(2) Who in good faith relied on an erroneous survey, title search, or other land description which did not reveal such encroachment.

(b) Forest Service officials shall consider the following factors when determining whether to convey lands upon which encroachments exist:

(1) The location of the property boundaries based on historical location and continued acceptance and maintenance,

(2) Factual evidence of claim of title or color of title,

(3) Notice given to persons encroaching on National Forest System lands, (4) Degree of development in the encroached upon area, and

(5) Creation of an uneconomic remnant.

$254.33 Road rights-of-way.

(a) Reserved or acquired road rightof-way parcels subject to conveyance under this subpart are limited to those which are substantially surrounded by lands not owned by the United States.

(b) Forest Service officials shall consider public road system right-of-way needs based on National Forest transportation planning and State and local law before making any conveyance of rights-of-way.

(c) Reimbursement will be required for the value of any improvements made by the United States or other highway authorities, unless waived by the Chief of the Forest Service.

§ 254.34 Mineral survey fractions.

(a) Mineral survey fractions subject to conveyance under this subpart are limited to those tracts which:

(1) Cannot be efficiently administered because of size, shape, or location;

(2) Are occupied or could be occupied or used by adjoining owners; and

(3) When sold separately or aggregated in one transaction, do not exceed 40 acres.

(b) Forest Service officials shall consider the following criteria in determining whether to convey mineral survey fractions under this subpart:

(1) The mineral survey fractions are interspersed among and are more or less an integral part of private land holdings;

(2) The feasibility and cost of surveying the parcels in order to manage them effectively;

(3) The size, shape, and location of the parcels as they affect management, utility, access, occupancy or use of the parcels or the lands with which they are interspersed.

§ 254.35 Limitations.

(a) Lands within the National Wilderness Preservation System, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, the National Trails System, and National Monuments are excluded from any conveyance under these provisions.

(b) Lands within National Recreation Areas may not be conveyed by sale under this subpart.

(c) The value of Federal lands conveyed in any transaction, pursuant to this subpart, shall not exceed $150,000.

(d) Compensation for lands conveyed shall be of at least equal value, or in the case of interchange, of approximately equal value, and may be in the form of land, interest in land (including minerals), or cash, or any combination thereof.

(e) The sale, exchange, or interchange of lands or interest in lands under these rules are discretionary and shall be made only if found to be in the public interest.

(f) The abutting landowner(s) shall have the first right of acquisition.

(g) The area of land conveyed shall be limited to the minimum necessary to resolve encroachment or land management problems.

[49 FR 1185, Jan. 10, 1984; 49 FR 2762, Jan. 23, 1984]

§ 254.36 Determining public interest.

(a) The requirements of § 254.35 and of one of §254.32, §254.33, or §254.34 must be met before a determination of public interest can be made.

(b) Before a conveyance is made under this subpart, such conveyance must be determined to be in the public interest.

(c) Forest Service officials shall consider the following criteria in determining when the public interest will be served:

(1) Sale, exchange, or interchange of the affected lands is not practicable under any other authority of the Secretary;

(2) Administration and management of National Forest System lands will be more efficient and will result in improved utilization;

(3) Access to and use and enjoyment of National Forest System lands by the general public will not be unduly impeded or restricted;

(4) New or extensive inholdings which would create management problems will not be established;

(5) Scenic, wildlife, environmental, historical, archaeological, or cultural values will not be substantially affected or impaired;

(6) Existence of structures authorized under a special use permit or easement, and

(7) Applicable Federal, State, and local laws, rules, regulations, and zoning ordinances will not be violated. §§ 254.37-254.39 [Reserved] $254.40 Applications.

(a) A request for conveyance of National Forest System land must be made in writing to the District Ranger or the Forest Supervisor who has administrative jurisdiction over the land.

(b) The applicant shall bear all reasonable costs of administration, survey, and appraisal incidental to the conveyance.

(c) Costs incidental to the conveyance may be waived at the discretion of the Chief of the Forest Service.

§ 254.41 Public sale or exchange in absence of application.

(a) Mineral survey fractions or road rights-of-way which have not been applied for by an abutting landowner may be offered to the public for sale or exchange at not less than fair market value.

(b) Public notice of a proposed sale of land for which there is no applicant shall be published once a week for four consecutive weeks in a local newspaper prior to the date of sale.

(c) The public notice shall describe the lands to be sold, minimum acceptable price, conditions of sale, sealed or oral bid procedures, date and location of sale.

§ 254.42 Valuation of tracts.

(a) Approximately equal value shall be determined by comparing and evaluating the elements of value on the lands or interest in lands to be interchanged. Elements of value to be considered include size, shape, location, physical attributes, functional utility, proximity of other similar sites, and amenities in the immediate environs of the parcel. Findings that tracts are approximately equal in value shall be documented. An applicant must signify acceptance of the value determination by signing the documented findings prior to the interchange.

(b) Equal value in sale or exchange transactions shall be developed by recognized appraisal methods following Forest Service appraisal procedures and the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisition. The date of the value estimate will be current with the date of sale or exchange.

(c) Improvements to National Forest System land made by any persons other than the Government may be excluded from the property value determinations.

§ 254.43 Surveys.

All necessary tract surveys of National Forest System land shall be conducted by a licensed private surveyor under Forest Service instructions, contracted by the person applying for the conveyance, or by a Forest Service surveyor. The person will also be required to have all Federal property boundaries resulting from a conveyance marked and posted to Forest Service standards. § 254.44 Document of conveyance.

(a) Title to the United States may be conveyed by quitclaim or warranty deed. The United States will convey title only by quitclaim deed.

AUTHORITY: 16 U.S.C. 551; 16 U.S.C. 472; 7 U.S.C. 1011(f); 16 U.S.C. 1246(1); 16 U.S.C. 1133(c) (d)(1); 16 U.S.C. 4306, 4307.

SOURCE: 42 FR 2957, Jan. 14, 1977, unless otherwise noted.

Subpart A-General Prohibitions § 261.1 Scope.

(a) The prohibitions in this part apply, except as otherwise provided, when:

(1) An act or omission occurs in the National Forest System or on a Forest development road or trail.

(2) An act or omission affects, threatens, or endangers property of the United States administered by the Forest Service.

(3) An act or omission affects, threatens, or endangers a person using, or engaged in the protection, improvement or administration of the National Forest System or a Forest development road or trail.

(4) An act or omission occurs within the designated boundaries of a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

(b) Nothing in this part shall preclude activities as authorized by the Wilderness Act of 1964 or the U.S. Mining Laws Act of 1872 as amended.

[42 FR 35958, July 13, 1977, as amended at 43 FR 32136, July 25, 1978; 46 FR 33519, June 30, 1981]

§ 261.1a Special use authorizations, contracts and operating plans.

The Chief, each Regional Forester, each Forest Supervisor, and each District Ranger or equivalent officer may issue special-use authorizations, award contracts, or approve operating plans authorizing the occupancy or use of a road, trail, area, river, lake, or other part of the National Forest System in accordance with authority which is delegated elsewhere in this chapter or in the Forest Service Manual. These Forest Officers may permit in the authorizing document or approved plan an act or omission that would otherwise be a violation of a subpart A or subpart C regulation or a subpart B order. In authorizing such uses, the Forest Officer may place such conditions on the authorization as that officer considers necessary for the protection or administration of the National Forest System, or for the promotion of public health, safety, or welfare.

[49 FR 25450, June 21, 1984]

$261.1b Penalty.

Any violation of the prohibitions of this part (261) shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than six months or both pursuant to title 16 U.S.C., section 551, unless otherwise provided.

[46 FR 33519, June 30, 1981]

§ 261.2 Definitions.

The following definitions apply to this part:

Archaeological resource means any material remains of prehistoric or historic human life or activities which are of archaeological interest and are at least 50 years of age, and the physical site, location, or context in which they are found.

Campfire means a fire, not within any building, mobile home or living accommodation mounted on a motor vehicle, which is used for cooking, personal warmth, lighting, ceremonial, or esthetic purposes. Fire includes campfire.

Camping means the temporary use of National Forest System lands for the purpose of overnight occupancy without a permanently-fixed structure.

Camping equipment means the personal property used in or suitable for

camping, and includes any vehicle used for transportation and all equipment in possession of a person camping. Food and beverage are not considered camping equipment.

Cave means any naturally occurring void, cavity, recess, or system of interconnected passages beneath the surface of the earth or within a cliff or ledge and which is large enough to permit a person to enter, whether the entrance is excavated or naturally formed. Such term shall include any natural pit, sinkhole, or other opening which is an extensive of a cave entrance or which is an integral part of the cave.

Cave resources mean any materials or substances occurring in caves including, but not limited to, biotic, cultural, mineralogic, paleontologic, geologic, and hydrologic resources.

Damaging means to injure, mutilate, deface, destroy, cut, chop, girdle, dig, excavate, kill or in any way harm or disturb.

Developed recreation site means an area which has been improved or developed for recreation.

Forest development road means a road wholly or partly within or adjacent to and serving a part of the National Forest System and which has been included in the Forest Development Road System Plan.

Forest development trail means a trail wholly or partly within or adjacent to and serving a part of the National Forest System and which has been included in the Forest Development Trail System Plan.

Forest officer means an employee of the Forest Service.

Historical resource means any structural, architectural, archaeological, artifactual or other material remains of past human life or activities which are of historical interest and are at least 50 years of age, and the physical site, location, or context in which they are found.

Motorized equipment means any machine activated by a nonliving power source except small battery-powered handcarried devices such as flashlights, shavers, Geiger counters, and cameras.

Motor vehicle means any vehicle which is self-propelled or any vehicle which is propelled by electric power ob

tained from batteries, but not operated on rails.

National Forest System includes all national forest lands and waters reserved or withdrawn from the public domain of the United States, national forest lands and waters acquired through purchase, exchange, donation, or other means, national grasslands and land utilization projects and waters administered under title III of the BankheadJones Farm Tenant Act (50 Stat. 525, 7 U.S.C. 1010-1012), and other lands, waters, or interests therein acquired under the Wild and Scenic River Act (16 U.S.C. 1271-1287) or National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1241–1249).

National Forest wilderness means those parts of the National Forest System which were designated units of the National Wilderness Preservation System by the Wilderness Act of September 3, 1964, and such other areas of the National Forest System as are added to the wilderness system by act of Congress.

Operating plan means a plan of operations as provided for in 36 CFR part 228, subpart A, and a surface use plan of operations as provided for in 36 CFR part 228, subpart E.

evidence

Paleontological resource means any of fossilized remains of multicellular invertebrate and vertebrate animals and multicellular plants, including imprints thereof. Organic remains primarily collected for use as fuel such as coal and oil are Paleontological Resources, but are excluded from the prohibitions under the rule.

Person means natural person, corporation, company, partnership, trust, firm, or association of persons.

Permission means oral authorization by a forest officer.

Permit means authorization in writing by a forest officer.

Prehistoric resource means any structural, architectural, archaeological, artifactual or other material remains of past human life or activity generally prior to the advent of written records and of anthropological interest, and the physical site, location, or context in which they are found.

Primitive areas are those areas within the National Forest System classified as Primitive on the effective date of the Wilderness Act, September 3, 1964.

Publicly nude means nude in any place where a person may be observed by another person. Any person is nude if the person has failed to cover the rectal area, pubic area or genitals. A female person is also nude if she has failed to cover both breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola. Each such covering must be fully opaque. No person under the age of 10 years shall be considered publicly nude.

Special-use authorization means a permit, term permit, lease or easement which allows occupancy, or use rights or privileges of National Forest System land.

State means any State, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.

State law means the law of any State in whose exterior boundaries an act or omission occurs regardless of whether State law is otherwise applicable.

Stove fire means a campfire built inside an enclosed stove or grill, a portable brazier, or a pressurized liquid or gas stove, including a space-heating device.

Unauthorized livestock means any cattle, sheep, goat, hog, or equine not definded as a wild free-roaming horse or burro by §222.20(b)(13), which is not authorized by permit to be upon the land on which the livestock is located and which is not related to use authorized by a grazing permit; provided, that noncommerical pack and saddle stock used by recreationists, travelers, other Forest visitors for occasional trips, as well as livestock to be trailed over an established driveway when there is no overnight stop on Forest Service administered land do not fall under this definition.

Vehicle means any device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported, including any frame, chassis, or body of any motor vehicle, except devices used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.

Volunteer or hosted enrollee means any person, not a Forest Service employee, officially participating in a Forest Service human resource program as authorized by an act of Congress and identified to accomplish one or more of the following objectives: provide skills training; education; useful work; de