43 USC 1701 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as Amended

§ 1701

TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS

Sec.

Sec.

1712.
1713.
1714.
1715.

Land use plans.
Sales of public land tracts.
Withdrawals of lands.
Acquisitions of public lands and access over
non-Federal lands to National Forest System units.
Exchanges of public lands or interests therein
within the National Forest System.
Qualifications of conveyees.
Documents of conveyance; terms, covenants,
etc.
Mineral interests; reservation and conveyance requirements and procedures.
Coordination by Secretary of the Interior
with State and local governments.
Conveyances of public lands to States, local
governments, etc.
Sale of public lands subject to unintentional
trespass.
Temporary revocation authority.

1716.
1717.
1718.
1719.
1720.
1721.
1722.
1723.

SUBCHAPTER III—ADMINISTRATION
1731.
1732.
1733.
1734.
1734a.
1735.
1736.
1736a.
1737.
1738.
1739.
1740.
1741.
1742.
1742a.
1743.
1744.
1745.
1746.
1747.

1748.
1748a.
1748a–1.
1748a–2.
1748b.
1748b–1.
1748c.
1748d.

Bureau of Land Management.
Management of use, occupancy, and development of public lands.
Enforcement authority.
Fees, charges, and commissions.
Availability of excess fees.
Forfeitures and deposits.
Working capital fund.
Revolving fund derived from disposal of salvage timber.
Implementation provisions.
Contracts for surveys and resource protection; renewals; funding requirements.
Advisory councils.
Rules and regulations.
Annual reports.
Search, rescue, and protection forces; emergency situations authorizing hiring.
Good Samaritan Search and Recovery Act.
Disclosure of financial interests by officers or
employees.
Recordation of mining claims.
Disclaimer of interest in lands.
Correction of conveyance documents.
Loans to States and political subdivisions;
purposes; amounts; allocation; terms and
conditions; interest rate; security; limitations; forebearance for benefit of borrowers;
recordkeeping requirements; discrimination
prohibited; deposit of receipts.
Funding requirements.
FLAME Wildfire Suppression Reserve Funds.
Request for additional wildfire suppression
funds.
Reporting requirements.
Cohesive wildfire management strategy.
Wildfire technology modernization.
Bureau of Land Management Foundation.
Report on wildfire, insect infestation, and
disease prevention on Federal land.

SUBCHAPTER IV—RANGE MANAGEMENT
1751.

1752.
1753.

Grazing fees; feasibility study; contents; submission of report; annual distribution and
use of range betterment funds; nature of
distributions.
Grazing leases and permits.
Omitted.
SUBCHAPTER V—RIGHTS-OF-WAY

1761.
1761a.

1762.
1763.

Page 496

Grant, issue, or renewal of rights-of-way.
Streamlining the Forest Service process for
consideration of communications facility
location applications.
Roads.
Right-of-way corridors; criteria and procedures applicable for designation.

1764.
1765.
1766.

General requirements.
Terms and conditions.
Suspension or termination; grounds; procedures applicable.
1767.
Rights-of-way for Federal departments and
agencies.
1768.
Conveyance of lands covered by right-of-way;
terms and conditions.
1769.
Existing right-of-way or right-of-use unaffected; exceptions; rights-of-way for railroad and appurtenant communication facilities; applicability of existing terms and
conditions.
1770.
Applicability of provisions to other Federal
laws.
1771.
Coordination of applications.
1772.
Vegetation management, facility inspection,
and operation and maintenance relating to
electric transmission and distribution facility rights of way.
SUBCHAPTER VI—DESIGNATED MANAGEMENT
AREAS
1781.
1781a.
1782.
1783.
1784.
1785.
1786.
1787.

California Desert Conservation Area.
Acceptance of donation of certain existing
permits or leases.
Bureau of Land Management Wilderness
Study.
Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area.
Lands in Alaska; designation as wilderness;
management by Bureau of Land Management pending Congressional action.
Fossil Forest Research Natural Area.
Piedras Blancas Historic Light Station.
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural
Area.

SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 1701. Congressional declaration of policy
(a) The Congress declares that it is the policy
of the United States that—
(1) the public lands be retained in Federal
ownership, unless as a result of the land use
planning procedure provided for in this Act, it
is determined that disposal of a particular parcel will serve the national interest;
(2) the national interest will be best realized
if the public lands and their resources are periodically and systematically inventoried and
their present and future use is projected
through a land use planning process coordinated with other Federal and State planning
efforts;
(3) public lands not previously designated for
any specific use and all existing classifications
of public lands that were effected by executive
action or statute before October 21, 1976, be reviewed in accordance with the provisions of
this Act;
(4) the Congress exercise its constitutional
authority to withdraw or otherwise designate
or dedicate Federal lands for specified purposes and that Congress delineate the extent
to which the Executive may withdraw lands
without legislative action;
(5) in administering public land statutes and
exercising discretionary authority granted by
them, the Secretary be required to establish
comprehensive rules and regulations after considering the views of the general public; and to
structure adjudication procedures to assure
adequate third party participation, objective
administrative review of initial decisions, and
expeditious decisionmaking;

Page 497

§ 1701

TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS

(6) judicial review of public land adjudication decisions be provided by law;
(7) goals and objectives be established by law
as guidelines for public land use planning, and
that management be on the basis of multiple
use and sustained yield unless otherwise specified by law;
(8) the public lands be managed in a manner
that will protect the quality of scientific, scenic, historical, ecological, environmental, air
and atmospheric, water resource, and archeological values; that, where appropriate, will
preserve and protect certain public lands in
their natural condition; that will provide food
and habitat for fish and wildlife and domestic
animals; and that will provide for outdoor
recreation and human occupancy and use;
(9) the United States receive fair market
value of the use of the public lands and their
resources unless otherwise provided for by
statute;
(10) uniform procedures for any disposal of
public land, acquisition of non-Federal land
for public purposes, and the exchange of such
lands be established by statute, requiring each
disposal, acquisition, and exchange to be consistent with the prescribed mission of the department or agency involved, and reserving to
the Congress review of disposals in excess of a
specified acreage;
(11) regulations and plans for the protection
of public land areas of critical environmental
concern be promptly developed;
(12) the public lands be managed in a manner
which recognizes the Nation’s need for domestic sources of minerals, food, timber, and fiber
from the public lands including implementation of the Mining and Minerals Policy Act of
1970 (84 Stat. 1876, 30 U.S.C. 21a) as it pertains
to the public lands; and
(13) the Federal Government should, on a
basis equitable to both the Federal and local
taxpayer, provide for payments to compensate
States and local governments for burdens created as a result of the immunity of Federal
lands from State and local taxation.
(b) The policies of this Act shall become effective only as specific statutory authority for
their implementation is enacted by this Act or
by subsequent legislation and shall then be construed as supplemental to and not in derogation
of the purposes for which public lands are administered under other provisions of law.
(Pub. L. 94–579, title I, § 102, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat.
2744.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
This Act, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1), (3) and (b), is
Pub. L. 94–579, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2743, as amended,
known as the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976. For complete classification of this Act to
the Code, see Tables.
The Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970, referred
to in subsec. (a)(12), is Pub. L. 91–631, Dec. 31, 1970, 84
Stat. 1876, which is classified to section 21a of Title 30,
Mineral Lands and Mining.
SHORT TITLE OF 2018 AMENDMENT
Pub. L. 115–141, div. O, § 101(a), Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat.
1059, as amended by Pub. L. 116–6, § 7(2), Feb. 15, 2019, 133
Stat. 15, provided that: ‘‘This division [see Tables for

classification] may be cited as the ‘Stephen Sepp Wildfire Suppression Funding and Forest Management Activities Act’.’’
SHORT TITLE OF 2009 AMENDMENT
Pub. L. 111–88, div. A, title V, § 501, Oct. 30, 2009, 123
Stat. 2968, provided that: ‘‘This title [enacting sections
1748a and 1748b of this title] may be cited as the ‘Federal Land Assistance, Management, and Enhancement
Act of 2009’ or ‘FLAME Act of 2009’.’’
SHORT TITLE OF 1988 AMENDMENT
Pub. L. 100–409, § 1, Aug. 20, 1988, 102 Stat. 1086, provided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting section 1723 of this
title, amending section 1716 of this title and sections
505a, 505b, and 521b of Title 16, Conservation, and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 751 and
1716 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Federal Land Exchange Facilitation Act of 1988’.’’
SHORT TITLE
Pub. L. 94–579, title I, § 101, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2744,
provided that: ‘‘This Act [see Tables for classification]
may be cited as the ‘Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976’.’’
SAVINGS PROVISION
Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 701, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat.
2786, provided that:
‘‘(a) Nothing in this Act, or in any amendment made
by this Act [see Short Title note above], shall be construed as terminating any valid lease, permit, patent,
right-of-way, or other land use right or authorization
existing on the date of approval of this Act [Oct. 21,
1976].
‘‘(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act, in
the event of conflict with or inconsistency between this
Act and the Acts of August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 874; 43
U.S.C. 1181a–1181j [now 43 U.S.C. 2601 et seq., see Tables
for classification]), and May 24, 1939 (53 Stat. 753), insofar as they relate to management of timber resources,
and disposition of revenues from lands and resources,
the latter Acts shall prevail.
‘‘(c) All withdrawals, reservations, classifications,
and designations in effect as of the date of approval of
this Act shall remain in full force and effect until
modified under the provisions of this Act or other applicable law.
‘‘(d) Nothing in this Act, or in any amendments made
by this Act, shall be construed as permitting any person to place, or allow to be placed, spent oil shale, overburden, or byproducts from the recovery of other minerals found with oil shale, on any Federal land other
than Federal land which has been leased for the recovery of shale oil under the Act of February 25, 1920 (41
Stat. 437, as amended; 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.).
‘‘(e) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as modifying, revoking, or changing any provision of the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat. 688, as amended; 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).
‘‘(f) Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to repeal any
existing law by implication.
‘‘(g) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as limiting or restricting the power and authority of the
United States or—
‘‘(1) as affecting in any way any law governing appropriation or use of, or Federal right to, water on
public lands;
‘‘(2) as expanding or diminishing Federal or State
jurisdiction, responsibility, interests, or rights in
water resources development or control;
‘‘(3) as displacing, superseding, limiting, or modifying any interstate compact or the jurisdiction or responsibility of any legally established joint or common agency of two or more States or of two or more
States and the Federal Government;
‘‘(4) as superseding, modifying, or repealing, except
as specifically set forth in this Act, existing laws applicable to the various Federal agencies which are au-

§ 1702

TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS

thorized to develop or participate in the development
of water resources or to exercise licensing or regulatory functions in relation thereto;
‘‘(5) as modifying the terms of any interstate compact;
‘‘(6) as a limitation upon any State criminal statute or upon the police power of the respective States,
or as derogating the authority of a local police officer
in the performance of his duties, or as depriving any
State or political subdivision thereof of any right it
may have to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction
on the national resource lands; or as amending, limiting, or infringing the existing laws providing grants
of lands to the States.
‘‘(h) All actions by the Secretary concerned under
this Act shall be subject to valid existing rights.
‘‘(i) The adequacy of reports required by this Act to
be submitted to the Congress or its committees shall
not be subject to judicial review.
‘‘(j) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the distribution of livestock grazing revenues to
local governments under the Granger-Thye Act (64
Stat. 85, 16 U.S.C. 580h), under the Act of May 23, 1908
(35 Stat. 260, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 500), under the Act
of March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 843, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 501),
and under the Act of June 20, 1910 (36 Stat. 557).’’
SEVERABILITY
Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 707, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat.
2794, provided that: ‘‘If any provision of this Act [see
Short Title note set out above] or the application
thereof is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and
the application thereof shall not be affected thereby.’’
REFERENCES TO DIVISION O OF PUB. L. 115–141
Pub. L. 115–141, div. O, § 101(b), Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat.
1059, as amended by Pub. L. 116–6, § 7(2), Feb. 15, 2019, 133
Stat. 15, provided that: ‘‘A reference to the Wildfire
Suppression Funding and Forest Management Activities Act [div. O of Pub. L. 115–141, see Short Title of 2018
Amendment note above], including a reference in a regulation, order, or other law, is deemed to refer to the
Stephen Sepp Wildfire Suppression Funding and Forest
Management Activities Act.’’
EXISTING RIGHTS-OF-WAY
Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 706(b), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat.
2794, provided that: ‘‘Nothing in section 706(a) [see
Tables for classification], except as it pertains to
rights-of-way, may be construed as affecting the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture under the Act
of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat. 35, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 551);
the Act of July 22, 1937 (50 Stat. 525, as amended, 7
U.S.C. 1010–1212); or the Act of September 3, 1954 (68
Stat. 1146, 43 U.S.C. 931c).’’

§ 1702. Definitions
Without altering in any way the meaning of
the following terms as used in any other statute,
whether or not such statute is referred to in, or
amended by, this Act, as used in this Act—
(a) The term ‘‘areas of critical environmental
concern’’ means areas within the public lands
where special management attention is required
(when such areas are developed or used or where
no development is required) to protect and prevent irreparable damage to important historic,
cultural, or scenic values, fish and wildlife resources or other natural systems or processes, or
to protect life and safety from natural hazards.
(b) The term ‘‘holder’’ means any State or
local governmental entity, individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other business
entity receiving or using a right-of-way under
subchapter V of this chapter.
(c) The term ‘‘multiple use’’ means the management of the public lands and their various re-

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source values so that they are utilized in the
combination that will best meet the present and
future needs of the American people; making the
most judicious use of the land for some or all of
these resources or related services over areas
large enough to provide sufficient latitude for
periodic adjustments in use to conform to
changing needs and conditions; the use of some
land for less than all of the resources; a combination of balanced and diverse resource uses
that takes into account the long-term needs of
future generations for renewable and nonrenewable resources, including, but not limited to,
recreation, range, timber, minerals, watershed,
wildlife and fish, and natural scenic, scientific
and historical values; and harmonious and coordinated management of the various resources
without permanent impairment of the productivity of the land and the quality of the environment with consideration being given to the relative values of the resources and not necessarily
to the combination of uses that will give the
greatest economic return or the greatest unit
output.
(d) The term ‘‘public involvement’’ means the
opportunity for participation by affected citizens in rulemaking, decisionmaking, and planning with respect to the public lands, including
public meetings or hearings held at locations
near the affected lands, or advisory mechanisms,
or such other procedures as may be necessary to
provide public comment in a particular instance.
(e) The term ‘‘public lands’’ means any land
and interest in land owned by the United States
within the several States and administered by
the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management, without regard to
how the United States acquired ownership, except—
(1) lands located on the Outer Continental
Shelf; and
(2) lands held for the benefit of Indians,
Aleuts, and Eskimos.
(f) The term ‘‘right-of-way’’ includes an easement, lease, permit, or license to occupy, use, or
traverse public lands granted for the purpose
listed in subchapter V of this chapter.
(g) The term ‘‘Secretary’’, unless specifically
designated otherwise, means the Secretary of
the Interior.
(h) The term ‘‘sustained yield’’ means the
achievement and maintenance in perpetuity of a
high-level annual or regular periodic output of
the various renewable resources of the public
lands consistent with multiple use.
(i) The term ‘‘wilderness’’ as used in section
1782 of this title shall have the same meaning as
it does in section 1131(c) of title 16.
(j) The term ‘‘withdrawal’’ means withholding
an area of Federal land from settlement, sale,
location, or entry, under some or all of the general land laws, for the purpose of limiting activities under those laws in order to maintain other
public values in the area or reserving the area
for a particular public purpose or program; or
transferring jurisdiction over an area of Federal
land, other than ‘‘property’’ governed by the
Federal Property and Administrative Services
Act, as amended (40 U.S.C. 472) 1 from one de1 See

References in Text note below.