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<DIV>Comment Period for Bush administration's "No Forest Left Uncut" plan
to fund rural schools has been extended to May 1. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 3/29/2006 11:45:30 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
Patricia_DeAngelis@fws.gov writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2><FONT
face=Arial size=2><B>Pardon the cross-postings.</B></FONT> <BR><BR><FONT
face=Arial size=2><B>Public comment is being sought for a proposal from the US
Forest Service to sell parcels of land in order to pay for rural schools.
I had a hard time finding the actual federal register notice. I'm
sure there is a lot more to this issue than what I've provided but this is a
start.</B></FONT> <BR>
<UL>
<LI><FONT face=Arial size=2><B>A copy of the FR notice</B></FONT>
<LI><FONT face=Arial size=2><B>An article from the Charleston
Gazette</B></FONT></LI></UL>
<P><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - </FONT><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2><B>Comment Period Open for Proposed Sale of National Forest
Land</B></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2><B><BR>Secure Rural Schools Land Sales
Initiative</B></FONT> <BR><FONT
size=2><BR>http://yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_32355.shtml</FONT>
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<TR>
<TD width="59%"><FONT face=Arial size=1>By: USDA<BR>Published: Mar 2,
2006 at 15:17</FONT>
<TD vAlign=top width="40%">
<DIV align=right><FONT face=Arial
size=2><BR><BR></FONT></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR><BR><FONT face=Arial
size=2><BR>The Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested
individuals and organizations on the list of National Forest System land
parcels in the FY 2007 President's Budget proposal to be sold for the purpose
of funding payments to Secure Rural Schools (SRS), should this program be
extended by amendment to the Secure Rural Schools and Community
Self-Determination Act of 2000. The sale of these parcels is contingent upon
amendment of the SRS as proposed by the President.<BR><B><BR>DATES</B>
<BR><BR>You should submit your comments by March 30, 2006 to be assured of
consideration. Comments received after that date will be considered only to
the extent practicable.<BR><B><BR>ADDRESSES</B><BR><BR>You may submit your
comments by e-mail to </FONT><A title=mailto:SRS_Land_Sales@fs.fed.us
href="mailto:SRS_Land_Sales@fs.fed.us"><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ee
size=2><U>SRS_Land_Sales@fs.fed.us</U></FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=2>, by
facsimile to (202) 205-1604, or by mail to USDA Forest Service, SRS Comments,
Lands 4S, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Mailstop 1124, Washington, DC
20250-0003. Electronic submission is preferred. If you submit your comments by
e-mail or fax, you do not need to send a paper copy by mail.<BR><BR>Your
comments may address the entire list of parcels identified in the President's
proposal, or an individual parcel or parcels on that list. If you are
commenting about a specific parcel on the list, it would be helpful to provide
the parcel's number from the list and all information specifically related to
the sale of that parcel.<BR><BR>Document and Comment Availability: In addition
to publishing the full text of this document in the Federal Register, the
Forest Service provides all interested persons an opportunity to view and/or
print the contents of this document, the potentially eligible lands listing,
and associated maps via the Internet. Information on this proposal and the
Federal Register Notice can be found at </FONT><A title=http://www.fs.fed.us/
href="http://www.fs.fed.us/" target=_blank><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ee
size=2><U>http://www.fs.fed.us</U></FONT></A><FONT face=Arial size=2> via the
Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act link to the
"President's FY 2007 Budget Proposal for the Forest Service--Secure Rural
Schools and Community Self-Determination Act Extension" page.<BR><B><BR>FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT</B> <BR><BR>Cynthia R. Swanson, Assistant Director
of Lands, Washington Office, 202-205-0099. Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern
Standard Time, Monday through Friday.<BR><B><BR>SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION</B><BR><BR>The Secure Rural Schools and Community
Self-Determination Act of 2000 (the Act) (Pub. L. 106-393) was enacted to
provide transitional assistance to rural counties that had been affected by
the decline in revenue from timber harvests on Federal lands. These counties
traditionally relied on a share of receipts from timber harvests to fund their
school systems and roads. The Act stabilized payments that are critically
important to more than 4,400 rural schools and addressed many severe
maintenance backlogs for county roads. Resource Advisory Committees (RACs)
established under the Act have developed and proposed forest health
improvement projects.<BR><BR>The President's fiscal year 2007 Budget for the
Forest Service proposes legislation to amend the Secure Rural Schools Act. The
legislation would provide a source of funding for payments under the Secure
Rural Schools Act by authorizing the sale of a limited number of National
Forest System lands. These parcels generally meet criteria traditionally used
by the Forest Service to identify lands suitable for sale or exchange. Many of
these parcels are isolated from other contiguous National Forest System lands,
and because of their location, size, or configuration are not efficient to
manage as a component of the National Forest System.<BR><BR>The Forest Service
manages about 193 million acres in 155 national forests and 20 national
grasslands located in 43 States across the nation. The limited number of
parcels included within this proposal constitutes less than 0.2 of 1% of the
National Forest System land base. A total of 304,370 acres and approximately
3,000 individual tracts have been identified on 120 national forests, 10
national grasslands, within 35 States.<BR><BR>Lands located within the
boundaries of any component of the National Wilderness Preservation System,
National Wild and Scenic River System, National Trail System, National
Recreation Area, National Monument, National Historic Site, National Preserve,
or specially designated areas such as Research Natural Areas and experimental
forests and ranges are not eligible for conveyance.<BR><BR>Many of the
identified parcels have not been inventoried for natural or cultural resources
specific to this proposal. However, they generally meet criteria traditionally
used by the Forest Service to identify parcels for potential sale or exchange.
Examples of primary benefits of disposal will include: <BR><BR>(1) Reduction
in agency costs associated with encroachments and boundary management; <BR>(2)
enhancement of local economies through private sector development; and <BR>(3)
increased opportunities for acquisition by local governmental entities for low
income housing, parks, fire stations, water and wastewater systems, and for
other community and public purposes.<BR><BR>The proposed sale of these parcels
is contingent upon the enactment of legislation by Congress to provide revenue
for the authorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community
Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-393). <BR><BR>The Forest Service
does not have general, non-specific, authority to sell National Forest System
lands.</FONT> </P></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
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