PUBLIC LAW 94-357—JULY 12, 1976
90 STAT. 907
of this Act, an action may be instituted by an owner, all of whose lands within the boundaries of the "Intended Wilderness" have been managed in such a way so as not to become unsuitable or unmanageable as wilderness (except for disturbance affecting a minor land area and found by the Secretary to have resulted from strictly accidental and unintentional circumstances), against the United States in the district court for the district in which such lands are located, to require the Secretary to acquire immediately all of said owner's interest in such lands, interests and property and to pay in accordance with this section 4 just compensation for such lands, interest, and property the plaintiff may have which are not yet acquired pursuant to this section 4. By February 1 of each year, the Secretary shall report in writing Report to to the Committees on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States congressional House of Representatives and the Senate, on the status of negotiations committees. with private owners to effect exchanges and acquisition of non-Federal property. (2) The United States will pay just compensation to the owner of Payments any lands and interests acquired by and pursuant to this Act. Such compensation shall be paid either: (A) by the Secretary of the Treasury from money appropriated pursuant to this Act from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, or from any other funds available for such use, upon certification to him by the Secretary, of the agreed negotiated value of such property, or the valuation of the property awarded by judgment, including interest at the rate of 8 per centum per annum from the date of the acquisition of the property or the date of filing an action according to the provisions of section 4(c)(1) of this Act, whichever is earlier, to the date of payment therefor; or (B) by the Secretary, if the owner of the land concurs, with any federally owned property available to him for purposes of exchange pursuant to subsection 4(b); or (C) by the Secretary using any combination of such money or federally owned property. (3) Just compensation shall be the fair market value of the lands and interests acquired by and pursuant to this Act, and shall be determined as of the date of acquisition: Provided, however, That the fair market value of those lands acquired from owners who, from the time of enactment of this Act to the time of acquisition of any such lands, have managed all lands within the "Intended Wilderness" under their ownership so as not to make such lands unsuitable or unmanageable as wilderness (except for disturbance affecting a minor land area and found by the Secretary to have resulted from strictly accidental and unintentional circumstances), shall be the sum of (A) the value of such lands and interests at the date of acquisition, plus (B) any loss of value of timber from casualty, deterioration, disease, or other natural causes from January 1, 1976, to the date of acquisition, with all existing and lost or damaged timber valued at the highest of (i) its market value on the date of acquisition, (ii) its market value on January 1, 1976, or (iii) the mean average market value between those dates: And provided further, That nothing in this Act shall be deemed or construed to deny to owners of non-Federal lands, or to change their rights to access to such lands or to manage the same for any otherwise lawful purpose prior to acquisition thereof by the Secretary. For the purposes of this section, the owner of property is defined as the holder of fee title unless said property is subject to an agreement of sale entered into prior to April 1, 1976.
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