Many high quality recreation properties are for sale now that were not on the market 6 months ago and conversely many properties that were on the market 6 months ago are no longer for sale. This constantly changing market concerns us very much and makes a specific individual tract programing very difficult. We have now been purchasing land under the Lands and Water Conservation Fund Act for 5 years. We have had the opportunity to test the existing programing procedures under a variety of conditions. From past experience we can predict that we will be about 50 percent successful in negotiating purchases for the 452 tracts of land included in the proposed program for fiscal year 1971. The balance of the program will consist of alternative tracts that will be purchased under reprograming procedures. This does not mean that these tracts will be of any less quality than those included in this program. The tracts included in this program are available and in many cases final negotiations for purchase are completed. But from past experience we know that in many cases the properties will be removed from the market, the asking price will exceed market value, or properties more desirable will become available.

We feel there is a need to streamline the programing procedures and make this ever-changing real estate market work to the public's advantage. In order to insure that tracts of the highest priority required to meet demonstrated recreation needs are acquired, a refined planning system has been placed in effect throughout the National Forest System. The program now being considered is a result of this intensified planning system. It fully recognizes areas which have outstanding recreation resources and potential to meet the present and future demands of the public and recognizes priorities and alternatives to meet those demands. The key to this planning system is delineation of recreation management composites which encompass the basic recreation resources, such as, present or future intensive recreation development areas (singularly or in groups), dispersed-typed recreation areas, special biological wildlife management situations, and deficit hunting and fishing base areas. For example, a scenic recreation way and the interrelated recreation activities including specific intensive use recreation areas, vistas, lakes and trails, would be a recreation management composite. Another example would be a stretch of a river as it flows through the National Forest and the related recreation uses.

This type of planning establishes the foundation for development of the 5-year Lands and Water Conservation Fund acquisition plan that is reviewed by the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. The annual budget submission is prepared from the 5-year plan. The properties that are to be acquired for sound recreation development and management are defined in the 5-year plan and illustrated on a map such as we have prepared. Let me describe what is included in this illustration of the Muskingum Composite:

1. The green is present National Forest land.

2. The white is private, State or county land.

3. The green crosshatch are lands being considered for purchase using regular Weeks law funds.

4. The yellow shows the lands proposed for purchase and included in the 5-year program under the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Determinations are made as to whether fee title is required or whether purchase of a partial interest in the land will meet the basic resource needs. Priorities are then established based on the specific requirements and schedules for development and use, the potentials for adverse use by private landowners, anticipated price trends, and property availability. The strength of these plans is the built-in flexibility to shift our emphasis to alternative properties of substantially equal priority within the approved 5-year plan for the management composite and the national forest planning units. Acquisition by condemnation is not the rule, but rather the exception, and in our experience an expensive exception. We believe that unless special circumstances are involved, properties should be acquired from private landowners through voluntary negotiations. At this time in most areas there are many alternative comparable tracts of land available for purchase that will serve the needs of the recreation-using public without resorting to condemnation. The flexibility to shift from a tract of land contained in an annual budget upon failure to reach agreement with a landowner to another equally high-priority alternative tract within the same national forest management unit, will result in the Forest Service acquiring needed recreation lands at a lower cost to the United States. This procedure will largely eliminate present reprograming, allow for orderly on-the-ground review by the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, and help reduce price escalation.

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Under this proposal, authority to buy a property not contained in the 5-year plan would require reprograming action. This will provide the flexibility so necessary to handle a land-purchase program in the changing real estate market we are now experiencing. We would like to explore this further with the committee and its staff with the hope of implementing the system beginning in fiscal year 1972.

STATUS OF FOREST SERVICE PROGRAM

AS OF FEBRUARY 1, 1970

LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND ACT

CHART #1

FISCAL YEARS 1965-1970

400

200

THOUSANDS OF ACRES

600

800

LAND ACQUISITION, OUACHITA NATIONAL FOREST

Mrs. HANSEN. Justify your request to purchase 264 acres in Ouachita National Forest.

Mr. CLIFF. We have five tracts scheduled in Arkansas. They are on the Fourche-LeFave River and Lake Ouachita. They include land which is needed for development of public camp grounds.

Mrs. HANSEN. Are you buying private lands?

Mr. CLIFF. Yes.

Mrs. HANSEN. Is it for sale or do you have to take it?

Mr. CLIFF. This, we would hope to get at negotiated purchase.
Mrs. HANSEN. Is it now under option?

Mr. DROEGE. These are not properties that we would buy if they weren't for sale.

Mrs. HANSEN. What is the total acreage in the Ouachita National Forest?

Mr. CLIFF. The Arkansas portion of the Ouachita Forest is quite large with about 1,300,000 acres, but there are many inholdings in the Ouachita.

Mrs. HANSEN. Do you have a map of the area?

Mr. DROEGE. We don't have a map with us.

Mrs. HANSEN. The Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife had very good maps.

Mr. DROEGE. We have 64 management units in the National Forest System in this program and it would take quite a reef of maps if we tried to bring them all. We can certainly supply for the record the acreages for these units. We can also supply the population national forest relationship table.

(The information follows:)

ARKANSAS PORTION OF OUACHITA NATIONAL FOREST

Acreage and Visitor-Days Use

National forest system lands..

Private lands within boundary.

Gross area within boundary_

Calendar year 1969 visitor-days use_.

1, 327, 386 633, 889 1, 961, 275 1,579, 300