What are the Main Steps in a Lands Exchange?

This page provides information to better acquaint you with the process we are required to follow if you wish to exchange land with the National Forest. Generally, it takes at least two years to complete an exchange once the Forest Supervisor accepts the proposal. Proposals are reviewed annually (normally in September) for exchanges that will be processed in the subsequent Fiscal Year. Questions may be directed to Paul Salvatore, Lands Program Manager, Huron-Manistee National Forests , 1755 South Mitchell Street , Cadillac , MI 49601 or (231) 775-2421.

Exchange Process

A. Negotiations (Time frames vary)

A preliminary evaluation of the proposal is conducted to determine its feasibility. The proposal must meet the Forest Service goals and clearly be in the public interest. All proposals will be submitted for review by the Regional Office in Milwaukee and those proposals with values of $500,000 or proposals involving high public concern or complex cases will be submitted to the National Lands Oversight Team for review. Throughout the process additional approvals from the National Lands Oversight Team are required and may lengthen time frames for other steps in the exchange.

Both parties will document their proposed exchange in a signed “Agreement to Initiate”.

1. An Agreement to Initiate shall include, but is not limited to:

• Certification by the non-Federal party of United States citizenship or status as a corporation subject to the laws of a State or the United States .
• Identification of the properties and estates considered for exchange.
• Assignment of responsibilities and for payments associated with processing the exchange.
• The scheduled beginning date for appraisals and anticipated date for review of appraisals.
• A grant of permission by each party to examine and physically inspect the lands of the other party.

Within 90 days after entering into an Agreement to Initiate, we will arrange for an appraisal. If not already agreed upon in the Agreement to Initiate, the completion date and terms of the appraisal must be negotiated at this time. Such date and terms will be dependent upon the scope, complexity, and priority of the appraisal, and the capability of the Forest Service to process and review the proposal.

Only an Agreement to Initiate, signed by an authorized Forest Service officer and the exchange party, constitutes a Forest Service agreement to further pursue an exchange. An Agreement to Initiate is a nonbinding agreement to initiate an exchange and may be amended as needed, or terminated at any time upon written notice by either party.

2. Compensation for costs.

The exchange party is generally responsible for the costs of advertising fees to publish the exchange in a local paper. An exchange notice will be published once a week for four consecutive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the county in which the lands proposed for exchange are located. The Forest Service will order the ad and have the bill sent directly to the exchange party. Title insurance is also required. Initially a commitment is ordered to show “condition” of title and then a policy is ordered at the close of the exchange. Because of this, the exchange party receives two separate bills for title insurance. The Forest Service does not provide title insurance on the Federal land.

Costs, responsibilities, and requirements associated with land exchanges may further include, but are not limited to, land surveys, appraisals, mineral examinations, timber cruises, cultural resource surveys and mitigation, hazardous substance surveys and controls, or other costs to comply with laws, regulations, and policies applicable to exchange transactions. Some costs and responsibilities traditionally rest with certain parties of an exchange, some are typically shared, while others are negotiated in each case, subject to the needs of the Forest Service.

B. Appraisal (Minimum time frame – 3 months)

Appraisals of both the Federal and non-Federal lands will comply with the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions and State laws. Appraisers must possess qualifications consistent with State licensing laws.

Land-for-Land exchanges are done on an equal value basis of the land and not on an acre for acre basis.

C. Public Comments (Minimum time frame – 2 months)

1. Early public involvement is done to see if a proposal should be dropped before major investments in time or money are made. In managing the National Forest System, the Forest Service has an obligation to keep the public fully informed of all activities including landownership adjustments through exchange. Letters are sent to State and local officials, Congressional delegations, owners adjoining the Federal land, and others interested in National Forest programs.

2. The Forest Service must publish a notice for each proposed exchange once a week for four consecutive weeks in newspapers of general circulation in the counties in which the Federal and non-Federal lands proposed for exchange are located. Please see A2 above

The purposes of an exchange notice are to inform the public of an exchange proposal in a timely fashion, to allow anyone having a claim to the lands to notify the Forest Service officer and present evidence supporting their claim, to afford an opportunity for those with comments to submit their views to the Forest Service, and to comply with the laws governing the exchange of Federal land. All claims and comments must be made in writing and postmarked or delivered within 45 days after the initial publication of a notice, to be assured of consideration in the environmental analysis of a proposed exchange.

D. National Environmental Policy Act Requirements

If preliminary negotiations result in concurrence of an exchange proposal, the Forest Service will conduct an environmental analysis in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Council on Environmental Quality regulations and Forest Service environmental policy and procedures.

As part of this analysis, the Forest Service will consider public comments.

E. Predecisional Notice (Minimum time frame – 30 days)

F. Decision

The decision maker approves an exchange proposal when:

1. The appraised values have been approved by a “Forest Service Qualified Review Appraiser”;

2. The requirements of the specific exchange act have been met;

3. Additional laws, Executive Orders, and regulation specifically relating to the disposal of Federal lands including Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, National Historic Preservation Act of 1969, as amended, Executive Order 11988 (floodplains), Executive Order 11990 (wetlands), have been addressed.

The decision maker may approve or conditionally approve an exchange, subject to any required approval by the Secretary or Congressional oversight. A decision to proceed constitutes the final approval of an exchange.

G. Appeal Period (Minimum time frame – 45 days; Maximum time frame – 90 days)

The Forest Service will provide copies of the decision documents to the exchange parties, to all parties who filed written objections, and to all known parties with an expressed or inherent interest in an exchange.

H. Exchange Agreement

Exchange Agreements should be entered into after the case is approved. An Exchange Agreement shall identify the estates to be exchanged, all reservations and outstanding interests, any necessary cash equalization, all other terms and conditions which each party agrees to perform, and a notice of the presence of, or certification of the absence of, known hazardous substances on involved Federal and non-Federal lands. An Exchange Agreement is binding on both parties.

I. Congressional Oversight (Minimum time frame – 3 months)

Submit case through Washington Office to Congressional oversight if case is:

1. Weeks Law cases with appraised value of $150,000 or more require 30-day oversight by Senate and House Agriculture Committees.

2. Weeks Law cases with appraised value of $250,000 or more require approval by the Secretary and Congressional oversight.

3. Cases using other authorities and having values over $250,000 are approved by the Regional Forester and sent to House Agriculture Committee for 30-day oversight.

J. Closing (Minimum time frame – 3 months)

The attorneys for the Forest Service prepare a Title Opinion. They approve title to lands being conveyed to the United States . The non-Federal party must furnish insurable title to the lands to be conveyed to the United States .

Exchange deeds are issued by the Forest Service to convey acquired Federal lands, and patents or quitclaim deeds are issued by the Bureau of Land Management to convey Federal land reserved from the public domain for National Forest purposes.