
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC552a]

 
                         TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
 
      CHAPTER 3--FORESTS; FOREST SERVICE; REFORESTATION; MANAGEMENT
 
                    SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
 
Sec. 552a. Restoration of withdrawn national forest lands to 
        appropriation
        
    The President, upon recommendation of the Secretaries of the 
Interior and Agriculture, may, by Executive order, when in his judgment 
the public interest would best be served thereby and after reasonable 
notice has been given through the Department of the Interior, restore 
any reserved national-forest lands covered by a cooperative agreement 
with the Secretary of Agriculture for the protection of a watershed 
within a national forest from which water is secured, to appropriation 
under any applicable public-lands law.

(May 28, 1940, ch. 220, Sec. 1, 54 Stat. 224; Pub. L. 94-579, title VII, 
Sec. 704(a), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2792.)

                          Codification

    The words ``restore any of the lands so withdrawn'' have been 
changed to ``restore any reserved national-forest lands covered by a 
cooperative agreement with the Secretary of Agriculture for the 
protection of a watershed within a national forest from which water is 
secured'' to reflect the change made by Pub. L. 94-579. See 1976 
Amendment note below.


                               Amendments

    1976--Pub. L. 94-579 struck out everything preceding second proviso 
which read: ``Whenever a municipality obtains its water supply from a 
national forest and has entered into a cooperative agreement with the 
Secretary of Agriculture for the protection of the watershed within the 
national forest from which the water is secured, the President of the 
United States may, and he is, authorized, upon application by said 
municipality, and endorsed by the governing board of the county or 
counties in which the lands concerned are located and approved by the 
Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior, to reserve and set aside 
from all forms of location, entry, or appropriation any national-forest 
lands, which are covered by such cooperative agreement, subject, 
however, to valid, existing rights and claims, and such reservation 
shall remain in force until revoked by the President or by an Act of 
Congress: Provided, That nothing herein shall affect the power of the 
Secretary of the Interior to withdraw and utilize withdrawn lands under 
the Federal reclamation laws''.


                    Effective Date of 1976 Amendment

    Section 704(a) of Pub. L. 94-579 provided in part that this section 
is amended effective on and after Oct. 21, 1976.


                            Savings Provision

    Amendment by Pub. L. 94-579 not to be construed as terminating any 
valid lease, permit, patent, etc., existing on Oct. 21, 1976, see note 
set out under section 1701 of Title 43, Public Lands.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 552b, 552c, 552d of this 
title.
