ACT MARCH 3, 1891, c. 561. (26 Stat. 1095.)

Establishment of forest reservations.

SEC. 24. That the President of the United States may, from time to time, set apart and reserve, in any State or Territory having public land bearing forests, in any part of the public lands wholly or in part covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not, as public reservations, and the President shall, by public proclamation, declare the establishment of such reservations and the limits thereof.

Act March 3, 1891, c. 561, s. 24, 26 Stat. 1103.

This section is a portion of "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes," cited above.

ACT MARCH 4, 1907, c. 2907. (34 Stat. 1256.)

Forest reserves to be known as national forests.

* * * forest reserves *

national forests * * *

**

shall be known hereafter as

Act March 4, 1907, c. 2907, 34 Stat. 1269.

This is a provision of the agricultural appropriation act for the fiscal year 1908, cited above.

ACT JUNE 4, 1897, c. 2. (30 Stat. 11.)

Revocation, modification, or suspension of Executive orders establishing forest reservations; orders setting aside lands in certain States, suspended.

**That, to remove any doubt which may exist pertaining to the authority of the President thereunto [public lands that may have been or may hereafter be designated as forest reserves by Executive proclamation, under section twenty-four of the Act of Congress approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, entitled "An Act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes,"], the President of the United States is hereby authorized and empowered to revoke, modify, or suspend any and all such Executive orders and proclamations, or any part thereof, from time to time as he shall deem best for the public interests: Provided, That the Executive orders and proclamations dated February twenty-second, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, setting apart and reserving certain lands in the States of Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Washington, Idaho, and South Dakota as forest reservations, be, and they are hereby, suspended, and the lands embraced therein restored to the public domain the same as though said orders and proclamations had not been issued: Provided further, That lands embraced in said reservations not otherwise disposed of before March first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, shall again become subject to the operations of said. orders and proclamations as now existing or hereafter modified by the President.

Act June 4, 1897, c. 2, s. 1, 30 Stat. 34.

These are provisos of the sundry civil appropriation act for the fiscal year 1898, cited above.

The provisions of act March 3, 1891, c. 561, s. 24, referred to in this paragraph, are set forth above.

By a provision of act March 4, 1907, c. 2907, set forth on p. 91, post, no forest reserve shall be created nor additions made to existing forest reserves, within the States of Oregon, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, or Wyoming, except by act of Congress.

Purposes for which forest reserves may be administered and established.

All public lands heretofore designated and reserved by the President of the United States under the provisions of the Act approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, the orders for which shall be and remain in full force and effect, unsuspended and unrevoked, and all public lands that may hereafter be set aside and reserved as public forest reserves under said Act, shall be as far as practicable controlled and administered in accordance with the following provisions:

No public forest reservation shall be established, except to improve and protect the forest within the reservation, or for the purpose of securing favorable conditions of water flows, and to furnish a continuous supply of timber for the use and necessities of citizens of the United States; but it is not the purpose or intent of these provisions, or of the Act providing for such reservations, to authorize the inclusion therein of lands more valuable for the mineral therein, or for agricultural purposes, than for forest purposes.

Protection of forest reserves; rules and regulations therefor.

The Secretary of the Interior shall make provisions for the protection against destruction by fire and depredations upon the public forests and forest reservations which may have been set aside or which may be hereafter set aside under the said Act of March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, and which may be continued; and he may make such rules and regulations and establish such service as will insure the objects of such reservations, namely, to regulate their occupancy and use and to preserve the forests thereon from destruction; and any violation of the provisions of this Act or such rules and regulations shall be punished as is provided for in the Act of June fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight, amending section fiftythree hundred and eighty-eight of the Revised Statutes of the United States.

Act June 4, 1897, c. 2, s. 1, 30 Stat. 34.

These are further provisions of the sundry civil appropriation act for the fiscal year 1898, cited above.

The provisions of act March 3, 1891, c. 561, s. 24, referred to above, are set forth above.

The provisions of Rev. St. sec. 5388, as amended by act June 4, 1888, c. 340, 25 Stat. 166, mentioned above, are incorporated in "An act to codify, revise, and amend the penal laws of the United States," act March 4, 1909, c. 321, s. 50, set forth on p. 105, post. Said Rev. St. sec. 5388 and said act June 4, 1888, are expressly repealed by section 341 of said act March 4, 1909.

The Secretary of Agriculture shall execute all laws affecting public lands reserved under the provisions of act March 3, 1891, c. 561, s. 24, except such laws as affect the surveying, prospecting, locating, entering, etc., and patenting of such lands, by the provisions of "An act providing for the transfer of forest reserves from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Agriculture," act February 1, 1905, c. 288, s. 1, set forth on p. 86, ante.

Sale of timber on forest reservations.

For the purpose of preserving the living and growing timber and promoting the younger growth on forest reservations, the Secretary of the Interior, under such rules and regulations as he shall prescribe, may cause to be designated and appraised so much of the dead, matured, or large growth of trees found upon such forest reserva

tions as may be compatible with the utilization of the forests thereon, and may sell the same for not less than the appraised value in such quantities to each purchaser as he shall prescribe, to be used in the State or Territory in which such timber reservation may be situated, respectively, but not for export therefrom. Before such sale shall take place notice thereof shall be given by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, for not less than thirty days, by publication in one or more newspapers of general circulation, as he may deem necessary, in the State or Territory where such reservation exists: Provided, however, That in cases of unusual emergency the Secretary of the Interior may, in the exercise of his discretion, permit the purchase of timber and cord wood in advance of advertisement of sale at rates of value approved by him and subject to payment of the full amount of the highest bid resulting from the usual advertisement of sale: Provided further, That he may, in his discretion, sell without advertisement, in quantities to suit applicants, at a fair appraisement, timber and cord wood not exceeding in value one hundred dollars stumpage: And provided further, That in cases in which advertisement is had and no satisfactory bid is received, or in cases in which the bidder fails to complete the purchase, the timber may be sold, without further advertisement, at private sale, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, at not less than the appraised valuation, in quantities to suit purchasers: And provided further, That the provisions of this Act shall not apply to existing forest reservations in the State of California, or to reservations that may be hereafter created within said State; payments for such timber to be made to the receiver of the local land office of the district wherein said timber may be sold, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe; and the moneys arising therefrom shall be accounted for by the receiver of such land office to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, in a separate account, and shall be covered into the Treasury. Such timber before being sold, shall be marked and designated, and shall be cut and removed under the supervision of some person appointed for that purpose by the Secretary of the Interior, not interested in the purchase or removal of such timber nor in the employment of the purchaser thereof. Such supervisor shall make report in writing to the Commissioner of the • General Land Office and to the receiver in the land office in which • such reservation shall be located of his doings in the premises.

Act June 4, 1897, c. 2, s. 1, 30 Stat. 35.

These are further provisions of the sundry civil appropriation act for the fiscal year 1898, cited above, as amended by act June 6, 1900, c. 804, 31 Stat. 661.

The proviso of this paragraph that the provisions of this act shall not apply to forest reservations in California, is superseded by a provision of act June 30, 1906, c. 3913, set forth on p. 92, post, that sales of timber on forest reserves in the State of California shall in every respect conform to the provisions of act June 6, 1900, c. 804, 31 Stat. 661, amending this paragraph, here set forth as amended.

See note under the preceding paragraph relating to the execution of laws affecting forest reservations, by the Secretary of Agriculture. Use of timber and stone on forest reservations, by settlers, miners, residents, and prospectors.

The Secretary of the Interior may permit, under regulations to be prescribed by him, the use of timber and stone found upon such

reservations, free of charge, by bona fide settlers, miners, residents, and prospectors for minerals, for firewood, fencing, buildings, mining, prospecting, and other domestic purposes, as may be needed by such persons for such purposes; such timber to be used within the State or Territory, respectively, where such reservations may be located.

Egress or ingress to actual settlers in forest reservations; prospecting, locating, and developing mineral resources.

Nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting the egress or ingress of actual settlers residing within the boundaries of such reservations, or from crossing the same to and from their property or homes; and such wagon roads and other improvements may be constructed thereon as may be necessary to reach their homes and to utilize their property under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. Nor shall anything herein prohibit any person from entering upon such forest reservations for all proper and lawful purposes, including that of prospecting, locating, and developing the mineral resources thereof: Provided, That such persons comply with the rules and regulations covering such forest reservations.

Act June 4, 1897, c. 2, s. 1, 30 Stat. 35.

These are further provisions of the sundry civil appropriation act for the fiscal year 1898, cited above.

Act February 20, 1896, c. 28. 29 Stat. 11, provides that certain forest reservations in the State of Colorado shall be open to the location of mining claims for certain metals, and authorizes owners of such claims to fell and remove therefrom timber for mining purposes.

See note under the fourth paragraph of this act as here set forth, relating to the execution of laws affecting forest reservations by the Secretary of Agriculture.

Selection of land in lieu of land in forest reservations.

That in cases in which a tract covered by an unperfected bona fide claim or by a patent is included within the limits of a public forest reservation, the settler or owner thereof may, if he desires to do so, relinquish the tract to the Government, and may select in lieu thereof a tract of vacant land open to settlement not exceeding in area the tract covered by his claim or patent; and no charge shall be made in such cases for making the entry of record or issuing the patent to cover the tract selected: Provided further, That in cases of unperfected claims the requirements of the laws respecting settlement, residence, improvements, and so forth, are complied with on the new claims, credit being allowed for the time spent on the relinquished claims.

Act June 4, 1897, c. 2, s. 1, 30 Stat. 36.

These are further provisions of the sundry civil appropriation act for the fiscal year 1898, cited above.

The provisions of this paragraph for selection of lands in lieu of tracts covered by an unperfected bona fide claim or patent within a forest reservation, are confined to vacant, surveyed, non-mineral public lands subject to homestead entry, by provisions of act March 3, 1901, c. 831, set forth on p. 96, post, and also act June 6, 1900. c. 791, 31 Stat. 614. The above provisions of this act and the said provisions of act June 6, 1900, and act March 3, 1901, are expressly repealed by provisions of act March 3, 1905, c. 1495, set forth on p. 96, post, except as to selections theretofore made.

Sites for schools and churches in forest reservations.

The settlers residing within the exterior boundaries of such forest reservations, or in the vicinity thereof, may maintain schools and churches within such reservation, and for that purpose may occupy any part of the said forest reservation, not exceeding two acres for each schoolhouse and one acre for a church.

Civil and criminal jurisdiction over persons within forest reservations.

The jurisdiction, both civil and criminal, over persons within such reservations shall not be affected or changed by reason of the existence of such reservations, except so far as the punishment of offenses against the United States therein is concerned; the intent and meaning of this provision being that the State wherein any such reservation is situated shall not, by reason of the establishment thereof, lose its jurisdiction, nor the inhabitants thereof their rights and privileges as citizens, or be absolved from their duties as citizens of the State.

Use of waters on forest reservations.

All waters on such reservations may be used for domestic, mining, milling, or irrigation purposes, under the laws of the State wherein such forest reservations are situated, or under the laws of the United States and the rules and regulations established thereunder.

Restoration of mineral or agricultural lands within forest reservations to public domain.

Upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior, with the approval of the President, after sixty days' notice thereof, published in two papers of general circulation in the State or Territory wherein any forest reservation is situated, and near the said reservation, any public lands embraced within the limits of any forest reservation which, after due examination by personal inspection of a competent person appointed for that purpose by the Secretary of the Interior, shall be found better adapted for mining or for agricultural purposes than for forest usage, may be restored to the public domain. And any mineral lands in any forest reservation which have been or which may be shown to be such, and subject to entry under the existing mining laws of the United States and the rules and regulations applying thereto, shall continue to be subject to such location and entry, notwithstanding any provisions herein contained.

Modification and vacation of orders establishing forest reservations.

The President is hereby authorized at any time to modify any Executive order that has been or may hereafter be made establishing any forest reserve, and by such modification may reduce the area or change the boundary lines of such reserve, or may vacate altogether any order creating such reserve.

Act June 4, 1897, c. 2, s. 1, 30 Stat. 36.

These are further provisions of the sundry civil appropriation act for the fiscal year 1898, cited above.

ACT MARCH 4, 1907, c. 2907. (34 Stat. 1256.)

Establishment of, or additions to, forest reserves in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, or Wyoming, prohibited except by act of Congress.

That hereafter no forest reserve shall be created, nor shall any additions be made to one heretofore created within the