I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3954 

To release Federal reversionary interests retained on certain lands acquired 

in the State of Florida under the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, 

to authorize the interchange of National Forest System land and State 

land in Florida, to authorize an additional conveyance under the Florida 

National Forest Land Management Act of 2003, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 28, 2009 

Mr. BOYD (for himself, Mr. MILLER of Florida, and Mr. CRENSHAW) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To release Federal reversionary interests retained on certain 

lands acquired in the State of Florida under the 

Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, to authorize the 

interchange of National Forest System land and State 

land in Florida, to authorize an additional conveyance 

under the Florida National Forest Land Management 

Act of 2003, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Florida National For3 est Land Adjustment Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. RELEASE OF DEED RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN 

5 LANDS ACQUIRED UNDER THE BANKHEAD6 JONES FARM TENANT ACT IN FLORIDA. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Certain lands in the State of Florida were 

9 conveyed by the United States to the State under 

10 the authority of section 32(c) of the Bankhead-Jones 

11 Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1011(c)), and now are 

12 part of the Blackwater River and Withlacoochee 

13 State Forests. 

14 (2) The lands were conveyed to the State sub15 ject to deed restrictions that the lands could be only 

16 used for public purposes. 

17 (3) The deed restrictions impede the ability of 

18 the State to remedy boundary and encroachment 

19 problems involving the lands. 

20 (4) The release of the deed restrictions by the 

21 Secretary of Agriculture (hereafter referred to as the 

22 ‘‘Secretary’’) will further the purposes for which the 

23 lands are being managed as State forests and will 

24 alleviate future Federal responsibilities with respect 

25 to the lands. 


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1 (b) RELEASE REQUIRED.—Subject to valid existing 

2 rights, and such reservations as the Secretary considers 

3 to be in the public interest, the Secretary shall release, 

4 convey, and quitclaim to the State of Florida, without 

5 monetary consideration, all rights, title, and remaining in6 terest of the United States in and to those lands within 

7 or adjacent to the Blackwater River and Withlacoochee 

8 State Forests that were conveyed to the State under the 

9 authority of section 32(c) of the Bankhead-Jones Farm 

10 Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1011(c)) or under any other law 

11 authorizing conveyance subject to restrictions or rever12 sionary interests retained by the United States. 

13 (c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The conveyances au14 thorized by subjection (b) are subject to the following 

15 terms and conditions. 

16 (1) The State shall cover or reimburse the Sec17 retary for reasonable costs incurred by the Secretary 

18 to make the conveyances, including title searches, 

19 surveys, deed preparation, attorneys’ fees, and simi20 lar expenses. The Secretary may not seek reimburse21 ment for administrative overhead costs. 

22 (2) By accepting the conveyances authorized by 

23 this section, the State agrees— 

24 (A) that all net proceeds from any sale, ex25 change, or other disposition of the real property 


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1 subject to deed restrictions shall be used by the 

2 State for the acquisition of lands or interests in 

3 lands within or adjacent to units of the state 

4 forest and park systems; 

5 (B) to affirmatively address and resolve 

6 boundary encroachments in accordance with 

7 State law for the affected State forests; and 

8 (C) to indemnify and hold the United 

9 States harmless with regard to any boundary 

10 disputes related to any parcel released under 

11 this section. 

12 SEC. 3. INTERCHANGE INVOLVING NATIONAL FOREST SYS13 TEM LAND AND STATE LAND IN FLORIDA. 

14 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

15 (1) There are intermingled Federal and State 

16 lands within units of the National Forest System in 

17 Florida that are of comparable quantity and quality 

18 and of approximately equal value. 

19 (2) Interchanging these lands would be in the 

20 public interest by facilitating more efficient public 

21 land management. 

22 (b) APPROXIMATELY EQUAL VALUE DEFINED.—In 

23 this section, the term ‘‘approximately equal value’’ means 

24 a comparative estimate of the value between lands to be 

25 interchanged, regarding which, without the necessity of an 


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1 appraisal, the elements of value, such as physical charac2 teristics and other amenities, are readily apparent and 

3 substantially similar. 

4 (c) LAND INTERCHANGE AUTHORIZED.— 

5 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to valid existing 

6 rights, if the State of Florida offers to convey to the 

7 United States those State lands designated for inter8 change on the two maps entitled ‘‘State of Florida— 

9 U.S. Forest Service Interchange—January, 2009’’ 

10 and title to such lands is otherwise acceptable to the 

11 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary shall convey 

12 and quitclaim to the State those National Forest 

13 System lands in the Ocala National Forest and the 

14 Apalachicola National Forest designated for inter15 change on the maps. 

16 (2) MAPS.—The maps referenced in paragraph 

17 (1) shall be available for public inspection in the of18 fice of the Chief of the Forest Service and in the of19 fice of the Supervisor of the National Forests in 

20 Florida for a period of at least five years after com21 pletion of the land interchanges authorized by this 

22 section. 

23 (d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Any land interchange 

24 under this section shall be subject to such reservations and 


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1 rights-of-way as may be mutually acceptable to the Sec2 retary and the authorized officer of the State. 

3 (e) REPLACEMENT LAND.—In the event that any of 

4 the designated lands are in whole or part found to be un5 acceptable for interchange under this section due to title 

6 deficiencies, survey problems, the existence of hazardous 

7 materials, or for any other reason, the Secretary and the 

8 authorized officer of the State may substitute or modify 

9 the lands to be interchanged insofar as it is mutually 

10 agreed that the lands are of comparable quality and ap11 proximately equal value. 

12 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL LAND DISPOSAL UNDER FLORIDA NA13 TIONAL FOREST LAND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 

14 2003. 

15 (a) DISPOSAL AUTHORIZED.—In accordance with the 

16 provisions of the Florida National Forest Land Manage17 ment Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–152; 117 Stat. 1919), 

18 the Secretary of Agriculture may convey, by means of sale 

19 or exchange, all right, title, and interest of the United 

20 States in and to a parcel of land comprising approximately 

21 114 acres, located within Township 1 South, Range 1 

22 West, section 25, Leon County, Florida, and designated 

23 as tract W–1979. 

24 (b) USE OF PROCEEDS.— 


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1 (1) TRACT W–1979.—The Secretary shall use 

2 the proceeds derived from any sale of tract W–1979, 

3 as authorized by subsection (a), only— 

4 (A) to acquire lands and interests in land 

5 for inclusion in the Apalachicola National For6 est; and 

7 (B) to cover the disposal costs incurred by 

8 the Secretary to carry out the sale of such 

9 tract. 

10 (2) CERTAIN OTHER TRACTS.—With respect to 

11 tract A–943, tract A–944, and tract C–2210, as de12 scribed in paragraphs (5), (6), and (16) of sub13 section (b) of section 3 of the Florida National For14 est Land Management Act of 2003 and authorized 

15 for sale by subsection (a) of such section, being 

16 lands having permanent improvements and infra17 structure, the Secretary may use the net proceeds 

18 derived from any sale of such tracts to acquire, con19 struct, or maintain administrative improvements for 

20 units of the National Forest System in Florida. 

Æ 


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