The policy of the Forest Service is to build the cut up to the full allowable cut under sustained-yield management principles in each national forest working circle. The management plan for each working circle is the systematic program for making progress toward this objective. The total allowable cut for the national forests is the sum of the allowable cuts for the four-hundred-andfifty-odd working circles in the national forest system.

Allowable cut and actual cut and cutting objectives for the last 5 fiscal years was as follows:

Total allowable cut has been increasing since the reinventory program got underway in 1955. Adverse marketing conditions for the forest products industries slowed down the rate of cutting by national forest timber purchasers in 1957. This in turn has temporarily reduced the rate of overall progress toward attaining allowable cut.

Many other factors in addition to marketing trends affect the possible rate of progress toward attainment of allowable cutting rates in individual working circles. In Alaska and certain Rocky Mountain areas plants to utilize the national forest allowable cut do not yet exist. Timber access roads are still needed in some working circles. Right-of-way problems, conflicts with other uses, particularly water storage projects also interfere with sale programs.

All of these and other current practical local problems are taken into account in determining a cutting objective for each fiscal year. This cutting objective is basic to the budget estimates considered by the Bureau of the Budget and the congressional Appropriation Committees. During the last 5 fiscal years annual cutting objectives have been exceeded each year until fiscal year 1957. We trust this statement and attachments will meet your needs. information is desired, please let us know.

Sincerely yours,

If any further

RICHARD E. MCARDLE, Chief. By EDWARD C. CRAFTS

SALE OF TIMBER

(Act of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat. 35); March 3, 1925 (43 Stat. 1132; 16 U. S. C. 476))

For the purpose of preserving the living and growing timber and promoting the younger growth on national forests, the Secretary of Agriculture, 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 national forests 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. Before such sale shall take place, notice thereof shall be given by the said Secretary of Agriculture 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 national forest exists. In cases of unusual emergency the Secretary of Agriculture 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. He may, in his discretion, sell without advertisement, in quantities to suit applicants, at a fair appraisement, timber, cord wood, and other forest products, not exceeding in value five hundred dollars. 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 Agriculture, at not less than the appraised valuation, in quantities to suit purchasers. 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 Agriculture, 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 Secretary of Agriculture of his doings in the premises. (See sec. 3, p. 61 of Act of June 9, 1930, 46 Stat. 527; 16 U. S. C. 576b, relative to requiring deposits for planting, sowing, or timber stand improvement work.)

FOREST SERVICE REGULATION

103.1 Reg. S-3. Disposal of National Forest Timber According to Management Plans. (a) Management plans for National Forest timber resources shall be prepared and revised, as needed, for working circles or other practicable units of National Forest. Such plans shall:

(1) Be designed to aid in providing a continuous supply of National Forest timber for the use and necessities of the citizens of the United States.

(2) Provide, so far as feasible, for the stabilization of communities and of opportunities for employment.

(3) Be based on the principle of sustained yield, with due consideration to the conditions of the area and the timber stands covered by the plan.

(4) Be approved by the Chief, Forest Service, unless authority for such approval shall be delegated to subordinates by the Chief.

(5) Establish the maximum amount of timber which may be cut from the National Forest lands within the unit, by years or other periods.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT,
Washington, D. C., October 30, 1957.

Mr. ROBERT WOLF,

Forestry Consultant, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs,

Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C.

DEAR MR. WOLF: In response to your recent telephone request on behalf of Senator Neuberger, we are supplying copies of the following laws and regulations applying to timber sales administered by the Bureau of Land Management. 1. The Oregon and California Act of August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 374).

2. Oregon and California timber sale regulations.

3. The Materials Act of July 31, 1947 (61 Stat. 681).

4. The regulations governing sales of timber and other materials (Circular 1921).

The version of the Oregon and California timber sale regulations which is supplied was published as a proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register on July 19, 1957. Following the publication, a number of communications were received in which minor changes were suggested. These suggestions have been considered and, insofar as possible, will be reflected in the final version soon to be published in the Federal Register. When the final version becomes available, a copy of it will be forwarded to you for use as a replacement of the one furnished at this time.

Sincerely yours,

EDWARD WOOZLEY, Director.

TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS: INTERIOR

CHAPTER I-BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

259.3 Disposals which must be made under other statutes; rights under other statutes.

259.18

259.19

Contracts.

Payment.

Passage of title; risk of loss.

Reappraisals.

Assignments.

Termination of contracts.

Extension of time.

Removal of personal property upon termination of contract.

Default, suspension, cancellation, damages and expenses incurred by Government chargeable to purchaser. 259.20 Duration of contract.

Application for permit.

259.23

Issuance and cancellation of permit; removal of materials; bond. 259.24 Removal by agent.

259.25

259.26

259.27

Termination of permit; extensions; notice of completion of removal operations.

AUTHORITY: §§ 259.1 to 259.27 issued under sec. 1, 61 Stat. 681: 43 U. S. C. 1185. SOURCE: $259.1 to 259.27 appear at 19 F. R. 9133, Dec. 23, 1954, except as otherwise noted.

§ 259.1 Statutory authority. (a) The act of July 31, 1947 (61 Stat. 681; 43 U. S. C. 1185) authorizes the disposal of materials, including but not limited to sand, stone, gravel, yucca, manzanita, mesquite, cactus, common clay, and timber or other forest products, on public lands of the United States, if the disposal is not otherwise expressly authorized by laws of the United States, including the United States mining laws, and is not expressly prohibited by laws of the United States, nor detrimental to the public interests. The act of August 31, 1950 (64 Stat. 572; 43 U. S. C. sup. 1188), added to the act of July 31, 1947, a section 4 authorizing the disposal of sand, stone, gravel, and vegetative materials located below high-water mark of navigable waters of the Territory of Alaska. The act of April 15, 1954 (68 Stat. 53), provides that, for the purpose of aiding in the development of building materials essential to the growth of Alaska, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized, in his discretion, for a period of fifteen years from the date of approval of that act and pursuant to the provisions of the act of July 31, 1947 (61 Stat. 681), as amended, to permit the removal of deposits of siliceous volcanic ash, commonly known as pumicite, from such areas as he may designate along the shores of Shelikof Strait in Katmai National Monument, Alaska.1

(b) The provisions of this act do not apply to lands in any national forest, national park, or national monument, except as stated in paragraph (a) of this section, or to any Indian lands, or lands set aside or held for the use or benefit of Indians, including lands over which jurisdiction has been transferred to the Department of the Interior by Executive Order for the use of Indians. [Paragraphs (a) and (b) amended by Circ. 1893, 19 F. R. 9195, Dec. 24, 1954.]

(c) Except as to the land specified in paragraph (b) of this section, the disposal may be made of materials on lands withdrawn in aid of a function of a Federal department or agency other than the Department of the Interior, or a State, territory, county, municipality, water district, or other local Government subdivision or agency, with the consent of said Federal department or agency, or of such State, Territory, or local governmental unit.

§ 259.2 Definitions. (a) "Authorized officer" means the Government official who has been duly authorized to sign the contract for the disposal of materials or to issue a permit under the act and to take action under such contract or permit.

1 Pursuant to the act of April 15, 1954, supra, and for a period of 15 years from the date thereof, unless sooner revoked, the following described area is designated for the removal of the deposits named in the act:

Those lands within 4 mile of mean high tide in Geographic Harbor at latitude 58° 08′ N., longitude 154° 36′ W., the harbor lying within Amalik Bay on Shelikof Strait, Katmai National Monument, Alaska.

Appropriate conditions for the protection of the monument will be included in the

contracts.

(b) "Officer in charge" means such officer as may be designated by the signing officer or other authorized Government official to supervise operations under such contract or permit.

(c) "The act" means the act of July 31, 1947 (61 Stat. 681; 43 U. S. C. 1185-1188, as amended).

§ 259.3 Disposals which must be made under other statutes; rights under other statutes. (a) The disposal of materials will be made under other acts where there is any such statutory authority. Dead or down timber, or timber which has been seriously or permanently damaged by forest fires, shall not be disposed of under the act but rather under the act of March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 1015; 16 U. S. C. 614, 615), as amended, and the regulations thereunder (Part 284 of this chapter). However, where such dead, down, or damaged timber is intermingled with timber which is live, standing, and of merchantable size and character, and it is not feasible to sell the two classes of timber separately, consideration will be given to the disposal of both classes in a single transaction under the act and the regulations in this part.

(b) The disposal of timber in Alaska, where statutory authority under other acts exists, will be made under such statutes and the applicable regulations (Part 79 of this chapter). Salse of more than a two years' supply of timber for domestic use in Alaska may be authorized under the act. Timber on the revested Oregon and California Railroad and Reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant Lands will be disposed of under the applicable act and regulations (Part 115 of this chapter).

(c) The limitations on free-use privileges under the act because of the existence of other statutory authority for the free use of timber are set out in § 259.21. (d) Sand, stone, and gravel of such quality and quantity as to be subject to the mining laws, will not be disposed of under the act.

(e) Where there are valid, existing claims to the land by reason of settlement, entry, or similar rights obtained under the public land laws, no disposal of the materials on the land may be made under the act. If the disposal of materials is consistent with such interest in the land, as in the case of lawful grazing or mining use, the materials may be disposed of under the act under such conditions as the authorized officer, in his discretion, may specify.

(f) The purchaser of materials shall have a prior right to the materials in accordance with the terms and provisions of the contract of purchase as against any subsequent claimant or entryman of the land affected.

(g) The proceeds derived from such sales shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States and shall be disposed of in the same manner as moneys received from the sale of public lands, except that moneys received from the disposal of materials from school section lands in Alaska, reserved under the act of March 4, 1915 (38 Stat. 1214; 48 U. S. C. 353), as amended, shall be deposited in the United States Treasury for payment annually to the Territory of Alaska, pursuant to the act of August 31, 1950 (64 Stat. 571; 43 U. S. C. 1187).

SALES

§ 259.4 Sale and appraisal. (a) All materials to be sold under the provisions of the act shall be appraised and in no case shall they be sold at less than the appraised price. They shall be sold to a responsible qualified purchaser under the appropriate form of contract and upon such additional terms as the signing officer considers advisable.

(b) Where the appraised value of the materials is $1,000 or less, it may be sold to a responsible qualified applicant or to the highest qualified bidder at public auction or under sealed bids. Sale without competitive bidding may be made in the discretion of the authorized officer where he determines it is unlikely a competitive interest exists. Not more than $1,000 worth of materials may be sold noncompetitively to any one applicant in any period of twelve consecutive months. However, this limitation shall not be applicable to sales of $1,000 or less of salvage timber or of small isolated tracts of mature or overmature timber when, in the judgment of the authorized officer, such sale is in the public interest. (c) If the appraised value exceeds $1,000, however, a sale may be authorized only to the highest responsible qualified bidder at public auction or under sealed bids.

(d) Offerings of material for sale may be made without the receipt of applications, when such action is in the public interest.

(e) Whenever in his judgment it is in the public interest to do so, the authorized officer may authorize the sale of all of one type or kind of nonvegetative

material on or in specific tracts of land where the quantity of such material cannot be determined prior to extraction or removal thereof. The contract of sale shall set forth the price per unit payable to the United States, the minimum annual payment and such other terms as the authorized officer shall consider advisable. All such sales shall be made competitively to the highest qualified bidder at public auction or under sealed bids, after publication and posting of notice as provided in § 259.7.

§ 259.5 Who may apply. An applicant may be (a) an individual, (b) a partnership, (c) an unincorporated association, or (d) a corporation organized under the laws of the United States or a State or Territory thereof and authorized to transact business in the State or Territory in which the lands are situated.

§ 259.6 Application; contents. (a) An application to purchase hereunder may be filed in any office of the Bureau of Land Management. The application should be made on Form 4-059 and contain the following data:

(1) The full name and address of the applicant.

(2) If for a noncompetitive sale, the contract numbers of all noncompetitive contracts entered into by the applicant with the Government under this act during the twelve-month period preceding the filing of the application.

(3) A description of the lands, if surveyed, according to legal subdivision; if the lands are unsurveyed, they must be sufficiently described to permit their identification and the approximate acreage of the lands described.

(4) A detailed statement as to the nature and estimated quantity of each species or kind of material desired, the purpose for which it is desired, its estimated unit and total value, and when the taking could be commenced and completed.

$259.7 Publication and posting. (a) In any proposed sale for more than $1,000 notice must be published prior to the date of sale at the expense of the Government in a newspaper published in the county in which the materials are located. If the materials are in two or more counties, notice may be published in any one of the counties. If no newspaper is published in such county, then publication shall be made in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. The notice must be published on the same day weekly for four consecutive weeks. (b) In any proposed non-competitive sale for $1,000 or less, the authorized officer may require notice of sale to be posted in such place and for such period as he may prescribe. The authorized officer may require additional notice, including publication in a newspaper at least once but not more than four times. Where the authorized officer determines that a competitive sale of such material shall be ordered, publication shall be made in a newspaper at least once but not more than four times.

§ 259.8 Deposits with bids. A minimum deposit of at least ten percent of the appraised value of the materials to be sold must accompany each bid. However, the authorized officer, in his discretion, may require a deposit in excess of the ten-percent minimum. Each deposit must be made by money order, cashier's check, or certified check, drawn payable to the Bureau of Land Management except that a bid may be accompanied by a corporate surety bid bond (Form 4-061) in the amount of the required deposit, conditioned upon execution by the bidder, if the contract is awarded to him, of the required contract with the Government within 30 days after the copies of the contract are transmitted to him for execution in accordance with § 259.10 (a). Deposits with bids are required as a guarantee of good faith, and when payment in full is not made in advance, the deposit of the sucessful bidder will be retained until the contract is completed. The deposit will then be returned, provided the purchaser has faithfully performed the terms of the contract. If a bond is furnished and accepted, the deposit will then be credited toward the initial payment under the contract. Deposits made with bids will be returned to the unsuccessful bidders after award of the contract.

$259.9 Action on bids; qualifications of bidders. (a) If no bid is received within the time specified in the notice of sale for the receipt of bids, the authorized officer, in his discretion, if he determines that no significant rise has occurred in the market price of the materials over the appraised price, may keep open the period for the receipt of bids for all or any part of an additional 90-day period and may sell the materials without readvertising in the following manner: (1) If, during the extended period for the receipt of bids, a written or oral offer is made for the materials at not less than the advertised minimum appraised price, such offer shall be posted in the office of the authorized officer for a period of not less than five days from receipt thereof. If no other offers are re