Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 61 Part 1.djvu/201

 61 STAT.] 80TH CONG. , 1ST SESS.-CH. 141 -JUNE 25, 1947 [CHAPTER 141] 177 AN ACT June 25, 1947 To provide for the protection of forests against destructive insects and diseases, [S. 597] and for other purposes. [Public Law 110] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in order to protect and preserve forest resources of the United States from rav- ages of bark beetles, defoliators, blights, wilts, and other destructive forest insect pests and diseases, and thereby enhance the growth and maintenance of forests, promote the stability of forest-using indus- tries and employment associated therewith, aid in fire control by reducing the menace created by dying and dead trees injured or killed by insects or disease, conserve forest cover on watersheds, and protect recreational and other values of forests, it shall be the policy of the Government of the United States independently and through coopera- tion with the governments of States, Territories, and possessions, and private timber owners to prevent, retard, control, suppress, or eradicate incipient, potential, or emergency outbreaks of destructive insects and diseases on, or threatening, all forest lands irrespective of ownership. SEC. 2. The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized either directly or in cooperation with other departments of the Federal Government, with any State, Territory, or possession, organization, person, or pub- lic agency, subject to such conditions as he may deem necessary and using such funds as have been, or may hereafter be, made available for these purposes, to conduct surveys on any forest lands to detect and appraise infestations of forest insect pests and tree diseases, to determine the measures which should be applied on such lands, in order to prevent, retard, control, suppress, or eradicate incipient, threaten- ing, potential, or emergency outbreaks of such insect or disease pests, and to plan, organize, direct, and carry out such measures as he may deem necessary to accomplish the objectives and purposes of this Act: Provided, That any operations planned to prevent, retard, control, or suppress insects or diseases on forest lands owned, controlled, or man- aged by other agencies of the Federal Government shall be conducted with the consent of the agency having jurisdiction over such land. SEC. 3. The Secretary of Agriculture may, in his discretion and out of any money made available pursuant to this Act, make allocations to Federal agencies having jurisdiction over lands held or owned by the United States in such amounts as he may deem necessary to retard, control, suppress, or eradicate injurious insect pests or plant diseases affecting forests on said lands. SEC. 4. No money appropriated to carry out the purposes of this Act shall be expended to prevent, retard, control, or suppress insect or disease pests on forest lands owned by persons, associations, corpo- rations, States, Territories, possessions, or subdivisions thereof until such contributions toward the work as the Secretary may require have been made or agreed upon in the form of funds, services, materials, or otherwise. SEC. 5. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the pur- poses of this Act such sums as the Congress may from time to time determine to be necessary. Any sums so appropriated shall be avail- able for necessary expenses, including the employment of persons and means in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, printing and bind- ing, and the purchase, maintenance, operation, and exchange of pas- senger-carrying vehicles; but such sums shall not be used to pay the cost or value of any property injured or destroyed. Materials and equipment necessary to control, suppress, or eradicate infestations of forest insects or tree diseases maybe procured without regard to the provisions of section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 F. S. C . 5) 95347°-48--pt. 1- --12 Forest Pest Control Act. Surveys. Consent of Federal agency to conduct preventive operations, etc. Allocations. Restriction on ex- penditures. Appropriation au- thorized. Procurement of ma- terials.

�