§ 497. — Use and occupation of lands for hotels, resorts, summer homes, stores, and facilities for industrial, commercial, educational or public uses.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC497]
TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 2--NATIONAL FORESTS
SUBCHAPTER I--ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
Sec. 497. Use and occupation of lands for hotels, resorts,
summer homes, stores, and facilities for industrial, commercial,
educational or public uses
The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized, under such regulations
as he may make and upon such terms and conditions as he may deem proper,
(a) to permit the use and occupancy of suitable areas of land within the
national forests, not exceeding eighty acres and for periods not
exceeding thirty years, for the purpose of constructing or maintaining
hotels, resorts, and any other structures or facilities necessary or
desirable for recreation, public convenience, or safety; (b) to permit
the use and occupancy of suitable areas of land within the national
forests, not exceeding five acres and for periods not exceeding thirty
years, for the purpose of constructing or maintaining summer homes and
stores; (c) to permit the use and occupancy of suitable areas of land
within the national forest, not exceeding eighty acres and for periods
not exceeding thirty years, for the purpose of constructing or
maintaining buildings, structures, and facilities for industrial or
commercial purposes whenever such use is related to or consistent with
other uses on the national forests; (d) to permit any State or political
subdivision thereof, or any public or nonprofit agency, to use and
occupy suitable areas of land within the national forests not exceeding
eighty acres and for periods not exceeding thirty years, for the purpose
of constructing or maintaining any buildings, structures, or facilities
necessary or desirable for education or for any public use or in
connection with any public activity. The authority provided by this
section shall be exercised in such manner as not to preclude the general
public from full enjoyment of the natural, scenic, recreational, and
other aspects of the national forests.
(Mar. 4, 1915, ch. 144, 38 Stat. 1101; July 28, 1956, ch. 771, 70 Stat.
708.)
Amendments
1956--Act July 28, 1956, increased maximum area of land for each
purpose for which permits may be granted from not more than 5 acres to
not more than 80 acres, and authorized permits for facilities for public
safety, for buildings, structures, and facilities for industrial or
commercial purposes whenever such purposes are related to or consistent
with other use of the national forests, and for facilities to be used by
public or nonprofit agencies for education or public use or in
connection with any public activity.
Enhancing Forest Service Administration of Rights-of-Way and Land Uses
Pub. L. 106-113, div. B, Sec. 1000(a)(3) [title III, Sec. 331], Nov.
29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1535, 1501A-196, provided that:
``(a) The Secretary of Agriculture shall develop and implement a
pilot program for the purpose of enhancing forest service administration
of rights-of-way and other land uses. The authority for this program
shall be for fiscal years 2000 through 2004. Prior to the expiration of
the authority for this pilot program, the Secretary shall submit a
report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the
Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives that evaluates
whether the use of funds under this section resulted in more expeditious
approval of rights-of-way and special use authorizations. This report
shall include the Secretary's recommendation for statutory or regulatory
changes to reduce the average processing time for rights-of-way and
special use permit applications.
``(b) Deposit of Fees.--Subject to subsections (a) and (f), during
fiscal years 2000 through 2004, the Secretary of Agriculture shall
deposit into a special account established in the Treasury all fees
collected by the Secretary to recover the costs of processing
applications for, and monitoring compliance with, authorizations to use
and occupy National Forest System lands pursuant to section 28(l) of the
Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185(l)), section 504(g) of the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(g)), section 9701
of title 31, United States Code, and section 110(g) of the National
Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470h-2(g)).
``(c) Use of Retained Amounts.--Amounts deposited pursuant to
subsection (b) shall be available, without further appropriation, for
expenditure by the Secretary of Agriculture to cover costs incurred by
the Forest Service for the processing of applications for special use
authorizations and for monitoring activities undertaken in connection
with such authorizations. Amounts in the special account shall remain
available for such purposes until expended.
``(d) Reporting Requirement.--In the budget justification documents
submitted by the Secretary of Agriculture in support of the President's
budget for a fiscal year under section 1105 of title 31, United States
Code, the Secretary shall include a description of the purposes for
which amounts were expended from the special account during the
preceding fiscal year, including the amounts expended for each purpose,
and a description of the purposes for which amounts are proposed to be
expended from the special account during the next fiscal year, including
the amounts proposed to be expended for each purpose.
``(e) Definition of Authorization.--For purposes of this section,
the term `authorizations' means special use authorizations issued under
subpart B of part 251 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations.
``(f) Implementation.--This section shall take effect upon
promulgation of Forest Service regulations for the collection of fees
for processing of special use authorizations and for related monitoring
activities.''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 460aaa-2, 497b, 497c, 6203
of this title.
