644.409—Procedures for Interchange of National Forest Lands.
(a) General.
The interchange of national forest lands is accomplished in three steps: first, agreement must be reached between the two departments involved as to which lands will be interchanged; second, the two departments will jointly notify the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate, by letter, of the intention of the two departments to make the interchange agreed upon; third, upon the expiration of 45 days from the date of submission of the notice of intention (counting only days occurring during any regular or special session of the Congress) the two secretaries will execute jointly and cause to be published in the Federal Register an order transferring the respective lands of each department to the other.
(b) Initiation of requests for interchange.
Requests for interchange of lands may be originated by either the military department involved or the Department of Agriculture. Those originated by the Department of the Army may result from land requirements generated by newly authorized civil works or military construction projects or from authorized expansion of existing projects or as a result of property utilization surveys. Department of the Air Force requirements may develop similarly. When a request originates with the Department of the Air Force requirements may develop similarly. When a request originates with the Department of Agriculture pertaining to a civil works project or a military installation, it will be analyzed and coordinated by the DE with local representatives of the Department of Agriculture and the using service, as appropriate, to determine the feasibility of and need for the acquisition of any forest land to improve administration of the Army project or installation and the availability of Army lands for transfer to the Department of Agriculture. When coordinated analysis indicates the propriety of an interchange, an interchange planning report will be developed by the DE, in coordination with interested local elements of the two departments and submitted to HQDA (DAEN-REM) WASH DC 20314, with appropriate recommendations.
(c) Contents of interchange planning report.
The planning report should include the following information:
(1)
Location of the areas proposed for interchange, including the county or municipality, names of the forest, project or installation, and number of acres to be interchanged by each department.
(2)
If the areas involved include public domain lands, the number and date of the Executive Order or Public Land Order by which withdrawn or established.
(i)
Approximate dates, methods and cost of acquisition of Department of the Army lands proposed for interchange.
(ii)
Interest, restrictions and reservations currently outstanding, to which the lands were subject when acquired, together with such rights subsequently granted by the Government and presently in force.
(4)
Any additional reservations, conditions or restrictions under which the interchange is to be made.
(5)
A map, in triplicate, indicating by appropriate color scheme the lands of each department which are to be interchanged. The map should show the jurisdictional boundary, and, where appropriate, the contour elevations used as a basis for determining the extent of the interchange.
(7)
Information upon which to base a determination by the two Secretaries that the interchange will facilitate land management and provide maximum use thereof for authorized purposes.
(8)
Any other information or data that might be helpful to representatives of the Department of the Army in answering pertinent questions that may be raised by the committees of Congress.
(9)
A draft of order of interchange prepared, in sextuplicate, in coordination with representatives of the Forest Service for execution jointly by the two Secretaries.
(d) Relinquishment and assumption of possession.
Upon notification by the Chief of Engineers that an order of interchange has been published, the DE will coordinate with local representatives of the Forest Service, and the using service if appropriate, the exchange of custody and accountability of the respective areas.