroachment was intentional or negligent; and parcels used as a cemetery, a landfill, or a sewage treatment plant under a special use authorization issued by the USDA. 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Selling Off Small Plots of National Forest Land