OPA

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton announced today approval of a recommendation made by Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons for transfer of the Department’s function of approving contracts between attorneys and Indian tribes. Commissioner Emmons recommended that the function be shifted from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Office of the Solicitor of the Department.

The transfer will be effected as soon as the necessary order has been developed and formally approved by the Secretary.

Congress has required by law approval of such contracts by the Secretary of the Interior. In recent years the Commissioner of Indian Affairs has been performing this function under a delegation of authority.

Transfer of Narolf Nesset from superintendent of the Cheyenne River Indian Agency in South Dakota to superintendent at Standing Rock Agency, Fort Yates, North Dakota, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Mr. Nesset succeeds Harold W. Schunk, recently transferred to the Rosebud Agency in South Dakota. The new move is effective December 13, according to Indian Commissioner Glen Emmons.

A native of Maddock, North Dakota, Mr. Nesset joined the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1936 as a teacher at the Fort Yates Community School on the Standing Rock Reservation. In 1944 he was named principal of the school and one year later became principal of the Bureau’s school at Fort Totten, North Dakota, on the Turtle Mountain Reservation. He resigned in 1949 to become self-employed and returned to the Bureau in 1950 as Reservation Principal at the Cheyenne River Agency. Two years later he was appointed superintendent at Cheyenne River and has been serving in this position ever since.

He attended college intermittently beginning in 1930 and received an A.B. degree from Valley City (North Dakota) State Teachers College in 1944.

A new superintendent of the Cheyenne River Agency will be named later.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton announced today that the Bureau of Indian Affairs will make a payment at the earliest possible date to persons who are entitled to share in the western Creg0n Judgment Fund. The checks should be in the mail during the next few weeks.

The Western Oregon Judgment Fund was set up as a result of two claims cases against the United States which were decided by the Court of Claims in 1950 and 1951. Seven groups of Western Oregon Indians were entitled to share in the fund which originally totaled over $2,600,000. Since it was originally established the fund has been reduced by attorneys’ fees and increased by accrual of interest. It now amounts to approximately $3,000,000.

The payment which is being made at this time; Secretary Seaton explained, will be only partial since the rolls of those entitled to share in the Fund have not yet been finally determined. At present there are approximately 2,000 persons named on the rolls of the various groups. Almost 1,000 other individuals have appealed from their exclusion from the rolls. Their appeals are being processed.

In determining the amount which should be paid at this time, the Bureau of Indian Affairs made the hypothetical assumption that each appeal would be decided in favor of the appellant. Thus the amount to be paid now represents a minimum entitlement and may be supplemented by a later payment if any number of the pending appeals are subsequently rejected.

Payments will be made first to competent living adults whose names, are on the rolls. Because the 1954 congressional law governing distribution of the fund requires special action by the Secretary to protect the interests of minors and mental incompetents, the payments on behalf of such individuals will require additional time. In the case of deceased persons whose names are on the rolls, probating of the estates will be necessary.

The following tabulation show the number of individuals now on the rolls of each group and the payment which will be made at this time to each eligible individual.

In addition to the six groups sharing in the five funds, a judgment has been awarded to the Molallala or Molel Band. No names are on the roll of this group at the present time although a number of appeals for inclusion on the roll are pending for determination.

Appointment of Willard W. Beatty, executive vice president of the Save the Children Federation of Norwalk, Connecticut, as a member of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board of the Department of the Interior, was announced today by Assistant Secretary Roger Ernst.

Dr. Beatty was appointed to fill the unexpired term of James W. Young, Pena Blanca, New Mexico, who recently resigned. The term expires July 6, 1960.

A native of Berkeley, Calif., Dr. Beatty has had extensive experience with American Indian people. From 1936 to 1951 he was Director of Education for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. During this same period he also served as a member of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board in the first year of its existence, 1936-37, and again from 1943 to 1951.

Before joining the Bureau of Indian Affairs, he was supervisor of teaching at San Francisco State Teachers College from 1914 to 1920, assistant superintendent of schools at Winnetka, Ill., from 1920 to 1926, and superintendent of schools at Bronxville, N. Y., from 1926 to 1936. After leaving the Bureau in 1951, he served for two years as deputy director of the Department of Education of UNESCO with headquarters in Paris and for four years as educational consultant with the architectural firm of Perkins and Will at White Plains, N. Y. In 1958 he joined the Save the Children Federation as associate program director and more recently was appointed executive vice president.

He has a bachelor of science degree in architecture and a master of arts in education from the University of California and also did graduate work at the University of Chicago and at Teachers College of Columbia University. In 1937 he was awarded an honorary degree of doctor of education by Reed College in Portland, Oregon.

Assistant Secretary Ernst also announced that Vincent Price, the well-known actor who has been serving as a member of Indian Arts and Crafts Board since 1957, has been reappointed for an additional term expiring on July 6, 1963.

The Indian Arts and Crafts Board was established in the Department of the Interior under provisions of the Act of August 27, 1935. Its principal functions are to encourage the production of indigenous arts and crafts by Indians and to help in the effective marketing of such products.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton, to assure continued conservation management of the 750,000 -acres Klamath Indian Forest in Oregon and thus protect one of the Nation’s most valuable ponderosa pine stands from the threat of destruction, has asked Congress to amend the 1954 Act which now provides for an end of Federal Trusteeship of the Klamath Reservation by August 1960.

Part of the forest must be sold to pay members who withdraw from the tribe. would Under the amendment proposed by Secretary Seaton, that part of the forest would first be offered for sale on a competitive market at not less than its “appraised realization value,” and purchasers would have to agree to sustained yield management.

The "appraised realization value” is defined in the proposed amendment as the "fair market value if as much as 70 percent of the forest were offered for sale" in the near future without limitations on use. If it cannot be sold on this basis, then it would be purchased by the Federal Government for its appraised realization value and dedicated to use as a national forest.

In either event, Secretary Seaton said, the tribal marshlands on the reservation, comprising not mere than 15,689 acres, would be purchased from the Indians and operated as a national wildlife refuge. This portion of the Klamath tribal property has been described as one of the most important waterfowl breeding and feeding places in the Nation currently outside the national wildlife refuge system. The tribal marshlands are a key unit of the Pacific flyway.

Under the 1954 Klamath Termination Act an appraisal of the tribal forest, marsh lands and other assets is now nearing completion. Once the Secretary has approved the appraisal, individual tribal members are given the option under the law of withdrawing their proportionate share of the tribal assets in cash 01' of I remaining in the trine and sharing in the benefits of continued administration of the tribal estate.

Secretary Seaton said his recommendation for amendment was prompted primarily by a deep concern for preservation of the values which the Klamath Forest has for the economy and welfare of the whole basin and by a recognition of the fact that these values are seriously endangered under present provisions of the law.

He said that “If it is kept intact through continued management according to conservation principles of sustained yield, the forest will remain a perpetually productive source of ponderosa pine and other commercial timber. Such management would also insure continuation of its important function as a watershed. The large numbers of migratory waterfowl for which it now provides nesting and feeding grounds would be protected, as would the deer and other species of wild animals that now find sanctuary "Within its boundaries. Further development of the forest’s recreational potential will be made possible.

“If sustained yield management is abandoned and the forest is broken up and disposed of in small individual tracts, all these values soon may be lost," the Secretary said.

He said the likelihood of such dissipation of the forest is a matter for genuine concern.

"The essence of the Termination Act is that the Klamath Indians shall be freed of all Federal restraints applicable to them because of their Indian origin, and that they shall be placed in the same status as all other citizens, subject to no special restrictions or rights," he wrote. But he pointed out that "certain individuals may not be qualified to handle a large capital asset with reasonable prudence" and thus would need protection of the Secretary to safeguard their interests. Such safeguards would be accomplished by arranging for appointment of guardians through the State courts, or by such other means as the Secretary would find adequate.

Secretary Seaton said that inasmuch as existing Federal and State laws do not require the owners of large forests to maintain them intact and manage them in the interests of public conservation, the Klamath Indians should not be subject to any such restrictions when the Federal Trust is terminated.

He said that consequently, Federal acquisition of the forest is recommended if the forest cannot be sold to private purchasers who would agree to follow sustained yield management.

The full text of Secretary Seaton’s recommendation is attached.

Dear Mr. President:

Enclosed herewith is a draft of a proposed bill "To amend the Act terminating Federal supervision over the Klamath Indian Tribe by providing in the alternative for private or Federal acquisition of the part of the tribal forest that must be sold, and for other purposes."

We recommend that the proposed bill be referred to the appropriate Committee for consideration; and we recommend that the bill be enacted.

The purpose of the bill is to assure the continued sustained yield management of the part of the Klamath Indian Forest that must be sold in order to pay the members who withdrew from the tribe, and at the same time make certain that the Indians receive the fair market value of the part of the forest that is sold.

Congress has determined by the Termination Act of August 13, 1954 (68 Stat. 718), that a continuation of the Federal trust over the property of the Klamath Indians would not be in the best interest of the Indians. The essence of the Termination Act is that the Klamath Indians shall be freed all Federal restraints applicable to them because of their Indian origin, and that they shall be placed in the same status as all other citizens, subject to no special restrictions or rights. As would be the case in any group, however, certain individuals may not be qualified to handle a large capital asset with reasonable prudence, and the 1954 statute requires the Secretary of the Interior to safeguard the interests of these individuals, before terminating the Federal trust, by arranging for the appointment of guardians through the State courts or by such other means as he deems adequate, which could include the establishment of individual private trusts for them.

Another basic feature of the Termination Act is the provision that each member of the tribe shall be given an opportunity to withdraw from the tribe and have his interest in the tribal property converted into money and paid to him. Those members who remain in the tribe will participate in a tribal management plan for the residual tribal assets.

The need for further legislation arises from the fact that a large percentage of the members of the tribe is expected to withdraw from the tribe, which will require a large part of the forest to be sold in order to pay the withdrawing members their proportionate share of the tribal assets. If such sales are made under the present law a large part of the forest will not be continued under sustained yield management.

The conservation of this timber resource is of primary importance to the economy of the area and to the welfare of the public generally. In recognition of this fact, Congress has deferred any sales of tribal forest lands until after the end of the second session of the 85th Congress in order that further legislation may be considered.

The manner in which the Klamath Indian Forest is managed in the future will have a vital impact on the life and economy of the entire Klamath River Basin. If it is kept intact and managed according to sustained yield principles, the forest will remain a perpetually productive source of ponderosa pine and other commercial species. Such management will also assure continuation of its important function as a watershed. The large numbers of migratory waterfowl for which it now provides nesting and feeding grounds will be protected, as will the deer and other species of wild animals that now find sanctuary within its boundaries. Further development of the forest's recreational potential will also be made possible.

If sustained yield management is abandoned and the forest is broken up and disposed of in small individual tracts, all these values soon may be lost.

The likelihood of the forest's being dissipated in this fashion is a matter for genuine concern.

The tremendously disruptive influence that rapid cutting of the Klamath forest would have on the economy of the area is not difficult to contemplate when it is realized that 40 percent of the area's economy is based on timber production, and that the Indian timber includes about 26 percent of the total commercial forest area and 26 percent of the saw timber volume in Klamath County.

Other values of the forest, while less tangible than timber, are of significant importance and must be considered in the public interest.

In the fall, waterfowl by the millions, following the Pacific Flyway, pour into the Upper Klamath Basin to rest and feed before continuing southward to their wintering grounds. The marsh on the Klamath Reservation is the most important marsh to waterfowl that is left unprotected in the nation. This nesting area has been one of the mainstays in keeping up the supply of redheads, canvasbacks, and ruddy ducks in the Pacific Flyway Deer and other wild creatures also find year-round habitat in the forest.

The influence which the Klamath Reservation forest has in reducing flood crests and stabilizing the flow of streams throughout the year as a contributing reason for preventing the timber from being cut to the minimum specifications of the State law. Approximately 303,000 acres of irrigated farmlands are dependent on streams that head on the forest slopes of the Klamath Basin.

The maximum development of water power on the Klamath River cannot be realized without the protection of its headwaters. A large part of the extensive water resource of the Klamath Basin originates in the many large springs found on reservation lands. Rapid cutting of the Klamath Reservation forest well might jeopardize the farm production and the water power developments dependent on the watershed protection provided by this forest.

Furthermore, denuding this area of its forest cover would destroy its scenic and recreational appeal, and the slash left from hurry-up logging operations would tend to increase the fire hazard.

When it is considered that this 745,280-acre tribally owned forest area, described as one of the finest of its type, now is contributing so vitally to the general welfare of the Klamath River Basin and to the Nation it must be concluded that any action that would in the long run diminish or eliminate those benefits should be avoided.

This Department believes that only through sustained yield management of the forest can its timber, water, wildlife, and recreational resources be maintained. It is generally conceded that much of the area will not be continued under sustained yield management if it is sold under the present law.

Federal acquisition of the part of the forest that must be sold, and payment to the Indians of the full amount they could expect to receive if the forest lands were sold under the present Termination Act, would accomplish the conversation objective without infringing the rights of the Indians. Before authorizing Federal acquisition, however, we believe that private industry should be given an opportunity to acquire the land, at the same price, subject to an enforceable contractual agreement to follow sustained yield management practices.

There are two major difficulties to this approach. One is that Federal enforcement of a sustained yield agreement will present administrative problems. These will be minimized if the lands that are to be sold are offered for sale in a comparatively small number of units, for example, 10 to 15, containing relatively large acreages. The other is the possibility that private industry may not be willing to pay the full market value of the land if it is subjected to a sustained yield requirement. This fact can be ascertained only by making the offer. If private industry is not willing to purchase under these circumstances, then this Department recommends Federal purchase of the lands.

If the forest lands can not be sold to private industry under the plan proposed, Federal acquisition would be in accord with the conservation program vigorously pursued by President Theodore Roosevelt a half century ago. In his annual message to Congress dated December 3, 1901, as quoted in 103 Congressional Record 1257, he said:

"The forest reserves will inevitably be of still greater use in the future than in the past. Additions should be made to them whenever practicable, and their usefulness should be increased by a thoroughly businesslike management."

In a letter dated August 24, 1906, as quoted in 103 Congressional Record 1258, to Gifford Pinchot, President Roosevelt said:

"The forest policy of the administration * ** is based * * * on the vigorous purpose to make every resource of the forest reserves contribute in the highest degree to the permanent prosperity of the people who depend upon them. If ever the time should come when the western forests are destroyed, there will disappear with them the prosperity of' the stockman, the miner, the lumberman and the railroads, and most important of all, the small ranchman who cultivates his own land. I know that you are with me in the intention to preserve the timber, the water, and the grass by using them fully, but wisely and conservatively. We propose to do this through the freest [sic] and most cordial cooperation between the Government and every man who is in sympathy with the policy, * * *."

The bill which we recommend can be summarized as follows:

1. The Secretary of' the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture will jointly define the boundaries of the tribal forest and the tribal marsh.

2. The Indians who elect to stay in the tribe will keep the part of the forest that is allocated to them, and that part will be subject to management in accordance with a plan that is satisfactory both to the Indians and to the Secretary. This is provided for by the present law. The proposed management plan provides for sustained yield management.

3. The rest of the forest that must be sold on behalf of the withdrawing members will be offered in appropriate units for private purchase

(a) at not less than the appraised realization value,

(b) subject to sustained yield requirements that are enforceable by a forfeiture and reversion of title in the event of a violation of the requirements. Enforcement could also be obtained by injunction in appropriate cases.

Realization value is the amount for which the lands could be sold on the open market prior to the termination date, without limitation on use, if as much as 70 percent of the forest were offered for sale. If 70 percent of the Indians elect to withdraw, that is the maximum amount they could expect to receive under the present law. The Indians cannot be required to take less.

4. The Secretary of Agriculture will purchase at the realization value any of the forest units not purchased by private industry that are suitable for national forest administration. Any units that are not purchased by private industry or by the Secretary of Agriculture will be sold by the Secretary of the Interior under the Termination Act. Any purchase by the Secretary of Agriculture will occur on or about January 1, 1960, which should permit the termination program to be completed by August 13, 1960, as required by present law.

5. If any of the forest lands retained by the tribe are later offered for sale, the Secretary of Agriculture must be given the right of first refusal, and he is authorized to buy them for addition to the National Forest system.

6. The Secretary of the Interior will buy the marsh at its realization value, effective January 1, 1960, and it will become a National Wildlife Refuge.

7. Any Klamath Indian who is occupying a home site on forest land acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture will be entitled to continue to occupy a reasonable acreage of the home site under regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture.

8. If lands acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture are subject to an outstanding timber sales contract, the Secretary of Agriculture will be responsible for administering the contract.

9. Any tribal lands that are sold, both forested and non-forested lands, will be sold subject to the right of the United states and its assigns to use any roads thereon. This provision is designed to assure adequate access to national forest lands and to any other lands that may be sold subject to sustained yield management requirements enforceable by the Secretary of Agriculture.

10. If the members who elect to remain in the tribe and the Secretary of the Interior fail to agree upon a management· plan for the residual tribal assets, the Secretary is authorized to adopt a management plan. This provision remedies a hiatus that exists in the present law.

11. The present requirement that funds payable to withdrawing members be distributed as each $200,000 accumulates is repealed because it will tend to cause a dissipation of the funds and to interfere with the establishment of guardianships and trusts for the Indians who need assistance.

12. The present preference right of any Klamath Indian to buy tribal lands that are offered for sale is clarified by spelling out the precise manner in which a withdrawing Indian may apply toward the purchase price the amounts due him as a withdrawing member. The present law is not clear in this respect.

We are not able to estimate at the present time the amount of the Federal appropriation that may be necessary to carry out the provisions of the bill. The amount will depend upon the number of members who elect to withdraw from the tribe, and upon the willingness of private industry to purchase tribal forest lands at their realization value and subject to sustained yield management requirements. Any Federal funds required will need to be appropriated in fiscal year 1960. Such expenditure is not expected to require the employment of any additional employees by this Department.

The Secretary of Agriculture concurs in our recommendation that the enclosed bill be enacted.

The Bureau of the Budget has advised us that there is no objection to the submission of this report.

Sincerely yours,

Plans for further insuring the secrecy of absentee ballots in Osage Indian Tribal Council elections, and representation proportionate to each voter’s financial interest in the Osage mineral estate, were announced today by the Department of the Interior.

In a letter to the chairman of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, the Department said it has submitted a notice of the proposed changes for publication in the Federal Register.

The Department said the proposals resulted from hearings by the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the Osage Agency headquarters in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, last September.

"The great majority of Osage people who expressed themselves have indicated that they favor a change in the election procedures to further insure secret ballots," the letter said.

Heretofore, absentee Osage voters have been permitted to cast their ballots through other voters who were not necessarily election officials. The new regulation would require that executed absentee ballots be sent by the absent voters directly to the supervisor of the election board.

Under the present election rules, all Osage Indians with an interest in the Osage estate are permitted to vote. Each vote is equal, irrespective of the voter's percentage of interest in the estate. Under the proposed regulations, the Department said, "voting will be in proportion to each person’s interest in the Osage estate.”

The headright interest that a member of the Osage Tribe has is shown on the Osage annuity roll. Under the revised rules proportionate voting would be accomplished by assigning to each ballot exactly the same value as the voter’s headright interest shown on the annuity roll.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs said the change would result in a more businesslike administration of the Osage estate by giving the Osage Indian "stockholders” a voice in elections in proportion to their respective interests.

The Department said all interested persons are invited to submit in writing their views, data and arguments on the proposals, to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, Washington 25, D. C., within 30 days of the date of publication of the notice in the Federal Register.

Additional progress toward the goal of full educational and economic opportunities for American Indians was accomplished by the Bureau of Indian Affairs along many different lines in the fiscal year 1957, the Department of the Interior reported today.

In the field of juvenile education the Department's report called attention to the record enrollment of 132,000 Indian children in schools of all types throughout the country, a seven-percent increase in Navajo enrollment to a new high of over 27,000 and the initiation of active steps to enlarge school opportunities for the Choctaws of Mississippi and the natives of Alaska.

Greater attention than ever before was also given to the educational needs of Indian adults. The adult literacy training program, launched by the Bureau on five reservations in 1956, was continued in 1957 and expanded to additional tribal groups in Arizona, New Mexico and Alaska. Plans were shaped up in fiscal 1957 for the adult vocational training program which was formally initiated on July 1.

On the economic side one of the most important developments of the year was the establishment of eight additional industrial plants near Indian reservations. Three of these were in South Dakota, two in Arizona, and one each in Montana, North Carolina and Washington. One of them, however, located at Flagstaff, Arizona, found it necessary to discontinue operations after the end of the fiscal year. Those still operating are expected to train and employ as many as 500 Indian workers during fiscal 1958.

Nearly 7,000 Indians received assistance in 1957 under the Bureau's relocation services program in finding jobs and establishing homes away from the reservations in cities such as Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago and St. Louis. This compared with slightly over 5,000 aided under the program in fiscal 1956.

Income to Indians from oil, gas and other mineral leasing of reservation lands nearly doubled as compared with the previous year, rising from about $41,000,000 in fiscal 1956 to over $75,000,000 in 1957. As usual, some groups and individuals benefited far more heavily than others. A large part of the increase was accounted for by the nearly $35,000,000 in bonuses received by the Navajo Tribe for oil and gas leases in the “four corners” portion of the reservation.

Two tribal groups reached the point of final divorcement from Federal trusteeship in fiscal 1957 under the provisions of laws enacted in 1954. These were the coastal Oregon tribes of the former Grand Ronde-Siletz jurisdiction and four small Paiute bands of Utah.

Legislation that would make it a Federal criminal offense to trespass for hunting, fishing or trapping purposes on Indian reservations and other Indian lands held in trust by the United States is needed to protect the property rights of Indian tribal groups, Assistant Secretary of the Interior Roger Ernst said today.

The Interior Department, Mr. Ernst pointed out, has reported favorably to Congress on H.R. 7240, a bill which would provide such protection by amending appropriate sections of the United States Code.

"In a great many instances," Mr. Ernst said in the report, "fish and game are much more plentiful on Indian reservations than on adjacent lands, and non-Indian hunters and fishermen come on the reservations to hunt and fish. Indian tribes have the right to control or to prohibit hunting and fishing on their reservations, and to charge fees for permitting hunting and fishing. Sometimes the money derived from hunting and fishing permits represents sizable portion of the tribal income.”

While there is authority in an 1834 statute which provides some measure of protection against such trespass, this authority is limited in scope and not adequate for meeting present-day needs. Over the past several years the Bureau of Indian Affairs has received many requests from Indian tribes for more adequate protective legislation.

The Interior Department recommended deletion of one provision in H.R. 7240 which would make it a Federal offense to destroy, remove or deface boundary markers on Indian reservations. This provision is not needed, the Department said, since the subject is adequately covered by existing law.

Appointment of John B. Keliiaa as superintendent of the Jicarilla Apache Indian Agency, Dulce, N. Mex., succeeding Guy Robertson, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Mr. Keliiaa has been serving as acting superintendent of the agency since January 5 when Mr. Robertson transferred to the post of assistant area direct in the Indian Bureau’s office at Sacramento, Calif. He will take over full responsibilities of the position February 23.

Born at Oakland, Calif., in 1923 of Hawaiian and American Indian descent, Mr. Keliiaa joined the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1950 as a junior management assistant in the office at Albuquerque, N. Max. In 1951 he transferred to the Bureau’s central office in Washington, D. C., and served there approximately three years as a social science analyst.

When the area office was established at Gallup, N. Mex., in 1954, he was named assistant to the area director and remained in that post until 1956. For the past two years he has been serving as tribal relations officer of the United Pueblos Agency with headquarters at Albuquerque.

He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley in political science and had two years of service in the Air Force during World War II.

A $116,373.90 contract for construction work on 5.603 miles of road on the Soboba and Pechanga Indian Reservations in Riverside County, California, has been awarded to the Hubbs Equipment Co., P.O. Box 17; Colton, California, the Department of the Interior announced today.

The Hubbs bid was the lowest of sixteen received. The others ranged from $117,597.05 to $159,761.00. Bids were opened by the Bureau of Public Roads.

The construction work is part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs program of improving roads on Indian Reservations to acceptable standards and transferring them to county highway systems. Upon completion, the mileage will be incorporated in the system of Riverside County.