The Department of the Interior announced today that it has taken joint action with the Department of Agriculture in designating 11 units of the Klamath Indian Forest in Oregon to be offered for sale over & period of about 16 months starting sometime after April 1.
The two Departments have also agreed upon specifications and minimum require9nts for sustained-yield management of the units which must be followed by purchasers under provisions of the Klamath Termination Act of 1954, as amended.
The units selected total over 617,000 acres and range in size from about 35,000 acres to more than 91,000. In volume of timber the range is from about 69 million board feet to over 548 million board feet.
The law also provides that the units may not be sold at less than their realization value as established in a recent review of an appraisal originally made as of February 28, 1957. Total realization value of the 11 units to be offered is $70,352,873 and the range is from $1,636,182 to $13,345,495.
The first group of four units will be advertised for sale sometime after April 1, three other units will be advertised around July 1, and the remaining four units around November 1. Full details about the units being offered and the requirements for sustained-yield management will be set forth in the advertisements.
Proceeds of the sales will be used to compensate persons who have elected to withdraw from the Klamath Tribe in accordance with the Termination Act.
If any of the units are not sold by April 1, 1961, they will be purchased by the Government and added to the national forest system.
Under the law any enrolled member of the Klamath Tribe is given the right to purchase, for his own account but not as an agent for others, any of the offered units for not less than the highest offer received by competitive bid.
