Show i h Western Resources WRAP WRAP-UP WRAP WRAP-UP f Y i w II i s programs Federal land sales program By Hel Helene Helne ne C rg Vernal Express Washington CorrespOndent Washington The administration is stepping up Its program to sell off public lands and properties after the election even though a major law suit has been filed a against it and tough questions about it are stumping the experts Rich Atwater a former colleague of Reclamation Commissioner Robert N Broadbent in county government in Clark County Nev has been designated by Interior Secretary James G Watt to set up a coordination office at the In- In Interior Interior Department to coordinate the disposal of Interiors Interior's surplus lands David Williamson who formerly work work- worked ed for the Department in Denver is At At- At Atwater's waters water's assistant Atwater will report to Dr Garrey Er E others Cars Assistant Secretary of In- In Interior tenor for Land and Water who is in charge of be the overall land disposal effort for the Department Atwaters Atwater's office is located at Interior Department Building in Washington His office number is for anyone in- in interested Interested in making inquiry about the Departments Department's surplus lands Some additional money will be allocated in the 1984 budget which will willbe willbe be released in J January nuary to move the land disposal program along several govern govern- government government ment sources told Western Resources Wrap Wrap-up this past week Because the new budget is expected to tobe tobe be tight not a lot of extra dollars will be available but they are expected to go to the Interior Department the Forest Ser Ser- Service Service vice in the US Department of Agriculture USDA and the Department of Defense to identify surplus lands and other property Although the administration took the position that it had all or most of the authority it needs to dispose of federal real property when Mr Reagan an- an announced announced the new property disposal pro pro- program program gram in a Feb 25 executive order federal attorneys now advise that con con- considerable considerable new legislation is needed and it is being drafted now Among the the areas where new legisla- legisla legislation legislation tion is needed are authorization to sell public land to payoff pay off the national debt and to sell l lands within the National Forest System including apparently the four million acres of former farm land that the government picked up following passage of the Jones Bankhead-Jones Act in 1937 This land was turned over to the US Forest Service to manage in 1956 and much of it was included in the Na- Na National National Grasslands by a Secretarial order of the Agriculture Secretary in 1962 Joseph Cummings an attorney in the USDA General Counsels Counsel's office told on Oct 27 It would be better if we had new legislation to clarify the disposal of these called so-called land utilization units scattered throughout the country BLOCKBUSTER LAW LAWSUIT LAWSUIT SUIT FILED Even though the administrations administration's land disposal program is just now in the pro pro- process process cess of getting off the ground en- en environmental environmental groups concerned about the erosion of the federal land base through land sales have gone to court to stop the plan in its tracks The law Jaw suit was filed in the US District Court in Massachusetts in Boston on Sept 30 by bythe bythe the Conservation Law Foundation of New England the Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Wildlife Federation Defendants in the suit are officials of the Property Review Board which was esta established by President Reagan to handie han han- handle die dle the federal property disposal pro pro- program program gram of the Departments of Interior Agriculture and Treasury and the General Services Administration The case is regarded as so important by the Justice Department that it is consider consider- considering considering ing having the venue changed from Boston to Washington DC The law suit charges failure by these officials to comply with the National En- En Environmental Environmental Policy Act the Administration Administration tion Proc Procedures ures Act the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Federal Property and Ad- Ad Administrative Administrative Services Act of 1949 A Justice Department s source told Oct n 27 It is a very curious law lawsuit lawsuit suit because it seems to assume viola viola- violations violations of these laws in the future It does charge that no programmatic environmental en- en impact statement EIS is being prepared to implement ment the pro pro- program program gram and a Bureau of Land Manage Manage- Management ment source told oct 27 that was wasso wasso so None has been s started arted and the plan Is to handle the land disposal through the regular use land planning process and where necessary through individual EISs or environmental assessments on certain tracts according to INITIAL PROPOSAL AND PROBLEMS The initial plan under the Presidents President's disposal program was to dispose of 17 billion worth of surplus federal land and nd other property between 87 1983 About three million mimon acres of surplus federal land and other property including 27 million acres of land and acres of land managed by the Forest Ser Ser- Service Service vice have been identified as surplus by bythe bythe the Administration The inventory of potentially surplus lan lands and othel real 4 property much of it located in the public public- land West is continuing The aim of the plan is to help pay the US debt But the problems of land disposal are immense Public uses and some private uses are being made of most land in federal ownership and they would be af- af affected af- af affected by disposal Many current users are therefore op- op opposed opposed posed to the program Local governments both cities and the counties reclamation fund and the theland theland land and water conservation fund now benefit from revenues from Crom public lands so do the states They are now assessing whether they would come out ahead if the federal disposal program got into high gear locked Landlocked communities such as Payson Ariz want access to federal lands at their front door But many do not have the funds to pay the price accor- accor according according ding to Dick of the US Forest Service Federal land has been made available to local governments for park and other public purposes under a varie- varie variety vane vane- ty of laws for many years without cost or at very little cost They like the status quo so do federal land and property managers who have a built in bias against disposing of federal lands accor- accor according according ding to many government watchers Watt indicated the disposal of federal lands now being proposed by Mr Reagan is extremely small potatoes when he talked to the Public Lands Council on Sept 21 in Reno It will not make a real dent dentin in the third one of the nation still owned by the federal government It certainly will not make much of a dent here herein herein in Nevada where the feds control GO 00 GOmillion million acres 87 percent of the state Watt said Many types of lands such as National Parks and wilderness areas will not be considered for sale Much if not most of the lands to be of- of offered offered for sale will be small hard to manage manag parcels of lands situated in the middle of large private land holdings and federal lands adjacent to communities com com- communities to provide breathing space and growing room for federally landlocked landlocked ed communities Watt told the Council which had held a seminar on the federal land sales program on Sept 20 Among the points ints and questions rals rais- rais ed at the seminar What if lands are sold that are a part of a grazing lease le-ase or permit Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior Frank DuBois stated The Department is con con- considering considering a proposal to honor leases or 01 permits to the end of th term Under this proposal all will be guaranteed at least two years of grazing and for those where the term of the lease or permit extends beyond the year two period the sale will be subject to a stipulation that currently authorized grazing use may continue for the term of the permit or lease Nothing is definite yet he emphasized What if a rancher wanted to buy his grazing land that he now has under lease from the federal government If only scattered parcels of land are offered for sale loan funds may be available to qualified loan applicants James senior vice president of the Federal Land Bank of Sacramento said If large amounts of grazing land are offered most ranchers could not obtain loans to buy the land because they already have loans on their permitted lands You have to the purchase pur- pur purchase chase by the rancher of the outside federal grazing land will not increase the pounds of beef produced much at all total income stream m remains vir- vir virtually virtually unchanged said A pur- pur purchaser purchaser chaser would also have to be prepared to pay taxes on the land several speakers noted Many participants at the seminar questioned whether ranchers would want to saddle themselves with this additional tax burden was told What about the government itself pro pro- providing providing viding term long financing to allow ran ran- ranchers chers and others to buy federal tracts put up for sale The feds have some authority now to take 20 percent in cash with the remaining 80 percent to be paid within a stipulated time period such as asa asa a month Bruce I Selfon acting executive director director tor of the Property Review Board said the government wants to make cash sales to apply the proceeds toward the national debt But he didn't rule out some type of federal help We will have to be beas beas as imaginative and nd innovative as we can canin canin in financing this land consistent with statutory constraints he said |