FIFTH PARAGRAPH OF PUBLIC LAW 270, SEVENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS, APPROVED OCTOBER 14, 1941 The Postmaster General may in his discretion extend this rate of 1 cent per pound or fraction thereof to reproducers for sound-reproduction records for the blind, or parts thereof, [and, when mailed to be repaired or being returned after repair,] to Braille writers and other appliances for the blind, or parts thereof, which are the property of State governments or subdivisions thereof, or of public libraries, or of private agencies for the blind not conducted for private profit, or of blind individuals, under such regulations as he may prescribe. EXCHANGE OF LAND WITH PLUMAS COUNTY, CALIF. JULY 19, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. COOLEY, from the Committee on Agriculture submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 4641] The Committee on Agriculture, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4641) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to accept title to certain land owned or to be acquired by the county of Plumas, State of California, and in exchange therefor to convey to Plumas County certain land owned by the United States in said county, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. STATEMENT The purpose of this bill (H. R. 4641) is to authorize the Forest Service to transfer to Plumas County, Calif., the land on which a Forest Service airport is located, and to receive in exchange therefor approximately 21 acres of land for use as a Forest Service ranger station and headquarters. The land on which the airport is located was contributed to the Federal Government in 1935. The airport has been developed and maintained jointly by the Forest Service and the county. Use of the airport by the Forest Service is limited to fire patrol and similar activities and does not justify the expenditure of funds necessary to keep the airport in condition for daily year-round use. In the past few years, however, there has been a growing use of the airport by residents of the nearby town of Chester and by persons coming into the area for recreational and business purposes. Transfer of the airport site to the county will permit the county and the town to take over its entire maintenance and provide the kind of airport facilities that are needed. The Forest Service will continue to use the airport for its fire patrols and other activities, but will be relieved of all maintenance and upkeep costs. The land to be received by the Forest Service in exchange for the airport area is situated near the town of Chester and adjacent to a highway. It is more advantageously located for purposes of a ranger station and forest headquarters than any land in the vicinity owned by the Forest Service. The cost to the Government of the proposed exchange will be negligible, consisting only of the time of regular departmental personnel consumed in handling the conveyance and the acceptance of the lands involved. DEPARTMENT REPORT The Department of Agriculture has recommended approval of the bill. Time did not permit formal clearance of the Department report with the Bureau of the Budget but the committee understands that the Bureau has no objection to the report. The letter of the Secretary of Agriculture recommending approval of H. R. 4641 is appended hereto and made a part of this report. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Hon. HAROLD D. COOLEY, Chairman, Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives. DEAR MR. COOLEY: This is in response to your request of May 20, 1949 for a report from this Department on H. R. 4641, a bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to accept title to certain land owned or to be acquired by the county of Plumas, State of California, and in exchange therefor to convey to Plumas County certain land owned by the United States in said county. H. R. 4641, if enacted, will authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange 144.976 acres, more or less, of land now owned by the United States and desired by Plumas County, Calif., as a public airport, for 21.262 acres, more or less, of land owned or being acquired by Plumas County and needed as a site for a ranger station with other facilities in connection with the Lassen National Forest. For the reasons hereinafter set forth, we recommend that H. R. 4641 be enacted. The 144.976 acres now owned by the Federal Government was, with other lands, donated to the United States for national forest purposes in 1935 under the act of March 3, 1925 (43 Stat. 1133) and lies in the immediate vicinity of the Lassen National Forest, Calif. There is at present no authority for exchange or other disposition of lands acquired under this act. After its acquisition in 1935, the Forest Service, in cooperation with Plumas County, developed on the land an airplane landing field for use of planes employed in connection with the protection of the nearby Lassen and Plumas National Forests. This air field, of course, also served as an emergency landing field for other aircraft and for the accommodation of private planes when needed therefor. The tract is located near the town of Chester, now a community of about 750 people, and in the center of a mountain area which is becoming increasingly popular for outdoor recreation. Substantial logging and lumbering operations also exist in the immediate vicinity. The use of the airfield by privately owned planes has therefore steadily increased and promises to continue to expand, so that there is rather an urgent need for enlargement and improvement of facilities and for the operation of the airfield as a community airport. Because of the lack of funds the Forest Service has not been able to adequately maintain and improve the landing field or appurtenant facilities. As a matter of fact, use of the field directly by Forest Service or other departmental aircraft does not appear sufficient to warrant any substantial investment of Forest Service appropriations to further expand or better the facilities there. Plumas County, on the other hand, has done a very substantial amount of work in maintaining and bettering the runways and other improvements under cooperative arrangements. În view of the need for a well-developed public airport in the area, Plumas County desires to acquire the site and to develop it more extensively for airport purposes, including installation of hangars and establishment of a management organization. The county, however, must have fee ownership of the lands in order to finance improvements and to qualify under State and Federal cooperative programs. The 21.262 acres of lands owned by Plumas County are located about a mile from the aforementioned town of Chester and near the airport tract above discussed. Because of increased national forest activities in the vicinity, the Forest Service has located a district forest ranger at Chester and urgently needs a desirable tract of land on which to construct an office, warehouse facilities for fire and other equipment, and other improvements needed in the management and protection of the national forest. No presently owned Federal lands are available and suitable for this purpose. These lands of the county, however, are very well situated for use as a ranger station site, being on a main highway, reasonably close to schools and stores, susceptible of economical development, and advantageously located in relation to the national forest work with which the ranger will be concerned. The conveyance of the lands now owned by the United States so that they can be adequately developed by Plumas County as a public airport, will not interfere with any program of this Department and appears to be in the general public interest. Acquisition by the United States, in exchange, of the county-owned lands needed and useful in the protection and administration of the adjoining national forests will be most helpful. The exchange as authorized by H. R. 4641, therefore, appears mutually beneficial to the Federal Government and to the local community. The cost to the United States incident to an exchange as authorized will be negligible, involving only the time of regular departmental personnel that may be required to handle the conveyance of the federally owned tract and the acceptance of title to the county lands. Pursuant to your request, this report is being transmitted without awaiting the advice of the Bureau of the Budget as to the relation of H. R. 4641 to the program of the President. Sincerely, CHARLES F. BRANNAN, Secretary. |