portion of the parcel of National Forest System land 
or public lands covered by a landowner request 
under paragraph (1)(A) fails to satisfy the definition 
of eligible Federal lands parcel, the Director con-
cerned or the Regional Forester concerned shall give 
the landowner— 
(A) a written explanation of the reasons 
for the rejection, which specifically specifies— 
(i) which of the elements of the defini-
tion of eligible Federal lands parcel the 
parcel fails to satisfy and how and why the 
parcel fails to satisfy that element; 
(ii) how the continued administration 
of the parcel by the Bureau of Land Man-
agement or the Forest Service would im-
pact the parcel and surrounding economy; 
and 
(iii) why the Federal Government 
needs to maintain ownership of the parcel 
and would be the best land ownership 
steward of the parcel; and 
(B) an opportunity to appeal the rejection 
under subsection (e). 
(c) PARCEL AND ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.— 
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(1) ACREAGE.—An eligible Federal lands parcel 
conveyed under this section may not exceed 160 
acres unless a request for additional acreage is ap-
proved by the Director concerned or the Regional 
Forester concerned. 
(2) NUMBER OF PARCELS.—A person may only 
acquire one eligible Federal lands parcel under this 
section per year, except that, if the parcel is less 
than 160 acres in size, the person may acquire addi-
tional eligible Federal lands parcels during that year 
so long as the total acreage acquired does not exceed 
160 acres unless a request for additional acreage is 
approved by the Director concerned or the Regional 
Forester concerned. 
(d) CONVEYANCE PROCESS.— 
(1) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Director concerned 
or the Regional Forester concerned shall provide 
public notice of the availability of an eligible Federal 
lands parcel, even in cases in which the parcel 
shares a boundary with only a single parcel of non- 
Federal land or with multiple parcels owned by the 
same landowner. The notice shall state that the par-
cel satisfies the definition of eligible Federal lands 
parcel for conveyance. 
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(2) SINGLE ADJACENT LANDOWNER.—If the el-
igible Federal lands parcel shares a boundary with 
only a single parcel of non-Federal land or with mul-
tiple parcels owned by the same landowner, the Di-
rector concerned or the Regional Forester concerned 
shall carry out a negotiated sale of the eligible Fed-
eral lands parcel with the landowner. 
(3) MULTIPLE
ADJACENT
LANDOWNERS.—If 
multiple parcels of non-Federal land, owned by dif-
ferent landowners, share a boundary with an eligible 
public lands parcel, the sale of the eligible public 
lands parcel under this section shall be conducted 
using competitive bidding procedures established 
under section 203(f) of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1713(f)). 
(4) REJECTION OF OFFERS.—The Director con-
cerned or the Regional Forester concerned may re-
ject any offer made under this subsection that does 
not offer the minimum consideration required by 
subsection (f). The landowner shall be given an op-
portunity to appeal the rejection under subsection 
(e). 
(5) COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL PLANNING AND 
ZONING.—As a condition of the conveyance of an eli-
gible public lands parcel under this section, the Di-
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rector concerned or the Regional Forester concerned 
shall require the purchaser of the parcel to agree to 
comply all local land use ordinances and any master 
zoning plan applicable to the parcel or the adjacent 
non-Federal land of the purchaser. 
(6) FORM OF CONVEYANCE.—When an eligible 
Federal lands parcel is to sold under this section, 
the Director concerned or the Regional Forester con-
cerned shall convey, by quitclaim deed, all right, 
title, and interest, including the mineral estate, of 
the United States in and to the parcel. 
(e) APPEALS PROCESS.— 
(1) AVAILABILITY OF APPEAL.—If the Director 
concerned or the Regional Forester concerned rejects 
a landowner request under subsection (b)(1)(A) for 
selection of a parcel of National Forest System land 
or public lands for conveyance under this section or 
rejects a landowner offer for purchase of an eligible 
Federal lands parcel under subsection (d), the Direc-
tor concerned or the Regional Forester concerned 
shall provide an appeals process for reconsideration 
of the rejection using the expedited Forest Service 
appeals process available under section 322(d) of 
Public Law 102–381 (16 U.S.C. 1612 note). 
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(2) ADMINISTERING
OFFICIAL.—For purposes 
of applying section 322(d) of Public Law 102–381 
(16 U.S.C. 1612 note), references to the Chief of the 
Forest Service or the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
be deemed to mean the Director concerned or the 
Regional Forester concerned. 
(f) CONSIDERATION.— 
(1) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—As consideration for 
the sale of an eligible Federal lands parcel under 
this section, the Director concerned or the Regional 
Forester concerned shall require a cash payment in 
an amount that is equal to not less than the fair 
market value of the parcel, including the mineral es-
tate, being conveyed by the Director concerned or 
the Regional Forester concerned. 
(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The fair market value 
of an eligible Federal lands parcel shall be estab-
lished by an appraisal submitted by the landowner 
seeking to purchase the parcel, unless the Director 
concerned or the Regional Forester concerned rejects 
such appraisal within 45 days after submission. In 
the case of the rejection of the appraisal, the Direc-
tor concerned or the Regional Forester concerned 
shall cause another appraisal to be conducted, within 
30 days, in accordance with the regulations regard-
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ing appraisals issued under section 206(f) of the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(43 U.S.C. 1716(f)). 
(g) TREATMENT OF PROCEEDS.— 
(1) SHARING AND DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—Of 
the consideration received by the Director concerned 
or the Regional Forester concerned under subsection 
(f) for the sale of an eligible Federal lands parcel 
under this section, the Director concerned or the Re-
gional Forester concerned shall— 
(A) subject to paragraph (2), pay 50 per-
cent of the consideration to the county govern-
ment of the county in which the parcel is lo-
cated; and— 
(B) deposit the remainder in the general 
fund of the Treasury. 
(2) EFFECT OF COUNTY PURCHASE.—If an eli-
gible Federal lands parcel is purchased by a State, 
county, or city government or any agency thereof, 
the county government in which the parcel is located 
shall not receive a portion of the consideration paid 
for the parcel. Instead, the entire amount of the con-
sideration shall be deposited in the general fund of 
the Treasury. 
(h) PAYMENT OF COSTS OF CONVEYANCE.— 
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(1) PAYMENT REQUIRED.—The Director con-
cerned or the Regional Forester concerned shall re-
quire the purchaser of an eligible Federal lands par-
cel under this section to cover the costs to be in-
curred, or to reimburse the Director concerned or 
the Regional Forester concerned for costs incurred, 
to carry out the conveyance, including survey and 
appraisal costs, costs for environmental documenta-
tion, and any other administrative costs related to 
the conveyance. If amounts are collected from the 
purchaser of the parcel in advance of the Director 
concerned or the Regional Forester concerned incur-
ring the actual costs, and the amount collected ex-
ceeds the costs actually incurred by the Director 
concerned or the Regional Forester concerned to 
carry out the conveyance, the Director concerned or 
the Regional Forester concerned shall refund the ex-
cess amount to the purchaser. 
(2) TREATMENT
OF
AMOUNTS
RECEIVED.— 
Amounts received as reimbursement under para-
graph (1) shall be credited to the fund or account 
that was used to cover those costs in carrying out 
the conveyance. Amounts so credited shall be merged 
with amounts in such fund or account, and shall be 
available for the same purposes, and subject to the 
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same conditions and limitations, as amounts in such 
fund or account. 
(i) TIME FOR CONVEYANCE.—It is the intent of the 
Congress that the sale of an eligible Federal lands parcel 
under this section, from selection of the parcel for convey-
ance through completion of the sale, should take no more 
than 18 months. 
(j) NEPA EXEMPTION.—The conveyance of eligible 
Federal lands parcels under this section is not a major 
Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the 
human environment under section 102(2)(C) the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) 
because each conveyance involves only a small parcel of 
National Forest System land or the public lands and has 
no significant impact on critical habitats or endangered 
or threatened species, critical environments, exceptional 
resources. 
(k) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—The conveyance au-
thority provided by this section is in addition to the sale 
authority provided by section 203 of the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1713) 
or any other provision of law. 
Æ 
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