SALE OF TIMBER.
22. The following provision is made for the sale of timber within forest reservations in limited quantaties:
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 reservations 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 he 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 sixty days, by publication in a newspaper of general circulation, published in the county in which the timber is situated, if any is therein published, and, if not, then in a newspaper of general circulation published nearest to the reservation, and also in a newspaper of general circulation published at the capital of the State or Territory where such reservation exists; 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 a 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.
The sale of timber is optional, and the Secretary may exercise his discretion at all times as to the necessity or desirability of any sale.
23. While sales of timber may be directed by this Department without previous request from private individuals, petitions from responsible persons for the sale of timber in particular localities will be considered. Such petitions must describe the land upon which the timber stands, by legal subdivisions, if surveyed; if unsurveyed, as definitely as possible by natural landmarks; the character of the country, whether rough steep or mountainous, agricultural or mineral, or valuable chiefly for its forest growth; and state whether or not the removal of the timber would result injuriously to the objects of forest reservation. If any of the timber is dead, estimate the quantity in feet, board measure, with the value, and state whether killed by fire or other cause. Of the live timber, state the different kinds and estimate the quantity of each kind in trees per acre. Estimate the average diameter of each kind of timber, and estimate the number of trees of each kind per acre above the average diameter. State the number of trees of each kind above the average diameter it is desired to have offered for sale, with an estimate of the number of feet, board measure, therein, and an estimate of the value of the timber as it stands. These petitions must be filed in the proper local land office for transmission to the Commissioner of the General Land Office.
24. Before any sale is authorized the timber will be examined and appraised, and other questions involved duly investigated, by an official designated for the purpose; and upon his report action will be based.
25. When a sale is ordered, notice thereof will be given by publication by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, in accordance with the law above quieted; and if the timber to be sold stands in more than one county, published notice will be given in each of the counties, in addition to the required general publication.
26. The time and place of filing bids, and other information for a correct understanding of the terms of each sale, will be given in the published notices. Timber is not to be sold for less than the appraised value, and when a bid is accepted, a certificate of acceptance will be issued by the Commissioner of the General Land Office to the successful bidder, who, at the time of making payment, must present the same to the receiver of public moneys for the land district in which the timber stands. The Commissioner of the General Land Office must approve all sales, and he may, in cases in excess of $500 in value, make allotments of quantity to several bidders at a fixed price, if he deems proper, so as to avoid monopoly. The right is also reserved to reject any or all bids. A reasonable cash deposit with the proper receiver of public moneys, to accompany each bid, will be required.
27. Within thirty days after notice to a bidder of an award of timber to him, payment must be made in full to the receiver for the timber so awarded. The purchaser must have in hand the receipt of the receiver for such payment before he will be allowed to cut, remove, or otherwise dispose of the timber in any manner. The timber must all be cut and removed within one year from the date of the notice by the receiver of the award; failing to so do, the purchaser will forfeit his right to the timber left standing or unremoved and to his purchase money.
28. Sixty days’ notice must be given by the purchaser, through the local land office, to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, of the proposed date of cutting and removal of the timber, so that an official may be designated to supervise such cutting and removal, as required by the law. Upon application of purchasers, permits to erect temporary sawmills for the purpose of cutting or manufacturing timber purchased under this act may be granted by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, if not incompatible with the public interests. Instructions as to disposition of tops, brush, and refuse, to be given through the supervisors in each case, must be strictly complied with as a condition of said cutting and manufacture.
29. The act provides that the timber sold shall be used in the State or Territory in which the reservation is situated, and is not to be exported therefrom. Where a reservation lies in more than one State or Territory, this requires that the timber shall be used in the State or Territory where cut.
30. Receivers of public moneys will issue receipts in duplicate for moneys received in payment for timber, one of which will be given the purchaser and the other will be transmitted to the Commissioner of the General Land Office in a special letter, reference being made to the letter from the Commissioner authorizing the sale, by date and initial and with title of case as therein named. Receivers will deposit to the credit of the United States all such moneys received, specifying that the same are on account of sales of public timber on forest reservations under the act of June 4, 1897. A separate monthly account current (form 4—105) and quarterly condensed account (form 4—104) will be made to the Commissioner of the General Laud Office, with a statement in relation to the receipts under the act as above specified.
31. Special instructions will be issued for the guidance of officials designated to examine and appraise timber, to supervise its cutting and removal, and for carrying out other requirements connected therewith.
BINGER HERMANN,
Commissioner
Approved June 30, 1897.
C. N. BLISS, Secretary
