Outdoors-411.com

[Todd]

President Bush is proposing selling about 310,000 acres of National Forest land to help fund rual schools. The Forest service manages about 193 million acres.

Here is a list of land that will be potentially for sale.

http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/spd.html

Most of these are smaller track of property less than 100 acres. I did see at one piece of property, in Louisiana that was over 1,000 acres. Several tracts are in the 300 - 400 acre range. Over 21,000 acres in Missouri are being suggested for sale. I did see several tracts less than 1 acre. The state with the largest proposed sale is California with 85,000 acres then Idaho with 25,000 areas.

You can take a look at this maps to see some of the parcels and how they are isolated from the rest of the national Forest.

http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/rural/R1_BtrIsolatedParcels.pdf

http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/rural/R2_BlackHills_Isolated.pdf

http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/rural/R6_isolated.pdf

http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/rural/r8_bvl_cnvy_parcels.pdf


1) What do you think of selling National forest property to help fund rual education?

2) Do you use any of the listed properties?

3) Should the forest service be managing small tract of proerty?

4) Would you be interested in buying any of these properties?

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"Nothing is easier than spending public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody." - Calvin Coolidge

"I'm the guy that originally wrote the assault weapons ban" Joe Biden

[Todd]

President’s FY 2007 Budget Proposal for the Forest Service - Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act ExtensionAmendment to Extend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act
The President’s FY 2007 Budget for the Forest Service includes a legislative proposal that would amend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 to allow payments under the Act to continue for an additional five years. This proposal underscores the President’s commitment to states and counties which have been impacted by the ongoing reduction in receipts primarily due to lower timber harvest levels on Federal lands.

To provide a funding basis for an extension of the Secure Rural Schools Act, the President’s proposal authorizes the sale of certain parcels of National Forest System Lands. Lands that are potentially eligible for this proposal have been identified.

The extension of the Secure Rural Schools Act would provide affected states and counties a short-term safety net of payments which will be adjusted downward overtime and eventually phased out. For a description of the Secure Rural Schools program click here.

A Federal Register notice requesting comments on the lands identified as potentially eligible for sale will be published by the end of February. Also published will be a detailed set of maps.
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"Nothing is easier than spending public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody." - Calvin Coolidge

"I'm the guy that originally wrote the assault weapons ban" Joe Biden

[~jeff~]

[Todd]

Here is a spread sheet I have started that lists these properties

http://www.southeasternoutdoors.com/public-lands/us-forest-for-sale.xls

I only have the southeast properties listed so far but may add more latter. So far I have FL, GA, LA, KY, MO, MS, NC, SC, TN. It looks like there are about 800 properties in the southeast, the largest being 1,100 acres in Louisiana down to .03 acres in Tennessee. About 600 of the properties are less than 100 acre tracts.

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_________________
---------------------------
"Nothing is easier than spending public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody." - Calvin Coolidge

"I'm the guy that originally wrote the assault weapons ban" Joe Biden

[~jeff~]

I got the download but what do I need to use to open an .xis file?
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~Jeff~
They remind me of blind, enraged oxen being taunted and prodded by the right wing media, frothing and wanting to strike someone, but can't see who's really tormenting them.

[Todd]

Jeff it's good to see you made it back safely.

You need Microsoft Excell for the file.

It will allow you to sort and manipulate the information. I am working on it it still now, so additional information will be available soon.


Todd
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"Nothing is easier than spending public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody." - Calvin Coolidge

"I'm the guy that originally wrote the assault weapons ban" Joe Biden

[Todd]

Here is a list of acres per state

State Acres
Alabama --------------------- 3,220
Alaska --------------------- 99
Arizona --------------------- 1,030
Arkansas --------------------- 3,612
California --------------------- 85,465
Colorado --------------------- 21,572
Connecticut--------------------- 0
Delaware --------------------- 0
Florida --------------------- 973
Georgia --------------------- 4,522
Hawaii --------------------- 0
Idaho --------------------- 25464.11
Illinois --------------------- 191
Indiana --------------------- 868.54
Iowa --------------------- 0
Kansas --------------------- 0
Kentucky --------------------- 4,518
Louisiana --------------------- 3,895
Maine --------------------- 0
Maryland --------------------- 0
Massachusetts----------------- 0
Michigan --------------------- 5,880
Minnesota --------------------- 2,622
Mississippi --------------------- 7,503
Missouri --------------------- 21,566
Montana --------------------- 13,948
Nebraska --------------------- 866
Nevada --------------------- 2146.22
New Hampshire---------------- 0
New Jersey--------------------- 0
New Mexico--------------------- 7,447
New York --------------------- 0
North Carolina------------------ 9,828
North Dakota------------------- 0
Ohio --------------------- 420
Oklahoma --------------------- 3,572
Oregon --------------------- 10,581
Pennsylvania------------------- 0
Rhode Island------------------- 0
South Carolina----------------- 4,665
South Dakota------------------- 13,961
Tennessee --------------------- 2,996
Texas --------------------- 4,813
Utah --------------------- 5998.23
Vermont --------------------- 0
Virginia--------------------- 5,717
Washington--------------------- 7,516
West Virginia-------------------- 4,836
Wisconsin --------------------- 80
Wyoming --------------------- 17619.28

Total 310,010



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_________________
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"Nothing is easier than spending public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody." - Calvin Coolidge

"I'm the guy that originally wrote the assault weapons ban" Joe Biden

[git r bayed]

land to hunt is too hard to find now leave what we've got alone we're spending enough money on education now look at the taxed we pay. i for one get tired of being on goverment land and all of a sudden coming across a no trespassing sign where some rich person has came in and baught up a tract of land that was accessible to me just the year before.
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http://www.gitrbayed.com

[Coyotlviejo]

I think we can come up with other ways to fund our schools. If we sell it off it's gone forever. If they do sell it, I hope that non-profits will buy it up and keep it accessible for the public. I wouldn't mind buying some of the tracts, if they insist on selling them, but I doubt I would have the capital or the funding needed.

Coyo~

[Phil]

Tennessee doesn't have enough public hunting land and now they want to sell more of it off! Some of the Tennessee property is to small to really hunt, but that one is 400 acres!!

[blountcountyboy]

Sorry todd I am alittle late on this, I just got online for the first time in days.

I cannot see how selling this land will help in any way other than fatting the pockets of the friends of Bush. I would surmise that this land is already spoken for. What I mean is Bush already knows who wants alot of it. Help rural schools? Why not use some of the lottery money for this instead of giving it all as scholorships. Rebuild rural roads? Let the loggers in and make them pay for access to these properties by rebuilding these same roads. Help local aconomy (sp). Logging WILL help the the local people. They will get jobs with the loggin company. They will sell goods and items to these loggers. Logging these properties WILL help the wildlife as well. Hard to maintain? I would like to see a spread sheet on everything they do to "maintain" the sections that are together.I walk these properties they want to sell off. These properties shouldn't be for the pleasure of only a select few people who have the money to own it. I would hate to see these properties logged off and resemble some after math of an atomic bomb, but not as bad as never getting to see this land again. If some dumb, hillbilly, back woods redneck like me can see that there are other alterantives to this surely to God some Harvard grad that has more powers that I can make Bush see this. I hate the the idea. I really do. It gets me fighting mad. But what can we do when you have a tyrant in office who only see the $ signs in everything we take for granted or enjoy?

[Todd]

Here is your chance to cooment on the proposed sale

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

USDA FOREST SERVICE ACCEPTING PUBLIC COMMENTS ON POTENTIAL LIST OF ELIGIBLE TRACTS OF LAND FOR SALE

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2006 – U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service today announced the start of a public comment period on a list of forest lands that would be available for sale as a proposal to provide funding to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (SRS).

The list of available forest lands, published in today’s Federal Register, comprises 304,370 acres of land within the 193-million-acre National Forest System. This represents less than 0.2 of one percent of all Forest Service managed land. All of the parcels are considered isolated or inefficient to manage due to their location or other characteristics. Detailed maps of each parcel can now be found on the Forest Service website ( www.fs.fed.us ).

The Forest Service will include in its proposal the opportunity for local and state government agencies and nonprofit land trust organizations the first right to buy these parcels at market value.

Comments on the proposed list must be received by March 30 and may be sent by e-mail to SRS_Land_Sales@fs.fed.us. Written comments may be sent to: USDA Forest Service, SRS Comments, Lands 4S, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Mailstop 1124, Washington, DC, 20250-0003. Send faxed comments to (202) 205-1604.

The President’s fiscal year 2007 budget includes a legislative proposal to reauthorize SRS for an additional five years and to allow the Forest Service to sell approximately 200,000 to 300,000 acres. The money received from the sales (up to $800 million) would provide funding to extend the SRS, which expires on Sept. 30, 2006.

To date, states have received a total of approximately $1.9 billion ($2.5 billion including Bureau of Land Management payments) through the SRS legislation.
_________________
---------------------------
"Nothing is easier than spending public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody." - Calvin Coolidge

"I'm the guy that originally wrote the assault weapons ban" Joe Biden

[Phil]

I will send them an e-mail now.

Thanks!!

[Todd]

I have some more information on the proposed land sale.

Here are Georgia maps with locations of Proposed tracts in the Chattahoochee National Forest

Here is a map with locations of Proposed tracts in the Oconee National Forest

You better make sure you send a comment to about the proposed sale to SRS_Land_Sales@fs.fed.us
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"Nothing is easier than spending public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody." - Calvin Coolidge

"I'm the guy that originally wrote the assault weapons ban" Joe Biden

[Phil]

I don't want them to sell it but I wish I had a piece of it!!

[Greg]

I don't think the USFS should sell any of this land per say. They should trade or exchange the outlying and isolated parcels for similar value tracts contiguous with the main forest.
A one time cash payment is of little value to the rural school systems. The school systems in South Dakota suffer more from poor economic management thean they do from actual insufficient monies. They wast huge sums on "technology" items like lap top computers that waste valuable class time and are a physical and economic burden on many of the students.
The rural schools near the Black Forest get payments in lieu of taxes from monies generated from the National Forest. Selling off potential revenue sources is bad short and longterm policy.