Bill > S1712

This bill, the National Forest Small Tracts Act Amendments Act of 2015, aims to update the Small Tract Act of 1983 to give the Secretary of Agriculture more flexibility in selling or exchanging small parcels of National Forest System land. Key provisions include increasing the maximum value of these small parcels that can be sold or exchanged from $150,000 to $500,000, and expanding the reasons for such transactions to include parcels of 40 acres or less that are physically isolated, inaccessible, or have lost their National Forest character, as well as parcels of 10 acres or less that are encroached upon by permanent structures where the encroachment wasn't intentional or negligent, and parcels used for cemeteries, landfills, or sewage treatment plants under special authorization. The bill also clarifies how the money from these sales or exchanges will be used, allowing net proceeds from certain sales to be deposited into the Sisk Fund and used for acquiring land or interests in land for administrative sites or to enhance recreational access within the state where the land was sold, or for deferred maintenance on administrative sites or other maintenance activities that improve recreational access in that state.