Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 95.djvu/1354

 95 STAT. 1328

PUBLIC LAW 97-98—DEC. 22, 1981

(e) The Advisory Institute shall cease to exist on the day on which it submits its report to the committees referred to in subsection (c). ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION OVER LANDS

SEC. 1447. It is the intent of Congress that dual administration and jurisdiction by the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior over certain lands currently administered by the Secretary of Agriculture should be avoided. Therefore, the Secretary of Agriculture shall have sole administrative jurisdiction of the following described lands: The United States Sheep Experiment Station in Idaho and Summer Range in Montana. These lands, containing a total of 45,013 acres of land, more or less, were withdrawn by Executive Orders 3767, dated December 19, 1922; 2268, dated October 30, 1915; 2491, dated November 21, 1916; 3141, dated August 6, 1919; and 3165, dated September 3, 1919, for agricultural experiment purposes. TITLE XV—RESOURCE CONSERVATION Subtitle A—Soil and Water Conservation POLICY

16 USC 3401.

SEC. 1501. Congress hereby reaffirms its policy to promote soil and water conservation, improve the quality of the Nation's waters, and preserve and protect natural resources through the use of effective conservation and pollution abatement programs. Subtitle B—Special Areas Conservation Program FINDINGS

16 USC 3411.

SEC. 1502. Congress finds that— (1) studies by the Department of Agriculture indicate that billions of tons of soil are eroded annusilly from non-Federal lands in the United States, much of which represents soil eroded from cropland; (2) nearly one-half of the four hundred and thirteen million acres of cropland have soils with moderate, high, or very high risk of damage by sheet and rill erosion; (3) the severity of erosion-related problems varies widely from one geographic area to the next; (4) some of the most productive agricultural areas of the United States are also those having the most serious and chronic erosion-related problems; (5) solutions to such chronic erosion-related problems should be designed to address the local social, economic, environmental, and other conditions unique to the area involved to ensure that the goals and policies of the Federal Government are effectively integrated with the concerns of the local community; (6) certain range and peisturelands in the United States are producing less than their potential and therefore their productive capacity could be substantially improved by application of intensified range and pasture management practices; the protection of these lands is essential to controlling erosion, improving ecological conditions, enhancing wildlife and riparian habitats, improving water quality and yield, and meeting the need to

�