§ 72-A — Acquisition and development of forest lands

§ 72-a. Acquisition and development of forest lands. The governing\nboard of a county, town or village may severally acquire for such\ncounty, town or village, by purchase, gift, lease or condemnation, and\nhold as the property of such municipality, tracts of land having forests\nor tree growth thereon, or suitable for the growth of trees, and may\nappropriate therefor the necessary moneys of the county, town or village\nfor which the lands are acquired. Such lands shall be under the\nmanagement and control of such board and shall be developed and used for\nthe planting and rearing of trees thereon and for the cultivation\nthereof according to the principles of scientific forestry, for the\nbenefit and advantage of the county, town or village. The determination\nof any such board to acquire lands under the provisions of this section\nshall be by resolution; but the question of the final adoption of such\nresolution shall be taken up by the board only after public notice\nthereof has been published at least once in each week for two successive\nweeks, as follows: If it be a resolution of a board of supervisors, the\npublication shall be made in the newspapers in which the session laws\nand concurrent resolutions are required to be published, provided that\nif publication cannot be made in both such newspapers as herein required\nbecause of infrequency of publication of one of them, such notice need\nbe published in only one such newspaper; if it be a resolution of a town\nboard or of a board of trustees of a village, the publication shall be\nmade in a newspaper published in the town or village respectively. The\nfirst publication of such notice shall be at least fourteen days before\nthe question of final adoption of the resolution may be taken up by the\nboard. Any period of seven successive days shall constitute a week under\nthis section. The board shall give a hearing to all persons appearing in\nsupport of or in opposition to such proposed resolution. If it be\ndetermined to purchase such lands the moneys necessary therefor may be\nprovided as follows: If the acquisition be by a county, the board of\nsupervisors may cause such moneys to be raised, in whole or in part, by\ntaxation and levied and collected as other county taxes or such moneys\nmay be raised, in whole or in part, pursuant to the local finance law;\nif the acquisition be by a town, the moneys necessary therefor shall\nconstitute a town charge and be raised, in whole or in part, by taxation\nas other town charges or such moneys may be raised, in whole or in part,\npursuant to the local finance law; if the acquisition be by a village,\nthe moneys therefor may be raised, in whole or in part, by taxation, as\nother village taxes or such moneys may be raised, in whole or in part,\npursuant to the local finance law. All revenues and emoluments from\nlands so acquired shall belong to the municipality and be paid to its\nchief fiscal officer for the purposes of such municipality and in\nreduction of taxation therein. Such forest lands shall be subject to\nsuch rules and regulations as such governing board of the municipality\nshall prescribe; but the principal object to be conserved in the\nmaintenance of such lands shall be the sale of forest products in aid of\nthe public revenues and the protection of the water supply of the\nmunicipality. Such lands or portions thereof may be sold and conveyed,\nor leased, if a resolution therefor be adopted by the affirmative vote\nof two-thirds of all the members of such governing board; but no such\nresolution directing an absolute conveyance shall be effectual unless\nadopted after a public hearing, held upon notice given in the manner\nrequired in the case of a resolution to acquire such lands. A deed of\nconveyance or lease of such lands, when authorized as aforesaid, shall\nbe executed by the county treasurer of the county, supervisor of the\ntown or president of the village by which the conveyance or lease is\nmade. Moneys may be appropriated for the care and maintenance of such\nlands and the development and use for forests thereon annually, by the\ncounty, town or village, respectively, and the amount thereof raised by\ntaxation in the same manner that other expenditures of such county, town\nor village are provided for by law.\n